Institutional Design

Civil Rights

The American Revolution and Women’s Rights

Oct 21, 2026

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10 min read

The American Revolution and Women’s Rights

The new republic didn’t enfranchise women, but it built the tools that later generations would use.

Jayme Lemke

Law

How the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act Made a Bad Situation Worse

Oct 14, 2026

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5 min read

How the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act Made a Bad Situation Worse

A little-known law closes off federal appeals, even for the admittedly innocent. That’s by design.

Radley Balko

Trust in Governance

Sep 9, 2026

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7 min read

Liberalism Under Threat

Militant democracy proposes to save liberalism from its foes. Can it work as promised?

Michael C. Munger

Complexity & Emergent Orders

Aug 24, 2026

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8 min read

Not So Obvious, Not So Simple

When you hear that good politics is always simple, think twice.

Matt Zwolinski

Ethics

To Understand the AI Alignment Problem, Consider the Human Alignment Problem.

Aug 12, 2026

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8 min read

To Understand the AI Alignment Problem, Consider the Human Alignment Problem.

We haven’t solved that one, either.

Rachel Lomasky

Public Choice

Jul 13, 2026

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9 min read

The Ghost in the State

Knowing an individual’s will is easy. Knowing the will of a collective is like chasing a ghost in a machine.

Michael C. Munger

Trust in Governance

Conservative Values, Trust, and the Prospects for Democratic Renewal

Jul 8, 2026

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16 min read

Conservative Values, Trust, and the Prospects for Democratic Renewal

A new study offers insight into the values of ordinary conservative voters.

Emily Chamlee-Wright

Education

Jul 1, 2026

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11 min read

The Academy’s Captured Gatekeepers

How a voluntary, bottom-up answer to an information problem became a federally enforced cartel, and why prying it loose is a cause every liberal should own.

Siri Terjesen

Authoritarianism & Tyranny

Jun 26, 2026

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7 min read

Lessons on Liberal Balance from Brazil

Recent events may hold lessons for other countries with presidential systems, including the United States.

Jonathan Madison

Public Choice

Jun 12, 2026

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8 min read

Public Choice: Politics without Romance

We choose in groups because we value being united. Public choice economics seeks to make sense of what happens next.

Michael C. Munger

Authoritarianism & Tyranny

Liberalism’s Uneasy Relationship with Democracy

May 29, 2026

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9 min read

Liberalism’s Uneasy Relationship with Democracy

Liberalism can’t do without democracy. But sometimes, democracy errs. What then?

Ilya Somin

Trust in Governance

May 27, 2026

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11 min read

The Power of Public Unions

Not all labor unions are alike. Public sector unions face different incentives, and they often bargain away better governance.

Matt Zwolinski

Rule of Law

Federal Courts, Local Wrongs: Growing Federal Power Means Less Accountability

May 20, 2026

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9 min read

Federal Courts, Local Wrongs: Growing Federal Power Means Less Accountability

Federal agents have always had extensive immunities. Their growing presence in all of our lives makes that a growing problem. And the courts aren’t helping.

Radley Balko

Liberal Culture

Liberal Neutrality and How to Fight For It

May 7, 2026

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12 min read

Liberal Neutrality and How to Fight For It

Defending liberal political norms doesn’t mean always reaching across the aisle. Sometimes, liberal neutrality means playing hardball.

Jacob T. Levy

Liberal Culture & Sensibility

Apr 30, 2026

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10 min read

The Liberal Spirit of System

The “man of system” is a famous figure in the work of Adam Smith, and not in a good way. And yet we all think in systems. They can be both beautiful and helpful. What gives?

Janet Bufton

Economics

Apr 24, 2026

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10 min read

The Power of Wealth

In every political system, wealthy and powerful people will try to write the rules to favor themselves. Liberal democracies should use a range of policy tools to resist elite capture.

Matt Zwolinski

Public Choice

Yours, Mine, or Ours? Liberals Need a Theory of the State

Apr 22, 2026

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7 min read

Yours, Mine, or Ours? Liberals Need a Theory of the State

When are state-based solutions the best we can do? It’s tempting to reach hasty conclusions, but technological change means the truth may be a moving target.

Michael C. Munger

Family

Apr 6, 2026

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11 min read

Why Liberalism Needs the Family

Liberalism does best when there are strong intermediate institutions between the state and the individual. The family is the oldest of them, and it still has no substitutes.

Lauren K. Hall

Rule of Law

In Criminal Justice, We Get What We Pay For

Mar 30, 2026

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19 min read

In Criminal Justice, We Get What We Pay For

Indigent defense is a key part of any decent criminal justice system. But in many places, the incentives for public defenders don’t point toward justice.

Radley Balko

Pluralism

If Liberals Get Tougher, What Will They Become?

Mar 24, 2026

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16 min read

If Liberals Get Tougher, What Will They Become?

If American liberals deploy aggressive tactics against the far right, will they lose what makes them good?

Kevin Elliott

Public Choice

Seeing with Two I’s: States, Markets, and Some Advice for Us Liberals

Mar 18, 2026

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14 min read

Seeing with Two I’s: States, Markets, and Some Advice for Us Liberals

Markets may fail; governments may help. But much about market activity will forever be invisible. A pair of unlikely thinkers helps illustrate the limits of what we know and the need for epistemic humility.

Michael C. Munger

Announcements

What Early Liberals Knew, We’ll Remember

Mar 13, 2026

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9 min read

What Early Liberals Knew, We’ll Remember

The foundations of an inclusive and prosperous society are open to all those who will defend them. We intend to do just that.

Jason Kuznicki

Public Choice

The Enemy Is Power, Wherever You Find It

Mar 13, 2026

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6 min read

The Enemy Is Power, Wherever You Find It

Concentrations of power are a danger, and a liberal society must reckon with them wherever they occur.

Matt Zwolinski

Rule of Law

At a Hinge Moment in History, We Must Build a Liberal Future

Mar 12, 2026

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6 min read

At a Hinge Moment in History, We Must Build a Liberal Future

Lessons from history for our current moment

Emily Chamlee-Wright

Institutional Design

The American Revolution and Women’s Rights

How the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act Made a Bad Situation Worse

Liberalism Under Threat

Not So Obvious, Not So Simple

To Understand the AI Alignment Problem, Consider the Human Alignment Problem.

The Ghost in the State

Conservative Values, Trust, and the Prospects for Democratic Renewal

The Academy’s Captured Gatekeepers

Lessons on Liberal Balance from Brazil

Public Choice: Politics without Romance

Liberalism’s Uneasy Relationship with Democracy

The Power of Public Unions

Federal Courts, Local Wrongs: Growing Federal Power Means Less Accountability

Liberal Neutrality and How to Fight For It

The Liberal Spirit of System

The Power of Wealth

Yours, Mine, or Ours? Liberals Need a Theory of the State

Why Liberalism Needs the Family

In Criminal Justice, We Get What We Pay For

If Liberals Get Tougher, What Will They Become?

Seeing with Two I’s: States, Markets, and Some Advice for Us Liberals

What Early Liberals Knew, We’ll Remember

The Enemy Is Power, Wherever You Find It

At a Hinge Moment in History, We Must Build a Liberal Future

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