This issue of The Freeman examines the moral and philosophical roots of liberty, arguing that genuine freedom requires personal responsibility, respect for individual rights, and restraint on government power. Articles explore the “natural” rate of unemployment, the ethics and consequences of preferential hiring, the stabilizing effects of free markets on social order, and Bastiat’s argument that rights preexist the state. Additional essays address the illusion of certainty, the limits of obligation and taxation, the dangers of demand-side interventions in medicine, and Herbert Spencer’s case for strictly limited government. Book reviews consider works on labor legislation and the philosophical thought of Ayn Rand.
