Search results for ""Cato Institute""

It's one thing to be passionate about protecting the environment. It's another to be successful at it. In the second edition of this popular title, Richard Stroup explains why many of our environmental laws have failed us and how we might go about doing a better job protecting the environment.

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The United States has endured crippling financial crises, together with many other sorts of monetary disorder, throughout its history. Why? The popular answer has long been that U.S. banks have been under-regulated, that increased regulation and centralization over the years have helped, and that still more regulation and centralization is needed. In Money: Free and Unfree, George Selgin turns this conventional wisdom on its head. Through a series of painstakingly researched essays covering U.S. monetary history since before the Civil War, he traces U.S. financial disorders to their source in misguided government regulations. State governments were early culpritsbut in taking advantage of the Civil War to dramatically increase its own involvement in the banking and currency system, the federal government set the stage for even worse problems to come. Instead of addressing the root causes of these crises, the Federal Reserve Act reinforced some of them, while dramatically increasing the potential for politically-motivated abuse of monetary policy. Selgin's revisionist thesis may shock and anger champions of monetary orthodoxy, but they'll be hard-pressed to refute the solid scholarship upon which that thesis rests.

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Published shortly after the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. New London case, The Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st Century America made a powerful contribution to the firestorm of interest in protecting property rights. Now in its second edition, The Cornerstone of Liberty looks at the post-Kelo reform measures and the legislation that has shifted the landscape of private property rights, often dramatically, both for good and for bad. Through a combination of real-life stories and solid legal analysis, this book shows why the right to ownership is one of the most essential of human rights, how that right is protected in the U.S. Constitution, and critically examines how courts and legislatures have reacted in the wake of Kelo. This second edition includes new court cases and legislation, including Arizona's Proposition 207, the most successful of the post-Kelo property rights reforms.

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When government imposes new taxes, rules, or regulations, it creates outcomes that often differ from the original intent. In some cases, these outcomes are so severe that they render the policy a failure. The law of unintended consequences has taken on an increasing importance during the era of ever-expanding government, and this book explores four important examples: cigarette taxes, alcohol prohibition, the minimum wage, and federal income tax. Thomas E. Hall examines how the policies came into being, what underlying political considerations influenced the process, the unintended outcomes of the policies, and why many of these policies are still in place. Because many of these unintended consequences are seriously adverse, the author argues that the moral of these four key examples is that whenever a new government policy is being considered, much more detailed review must be given to the range of potential unintended consequences-a practice that is rarely or accurately undertaken.

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Individualism is one of most criticized and least understood ideas in social and political thought. Is individualism the ability to act independently amidst a web of social forces? A vital element of personal liberty and a shield against conformity? Does it lead to or away from unifying individuals with communities? Individualism: A Reader provides a wealth of illuminating essays from the 17th to the early 20th centuries. In 26 selections from 25 writers individualism is explained and defended, often from unusual perspectives. This anthology includes not only selections from well-known writers, but also many lesser-known pieces-reprinted here for the first time-by philosophers, social theorists, and economists who have been overlooked in standard accounts of individualism. The depth and complexity of ideas about individualism are reflected in the six sections in this collection. The first examines individuality generally, with the following five detailing social, moral, political, religious, and economic individualism. Throughout, individualism is analyzed and defended through the lenses of classical liberalism, free-market libertarianism, individual anarchism, voluntary socialism, religious individualism, abolitionism, free thought, and radical feminism. Both richly historical and sharply contemporary, Individualism: A Reader provides a multitude of perspectives and insights on personal liberty and the history of freedom.

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Now in it's 15th year, the Cato Supreme Court Review brings together leading legal scholars to analyze key cases from the Court's most recent term, plus cases coming up. Topics in the 2015-2016 edition include affirmative action (Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin), executive power and immigration (United States v. Texas), religious liberty (Zubik v. Burwell), judicial scrutiny and abortion (Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstadt), and public corruption (McDonnell v. United States).

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Juries have been delivering independent verdicts in the interest of justice for over 800 years, serving as the final check on government's power to pass unjust, immoral, or oppressive laws that leave citizens at the mercy of sometimes jaded or corrupt courts and legislatures. This was what the Founding Fathers feared, and this is the reason why they guaranteed trial by jury three times in the Constitution - more than any other right. In Jury Nullification, author Clay Conrad examines the history, the law, and the practical and political implications of jury independence, examining in depth the role of nullification in capital punishment law, the dark side of jury nullification in Southern lynching and civil rights cases, and the purpose and legal effect of the juror's oath. This book should be of interest to historians, trial lawyers, criminologists, political scientists, and anyone interested in knowing how our criminal justice system works - and how to make it better.

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The American dream of homeownership turned into a nightmare in the recent financial crisis, but Randal O'Toole argues that we can rebuild the dream by eliminating federal, state, and local housing policies that distort the free market for housing.

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Liberal democracies such as the United States face an acute dilemma in the conduct of foreign relations. Many states around the world are repressive or corrupt to varying degrees. Unfortunately, American national interests require cooperation with such regimes from time to time. To defeat Nazi Germany during World War II, the United States even allied with the Soviet Union, despite the barbarity of Josef Stalin's regime. But such partnerships have the inherent danger of compromising, or even making a mockery of, America's values of democratic governance, civil liberties, and free markets. Close working relationships with autocratic regimes, therefore, should not be undertaken lightly. U.S. officials have had a less than stellar record of grappling with that ethical dilemma. Especially during the Cold War, policymakers were casual about sacrificing important values for less-than-compelling strategic rationales. Since the 9-11 attacks, similar ethical compromises have taken place, although policymakers now seem more selective than their Cold War-era counterparts. In Perilous Partners, authors Ted Galen Carpenter and Malou Innocent provide a strategy for resolving the ethical dilemmas between interests and values faced by Washington. They propose maintaining an "arm's length relationship" with authoritarian regimes, emphasizing that the United States must not operate internationally in ways that routinely pollute American values. This book creates a strategy for conducting an effective U.S. foreign policy without betraying fundamental American values.

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When the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten (Viby, Denmark) published the cartoons of the prophet Mohammed nine years ago, Denmark found itself at the center of a global battle about the freedom of speech. The paper's culture editor, Flemming Rose, defended the decision to print the 12 drawings, and he quickly came to play a central part in the debate about the limitations to freedom of speech in the 21st century. Since then, Rose has visited universities and think tanks and participated in conferences and debates around the globe in order to discuss tolerance and freedom. In The Tyranny of Silence, Flemming Rose writes about the people and experiences that have influenced the way he views the world and his understanding of the crisis, including meetings with dissidents from the former Soviet Union and ex-Muslims living in Europe. He provides a personal account of an event that has shaped the debate about what it means to be a citizen in a democracy and how to coexist in a world that is increasingly multicultural, multi-religious, and multi-ethnic.

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The relation between school and state in American liberal thought has a checkered past. Many traditional heroes of American individualism, such as Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, upheld some role for government in education. Others, however, feared the consequences of placing control of education in the hands of a single group and supported the separation of school and state. The preservation of individual freedom, according to those who were against state education, is the only legitimate function of government. Critics of State Education: A Reader contains articles, written during the 18th and 19th centuries, that oppose all state inference in the education of children, whether in the form of tax support for schools, compulsory attendance laws, mandated curricula, and so forth. Many of the writers included here are virtually unknown even to historians of education, and most of their articles are reprinted for the first time

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What's the best political system? What standards should we use to decide, and why? Arguments for Liberty is a guide to thinking about these questions. Two schools of thought have long dominated libertarian discussions about ethics: utilitarianism and natural rights. Those two theories are important, but they're not the only ways people think about ethics and political philosophy. In Arguments for Liberty, you'll find a broader approach to libertarianism. In each of Arguments for Liberty's nine chapters a different political philosopher discusses how his or her preferred school of thought judges political institutions and why libertarianism best meets that standard. Though they end up in the same place, the paths they take diverge in fascinating ways. Readers will find in these pages not only an excellent introduction to libertarianism, but also a primer on some of the most important political and ethical theories.

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In 2012, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey contended that we are living in the most dangerous time in my lifetime, right now." In 2013, he was more assertive, stating that the world is more dangerous than it has ever been." Is this accurate? In this book, an edited volume of papers presented at the Cato Institute's Dangerous World Conference, experts on international security assess, and put in context, the supposed dangers to American security. The authors examine the most frequently referenced threats, including wars between nations and civil wars within nations, and discuss the impact of rising nations, weapons proliferation, general unrest, transnational crime, and state failures.

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First published in China in 2010, where it became a bestselling academic title, The Logic of the Market is a collection of well-known economist Zhang Weiying's most influential essays on Chinese economic reforms. Considered China's leading market liberalist," the author offers a unique perspective on the market economy, implementation of free-market economic policies, and the potential for Chinese economic development. He describes the market economy as ...humanity's greatest creation. It provides the best rules of the game for human progress," and he believes it exemplifies the old Chinese proverb: benefit yourself by benefiting others." The author believes that only the institutional arrangements of private property, unhampered prices, enterprises, entrepreneurs, and profit" guarantee that in a market economy, enriching oneself at the expense of others cannot be done." In fact, he argues, it is this logic of the market that has led to China's recent unprecedented economic progress and prosperity.

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Policy analysts, academics, journalists, and even politicians lament the influence of money on politics. But in the political economy, politicians often carefully design regulations so that two very different interest groups will be satisfied. The Bootlegger and Baptist theory, an innovative public choice theory developed more than 30 years ago, holds that for a regulation to emerge and endure, both the bootleggers," who seek to obtain private benefits from the regulation, and the Baptists," who seek to serve the public interest, must support the regulation. Economists Adam Smith and Bruce Yandle provide an accessible description of the theory and cite numerous examples of coalitions of economic and moral interests who desire a common goal. The book applies the theory's insights to a wide range of current issues, including the recent financial crisis and environmental regulation, and provides readers with both an understanding of how regulation is a product of economic and moral interests and a fresh perspective on the ongoing debate of how special interest groups influence politics.

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This study ranks the American states according to how their public policies affect individual freedoms in the economic, social, and personal spheres. Updating, expanding, and improving upon the three previous editions of Freedom in the 50 States, the 2016 edition examines state and local government intervention across a wide range of policy categories -- from tax burdens to court systems, from eminent domain laws to occupational licensing, and from homeschooling regulation to drug policy. Freedom in the 50 States remains the only index that measures both economic and personal freedoms.

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What is freedom? How is freedom related to justice, law, property, peace, and prosperity? Tom Palmer has spent a lifetimeas a scholar, teacher, journalist, and activistasking and answering these questions. Now as an expanded paperback, Realizing Freedom: Libertarian Theory, History, and Practice collects his best writings. Palmer's work ranges from the theory of justice to multiculturalism, democracy and limited government, and globalization, among many other topics. These essays have appeared in scholarly journals and in such newspapers as the New York Times,Wall Street Journal, and London Spectator. His work is accessible to scholars and thoughtful citizens alike. Palmer has smuggled photocopiers and fax machines into the Soviet Union; organized movements against the draft, taxes, censorship, and victimless crime laws; and ceaselessly promoted freedom in the most hostile locations, from communist Europe and China to Iraq to the halls of academe. Whether writing as a scholar, journalist, or activist, Palmer is never boring and always challenging.

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Is liberty or democracy the primary constitutional value? At a time when Americans are increasingly facing violations of their civil liberties, Timothy Sandefur's insightful new book explains why the Declaration of Independence, with its doctrines on the primacy of liberty, the natural rights of man, and the limits on legitimate government, should serve as the guidepost for understanding the Constitution. The author takes the reader through the ideas of substantive due process and judicial activism and defends them from mainstream criticisms while drawing on examples from literature, television, and Supreme Court cases. The Conscience of the Constitution: The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty argues that modern legal doctrines, which value democracy over liberty, are endangering individual rights and corrupting our civic institutions.

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