Portraits of Liberty

This episode explores the provocative work of Bernard Mandeville, who argued that everything from commerce to civilization itself emerged not from altruism, but from self-interest, vanity, and competition. In his poetic satire and philosophical essays, Mandeville laid the groundwork for understanding society as an evolving system shaped by passions, not perfection.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, remains one of the most principled pacifists in American political history. She was a vocal opponent of US intervention in European affairs in World War I and was the lone vote against US entry into World War II. Rankin endured harsh criticism for her choice for the rest of her political career. Rankin’s lifelong advocacy for women’s suffrage, social reform, and nonviolence cemented her legacy as a politician guided by conscience rather than political expediency. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From his critique of state-controlled education in “Baccalaureate and Socialism,” to his extensive correspondence with free-trade advocate Richard Cobden, to his independent political career in a tumultuous France, Bastiat’s insights are still applicable today. In this episode, we explore his lesser-known works and his reflections on freedom, self-ownership, and the dangers of state intervention. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born in 1851, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk distinguished himself as an economist, writing on theories of capital and interest. His work, Karl Marx and the Close of His System, remains one of the most thorough rebuttals of the labor theory of value. But beyond his work as an economist, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk put theory into practice as a statesman arguing against the rapid fiscal expansion of the Austrian state. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following World War II, Germany's economy was in ruins and was made even worse by ongoing price controls implemented by the state. Ludwig Erhard, an economist from a humble background, immediately abolished all price controls when elected director of economics in occupied Germany. The result is what economists and historians call an economic miracle, but what Erhard himself believed was the natural result of an economy freed from bureaucracy and state intervention. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born into poverty and indentured servitude, Lemuel Haynes became the most prominent black preacher of 18th-century America. He combined his experiences as a soldier of the American Revolution and a devout Calvinist to expound the philosophical principles of liberty. From the pulpit, he condemned slavery and upheld the principles of the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite its reputation as a dark age, the Medieval period was not devoid of intellectual substance. An example of this is William of Pagula, a 14th-century English priest and scholar who wrote The Mirror of King Edward III, a political treatise condemning the king's practice of purveyance and excessive taxation. Using a mixture of Biblical and Classical authorities, William made the moral case against interfering with property rights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.