Nature & Nurture #164: Dr. Matt Zwolinski - The History of Libertarianism

Nature & Nurture #164: Dr. Matt Zwolinski - The History of Libertarianism

From The Nature & Nurture Podcast by Adam Omary

March 10, 2026 · 1h 3m · Episode 164

About this episode

Dr. Matt Zwolinski discusses the intellectual history of libertarianism and its core values.

Dr. Matt Zwolinski is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of San Diego specializing in Political Philosophy and Applied Ethics. He is the director of USD’s Center for Ethics, Economics, and Public Policy, and co-author, together with John Tomasi, of The Individualists: Radicals, Reactionaries, and the Struggle for the Soul of Libertarianism. In this episode we discuss the intellectual history of libertarianism as it relates to human progress exploring six core values of libertarianism and related philosophies as discussed in The Individualists: private property, skepticism of authority, free markets, individualism, spontaneous order, and individual liberty.

People in this episode

Host: Adam Omary

Guest: Dr. Matt Zwolinski

Topics covered

  • libertarianism
  • political philosophy
  • applied ethics
  • human progress
  • core values of libertarianism
  • individual liberty

Keywords

  • libertarianism
  • political philosophy
  • applied ethics
  • individualism
  • free markets
  • private property
  • skepticism of authority
  • spontaneous order
  • individual liberty

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of San Diego

Books & works: The Individualists: Radicals, Reactionaries, and the Struggle for the Soul of Libertarianism

More episodes of The Nature & Nurture Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Nature & Nurture Podcast podcast page.