Portraits of Liberty

Mustafa Akyol joins Portraits of Liberty to discuss the life and thought of the famous Andalusian polymath Ibn Rushd. Born during what is called the Golden Age of Islam, Ibn Rushd was one of the earliest thinkers in the Middle East to articulate what would later become the core values of liberalism. His influence stretched into the western world, where his translations of Aristotle caused an intellectual renaissance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A lot of people talk about abolishing the state, but can it be done? Often the status quo says no. Founder of the Brehon Law Academy, Kevin Flanagan, disagrees and explains that Ireland was a stateless society for hundreds if not thousands of years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the death of his father and the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Huang Zongxi began to contemplate how things had collapsed. He began to think that governments were the problem. Those in power only served themselves. Huang proposed his solution to the chaos in his book Waiting for the Dawn, where he argued for a government that served the people and protected property. The government's power would be limited and kept in check to prevent tyranny from arising. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Living in the 17th-century, John Lilburne )or as he was more commonly known Freeborn John) was imprisoned at a young age for distributing a banned book. From this point on through the English Civil Wars and the turbulent days of the English republic, Lilburne was a fierce advocate of civil liberties, what he called the rights of freeborn men. He inspired the Leveller movement and colonial governments in America that followed his advice on the importance of free speech and the right to silence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born into the tumultuous final days of the Roman Republic, Cato made a name for himself as an honest, humble, and dedicated politician. Cato fought against the tyranny of Julius Caesar. Though Cato was on the losing side, his character and conduct became legendary, especially amongst the Founding Fathers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bartolomé de las Casas was only a child in 1493 when Christopher Columbus returned from the New World and passed by his hometown of Seville. Seeing the riches up for grabs, Las Casas traveled to the New World and became a wealthy landowner with multiple slaves. But through a series of revelations, Las Casas came to realize the evil of slavery and conquest. He dedicated the rest of his life to becoming one of the earliest advocates of human rights to atone for his past sins. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joined by leading expert Anthony Comenga from the Institute for Humane Studies, in this episode, we discuss the Locofoco movement. Active from 1820-1870, the Locofocos represent a radical version of classical liberalism that attacks corporate privileges and monopolistic laws. Though often forgotten, they are a unique voice in the history of classical liberalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the early 20th-century liberal ideas were in danger of becoming extinct with the rise of extreme ideologies such as fascism and communism in Europe and the massively expanding state of the New Deal era. Perturbed by the ever-increasing government, Isabel Paterson wrote her magnum Opus God of the Machine about how free and creative individuals bring about progress, not the state. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the 17th-century, many young noble girls were forced into nun convents by their fathers. In 1620 Arcangela Tarabotti was forced to stay in a convent until the day she died. Tarabotti dedicated herself to writing against the mistreatment of women and argued against the misogyny of her day. She believed women, like men, possessed free will, the God-given gift of choice. Because of this, no man has the right to dictate how women live. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Discussions of Buddhism typically revolve around lofty topics like reincarnation and the nature of the self. Policy debates about tax rates and international trade seem to be outside of the Buddhist focus. Aaron Ross Powell joins to discuss how the ethical principles of Buddhism apply to the world of politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.