If you have been to any of our Czech team’s events in the past few months, you are already well familiar with Úvod do rakouské ekonomie – the group’s translation of professor Steven Horwitz’s book Austrian Economics: An Introduction, originally published by the Cato Institute. The Czech edition came out in May 2023, after the team secured funding for the translation and print of the book all on their own, and organised a launch conference with addresses by renowned Czech economists. Since then, the team has been distributing the book at their events, and donated copies to libraries around the ..read more

We want to take a moment to acknowledge the gradual but noteworthy progress of Students For Liberty Montenegro. In just under a year, this team has evolved from its humble beginnings into a commendable force within the Montenegrin landscape.  The journey began with the team laying its foundation and quickly adapting to the responsibilities at hand. Instead of dwelling solely on theoretical discussions, they focused on practical initiatives. Regular events became a staple, providing a platform for individuals interested in liberty to convene and discuss their principles. SFL Montenegro als ..read more

Over two years into Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, Europe finds itself grappling with profound geopolitical shifts. Indeed, the consequences of Putin’s aggression are reverberating beyond the confines of the conflict zone. When we consider the present situation in the context of Putin’s original purposes for the invasion — fear of NATO expansion and fighting back against the erosion of Russia’s traditional “sphere of influence” — it is clear that the newly “reelected” dictator’s aggression has backfired massively. While the expansion of NATO to include Finland and Sweden is a piv ..read more

“Individuals have rights, and there are things no person or group may do to them (without violating their rights). So strong and far-reaching are these rights that they raise the question of what, if anything, the state and its officials may do. How much room do individual rights leave for the state?”¹ In his book Anarchy, State and Utopia, Robert Nozick asks “If the state did not exist would it be necessary to invent it? Would one be needed, and would it have to be invented?”² His primary concern is defending individual rights while refuting the anarchist view that states are intrinsically im ..read more

Students for Liberty Madrid celebrated Women’s Week with a series of impactful events aimed at highlighting the contributions and perspectives of women in the realm of liberty advocacy, as well as the many ways in which fundamental rights of women still continue to be violated around the world. On March 2, despite adverse weather conditions including a hailstorm, SFL Madrid joined forces with our partners from FUNDALIB and LOLA to stage a demonstration outside the Iranian Embassy under the banner of #LifeWomenFreedom. This event served as a powerful reminder of the importance of defending wome ..read more

On February 7th, 2024, due to their previous work on tobacco and vaping legislation, our team in Edinburgh was invited by the Director of Forest, Simon Clark, to attend a forum in the House of Commons, addressing the UK’s proposed “generational ban” on cigarettes and the potential prohibition of disposable vapes. Four of our volunteers were in attendance: Joshua Cheshire, Dominik Paulus, Jack Hare and Marc-Antoine Revero-Seguin. The government’s proposal was similar to the policy once adopted (but soon after repealed) in New Zealand, and it focused on preventing underage citizens born after a ..read more

We should aim for harmlessness. No matter what else we set ourselves to throughout our lives, and no matter what other values and principles we might hold to, unpinning and informing it all must be a commitment to refrain from causing harm. Sometimes harm is unavoidable, of course. We can find ourselves in tragic situations where we have no choice but to inflict suffering, if only as an alternative to inflicting greater suffering through a different course of action. The world isn’t perfect and it isn’t fair. But our intent should be harmlessness, nonetheless. And this intent, if we take it se ..read more

The 2000 hit single ‘It Wasn’t Me’ by Jamaican-American recording artist Shaggy famously features a fearful protagonist, who has been caught in an act of infidelity by his significant other, receiving some rather unhelpful advice from an overly-confident confidant. “I don’t know what to do,” laments the shamefaced lothario in the song’s opening dialogue. His friend (the aforementioned Shaggy) has a simple solution: “Say it wasn’t you.” Part of the song’s popularity at the turn of the century might be owed to the absurdity of the story. Throughout the course of the song, the listener discovers ..read more

Ivette Cano was honored with the prestigious Students For Liberty Alumnus of the Year 2023 award at LibertyCon International in Washington, D.C. Her outstanding work, leadership, and contributions towards advancing the ideas of liberty were acknowledged. Ivette Cano is the Chief Executive Officer of Adrianople Group, a business intelligence firm specializing in Special Economic Zones. Adrianople Group has curated the largest-ever dataset on SEZs. This dataset is now utilized by UNIDO, the U.S. Air Force, leading universities, international banks, and global management consulting firms. She pre ..read more

Adam Smith, perhaps much to the surprise of his detractors, is quite concerned about inequality. In fact, Smith champions free markets and opposes the sundry schemes of the tyrannical men of the system in large part because the former reduces material inequality whereas the latter exacerbates it. Detractors of Smith conspicuously ignore the attention he pays to concerns of distributive justice, i.e., disparities of wealth and income, while myopically emphasizing his commitment to commutative justice, i.e., property rights. Adam Smith opposes the Physiocrats and the proponents of the mercantile ..read more