This spring we will be rolling out several exciting initiatives. Check back to the site often and sign up for our monthly newsletter to get up-to-date information on policy, events, opportunities and more! We hope you will discover CatoOnCampus.org to be a key platform for your academic and personal research interests. If you want to contact us with requests or suggestions, please do! CatoOnCampus@cato.org
In an April 3rd speech, President Obama called the Republican's vision for the future "social Darwinism." Cato's David Boaz responds by documenting the meaning of the term and explaining that such a title is "a more abusive term than 'socialist,'" which the president complains is uncivil when his critics employ it. Boaz adds that the smear relies on the view that Republicans support drastically smaller government, which just isn't true.
Mao Yushi, an 83-year-old economist, is a well-known advocate for an open and transparent political system and is one of the pioneers of the movement in China for civil society and freedom. Before economic reform began in China in 1978, he had been an engineer and during his lifetime has faced severe punishment, exile, and near starvation for remarks critical of a command-based economy and society. In 1993 he stared a completely independent think tank, the Unirule Institute of Economics, which is committed to the growth of a market economy and to reforming Chinese government policies. Read more about Mao's life and accomplishments here.
Every two years the Cato Institute's Friedman Prize Selection Committee reviews nominations and selects an individual who has made a significant contribution to advance human freedom. Attend this year's Friedman Prize Award Dinner in Washington, D.C.; details here.
The midway point of the school year is an excellent time to make plans for the perfect summer internship that will tie your studies to your experience. An internship will make you a more marketable job candidate and allow a test run in honing in on your dream job. To aid that process, Cato On Campus has compiled a list of some of the most lauded liberty-advancing internship programs. Make the most of your education and take the next step in your career.
The drug war has grown into an important policy issue facing Americans. Expanded efforts to curtail drug use and the drug trade have been met with an expansion of drug use, crime, incarcerations, and international violence. On November 15th, the Cato Institute hosted a day-long conference to address the topic of ending the drug war. Several former heads of state, respected political leaders, and other experts filled the panels. Below is an intro video with former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and former President of Mexico Vicente Fox. Check out the full set of panels here.
In the most recent entry in our Ask the Expert column, Cato energy and environmental policy expert Jerry Taylor addresses the issue of how U.S. military involvement in the middle east impacts oil prices. Taylor explains that U.S. military presence -- while conventionally would appear to add security and therefore lessen industry risk, leading to lower prices -- acts more as a substitute for what would take place without it than as a uniquely stabilizing force.
National University in La Jolla, CA is offering a limited number of scholarships that cover the full expenses of tuition and application fees for several online courses in Free-Market Economics and the Philosophical Foundations of Capitalism. This program provides students the opportunity to explore the ideas of liberty in a strong academic setting with limited barriers to entry. Check it out today!
Students For Liberty and the Atlas Network have just released a video interview with Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in conjunction with their new Morality of Capitalism project. Check out the video, and order your free books here: The Morality of Capitalism: What Your Professors Won't Tell You.
McDonald's has recently announced major voluntary changes to one of its staple items: Happy Meals. On the flip side, Campbell's is putting salt back into its soups, based on customer feedback. Cato senior fellow Walter Olson explains the correlation between these two changes: "In a sense, both these stories illustrate a basic process of capitalism at work: Businesses are always experimenting with their offerings in hopes of staying current with consumer trends." Contributing to the health of their customers is a driving force in a business, and they have the incentive to make the right decision even without government intervention. Unfortunately, government meddlers continue to intervene in regulating food items based on so-called scientific results that are far less than definitive.
It could be argued that less terrorists abroad equals more terrorizing of citizens at home. Cato Institute scholar Gene Healy notes this interesting point when he explains that while an ever more decentralized al Quaeda is forced to embrace a change of tactics (to include a proposal to attach swords to farm tractors), the U.S. government is amping up efforts that intrude in people's personal lives in the name of security. Healy seconds Spencer Ackerman’s question, "Why does the U.S. still need to devote such overwhelming resources worldwide against a force that's seeing history pass it by?" He concludes that thought with a question of his own, "As the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks (has passed), isn't it time we started thinking about a 'peace dividend'?"
The protracted attempt by comedian Stephen Colbert to engage the political process directly highlights the importance of speech free of baseless government restrictions. John Samples, director of the Cato Institute's Center for Representative Government, discusses the Colbert SuperPAC's meaning for campaign freedom past, present and future.
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