In Chapter 11 of The Constitution of Liberty, Friedrich Hayek offers a sweeping genealogy of liberty, locating its true birth in the constitutional evolution of seventeenth-century England. “Individual liberty in modern times,” he writes, “can hardly be traced back farther than the England of the seventeenth century.” This claim has shaped generations of classical liberals and libertarians who have looked to the Glorious Revolution, common law, and Parliament as the fountainhead of modern freedom.

We can feel the winds of warmongering blowing through Europe as the continent raises the specter of war with Russia. Recently, the European Commission unveiled a series of measures to strengthen the defense of EU member states, most notably through the ReArm Europe plan. The plan—which was endorsed by the Extraordinary European Council on March 6, 2025—aims to mobilize €800 billion for the EU’s defense capabilities. It includes a redirection of public funds, but not only: it also includes the use of public savings.

We often read of a variety of schemes put forward by pundits and politicians as a good way to pay down the national debt, even while ignoring the fact the federal government continues to rack up trillions more in debt every year.

Most contemporary political philosophers, unfortunately, are not libertarians. Nicholas Wolterstorff—best known as a founder of “reformed epistemology” but a philosopher of extraordinary range—is no libertarian either—far from it. In Understanding Liberal Democracy (Oxford, 2012) though, he assails a vastly influential school of thought in a way that libertarians will find useful.

It is not uncommon to hear people make the one-sided case for a minimum wage policy by arguing that a minimum wage ought to be implemented so that people get paid more. To be fair, there is some truth in their argument—a higher minimum wage would mean higher nominal wages for the people paid minimum wage after the policy is implemented.

The U.S. gov has approved $17.9 bln for Israeli military operations in Gaza and elsewhere since Oct 7, substantially more than in any other year since the U.S. began granting military aid to Israel in 1959.

ECB cuts rates on weak growth, markets bet on more easing: The Fed is addicted to easy money, but the European central bank is even more addicted. 

I recently stayed in an incredible house—a high-ceiling, high-quality, high-tech, mansion-type property that isn’t even in my wildest dreams to ever own. No matter how well I do in my working life—plus my parents’ inheritance on the sad day they die, plus bitcoin doing its things in rearranging the monetary premia of the world—I’ll never land in this astonishing villa.

Listed and linked below are the readings that all students must complete before attending RGS. 

All materials are available on Mises.org free of charge, and most readings are available in multiple formats (e.g., PDF, ePub, HTML, audio). Complimentary physical copies of the readings will be available to attendees upon arrival at RGS. Physical copies can be mailed in advance to U.S. addresses upon request by emailing felicia@mises.org.