Letter from the Editors
“Representative government and trial by jury are the heart and lungs of liberty. Without them we have no other fortification against being ridden like horses, fleeced like sheep, worked like cattle and fed and clothed like swine and hounds.”
—John Adams
“The natural tendency of representative government, as of modern civilisation, is towards collective mediocrity.”
—John Stuart Mill
Adams and Mill provide two distinct views of the American political institution of representative government. It is our greatest safeguard, or it is our road to ruin. This month’s lead essay by Aeon Skoble examines this institution and considers the ways in which both these observations about it, no matter how wildly different, might be true.
In the same way that representative government can be a protector or a destroyer, depending on who is looking at it, the Declaration of Independence has been our most cherished or most neglected artifact, depending on the year in question. Michael Auslin’s pamphlet project essay this month considers the ways in which the changing reputation of the Declaration changed our decisions about its preservation and display.
We encourage you to explore both essays and consider how different our understanding of institutions and objects can be depending on who, when, and where we are when we encounter them.
This Month's Further Reading and Listening
Once you have read Skoble and Auslin’s essays, consider watching Jeffrey Rosen and Mitch Daniels discuss the Hamilton-Jefferson Debate and its legacies for contemporary political life. We have also selected two podcasts: Rebecca Lowe talks with Juliette Sellgren about shifting conceptions of freedom, rights, and equality, and Yuval Levin joined James Patterson for a conversation about the US constitution and the kind of unity we can expect. Finally, Kevin Gutzman and Arnold Kling offer their reflections about two recent books about the American project.
Podcast
Constitutional Tensions
Countdown to the Declaration
New material every month as we explore the Declaration's past, present, and future.
2
months to go
Political Economy
Economic Wisdom for Tumultuous Times
Why do we find ourselves refighting the same debates between open markets and mercantilism that preoccupied the 18th century?
Education
Educational Experience and the Challenge to Empire
What in the Founders’ education prepared them to be able to craft the Declaration? To what degree did it challenge the ideals of empire?
Liberty and Tyranny
Conditions of Revolution: Sic Sometimes Tyrannis
What sustains liberty? Does the Declaration offer a model for future political resistance to tyrants?
War & Peace
Declaring War—and Loyalty
The Declaration did not just declare American independence, but implicitly declared war on England. What happens to the voices of loyalists in the shadow of the revolution?
Law & Constitutionalism
Constitutional Tourism: Australia’s America
What is the constitutional importance of the Declaration of Independence?
Philosophy and Theology
Men Will Be Men: Religious and Enlightenment Ideas in the Declaration
Shifts in our prevailing philosophies and theologies seem to make the Declaration’s ideals little more than a pleasant fiction. Is the Declaration's ideal of lasting importance for religious and philosophical thinkers?
Find the full list of months, including archived and upcoming themes, on our Countdown page.
We are a private educational foundation that encourages thought and discussion of enduring issues about liberty.
Liberty Fund offers a rich set of educational programs. These include Socratic-style conferences, thought-provoking books, and engaging online resources focused on the understanding and appreciation of the complex nature of a free and responsible society.