Japan’s Security Evolution

Since World War II, Japan has relied upon the U.S.-Japan alliance for its national security.  In recent years, Japan has passed landmark reforms of its national security laws, and has accepted a larger role within the alliance, leading some to declare that Japan is abandoning the pacifist principles.  In a new paper, Dartmouth College professor Jennifer Lind argues that greater Japanese military activism is not surprising, nor is it a break from Japan’s postwar policy.

Unintended Consequences of Government Intervention

When policy starts with a respect for individual freedom and private property rights, and recognizes the limits of government action, then policymakers are apt to enhance markets and foster productivity. But big government and the regulatory/welfare state undermine individual responsibility, encourage rent seeking, and slow economic growth. A new, special issue of the Cato Journal considers the unintended consequences of government intervention by examining a number of public policies ranging from occupational licensing to the War on Poverty to the minimum wage and public education.

The Real Reason Apple Is Fighting the FBI

The first thing to understand about Apple’s latest fight with the FBI—over a court order to help unlock the deceased San Bernardino shooter’s phone—is that it has very little to do with the San Bernardino shooter’s phone. It’s not even, really, the latest round of the Crypto Wars—the long running debate about how law enforcement and intelligence agencies can adapt to the growing ubiquity of uncrackable encryption tools. Says Cato scholar Julian Sanchez, “It’s a fight over the future of high-tech surveillance, the trust infrastructure undergirding the global software ecosystem, and how far technology companies and software developers can be conscripted as unwilling suppliers of hacking tools for governments.”

Reforming Air Traffic Control

In recent decades, many nations have partly or fully separated their air traffic control (ATC) systems from their governments. In 1996 Canada moved its ATC to a private nonprofit corporation, Nav Canada. That reform is the model for an FAA restructuring bill that just passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. In a new bulletin, Cato scholar Chris Edwards argues that air traffic control reform is long overdue. “Moving ATC operations out of the government,” says Edwards, “would improve efficiency and spur innovation.”

Recent Commentary

The EU Will Likely Implode

John Gillingham and Marian L. Tupy in National Interest (Online)
But there is no compelling reason to conclude that the eclipse of the EU entails the decline of Europe. The contrary may well prove to be the case.

Events

March 2

Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel

Featuring the author Tom Wainwright, Britain Editor and Former Mexico City Bureau Chief, The Economist; with comments by Moisés Naím, Distinguished Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; moderated by Juan Carlos Hidalgo, Policy Analyst on Latin America, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute.

12:00PM to 1:30PM
 Hayek Auditorium

March 4

School Choice Regulation: Friend or Foe?

Featuring Patrick J. Wolf, Professor and 21st Century Chair in School Choice, University of Arkansas; Douglas N. Harris, Director, Education Research Alliance for New Orleans; University Endowed Chair in Public Education, Tulane University; Michael J. Petrilli, President, Thomas B. Fordham Institute; and Jason Bedrick, Policy Analyst, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute; moderated by Neal McCluskey, Director, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute.

12:00PM to 1:30PM
 Hayek Auditorium

More Events

Of Special Note

Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st Century America

Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st Century America

Ten years after the Supreme Court’s infamous eminent domain decision, Kelo v. New London, Timothy and Christina Sanderfur’s Cornerstone of Liberty examines how dozens of new developments in courtrooms and legislatures across the country have shifted the landscape of private property rights since 2005. Through a combination of real-life stories and solid legal analysis, the authors explain how key issues like eminent domain, civil asset forfeiture, and environmental protection regulations have evolved and how they should be reformed.

Purchase your copy today

Special! 10 Copies for $10

Cato Pocket Constitution

To encourage people everywhere to better understand and appreciate the principles of government that are set forth in America’s founding documents, the Cato Institute published this pocket-size edition.

Now Available

The Libertarian Mind Audiobook

The Libertarian Mind, by David Boaz, longtime executive vice president of the Cato Institute, is the best available guide to the history, ideas, and growth of libertarianism, and is the ultimate resource for the current, burgeoning libertarian movement. This acclaimed book is now available as a fully unabridged audiobook, ready for immediate downloading, on Audible.com.

Lukewarming

The 2016 Friedman Prize: Register Now to Attend

The Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty, named in honor of perhaps the greatest champion of liberty in the 20th century, is presented every other year to an individual who has made a significant contribution to advance human freedom. Registrations are now being accepted for the 2016 Biennial Dinner, which will be held on May 25, 2016 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton will be delivering the keynote address.