Global Freedom Falls Slightly According to New Human Freedom Index

The United States ranks 17th in the fourth annual Human Freedom Index (HFI), the most comprehensive measure of freedom ever created for a large number of countries around the globe. Overall, the report finds global freedom has fallen slightly since 2008. “The Rule of Law continues to be a weak point for the United States, which has relatively low ratings when it comes to such areas as the protection of property rights, the enforcement of contracts, and criminal justice,” said says co-author Ian Vásquez. “The Rule of Law plays a fundamental role in upholding liberty, so anyone who cares about freedom in the United States should be concerned with its evolution.”

The Simon Abundance Index: A New Way to Measure Availability of Resources

Are we running out of resources? That’s been a hotly debated question since 1968, when Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich warned that population growth would result in the exhaustion of resources and a global catastrophe. In a new study, Gale L. Pooley and Marian L. Tupy revisit the main points of contention in the debate regarding availability of resources and their relationship with population growth, and propose a new way of measuring resource availability.

The Inclusive Economy: How to Bring Wealth to America’s Poor

The Inclusive Economy: How to Bring Wealth to America’s Poor, a new book from the Cato Institute, is the culmination of years of research by Michael D. Tanner, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. The book examines the reasons for poverty in America and then offers an innovative, detailed new anti-poverty agenda that includes criminal justice reform, educational freedom, housing deregulation, banking reform, and more inclusive growth—all focused on empowering people, enabling them to take greater control of their lives.

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Recent Commentary

Why Are People Poor?

Michael D. Tanner in National Review (Online)
An anti-poverty agenda built on empowering poor people and allowing them to take greater control of their own lives offers the chance for a new bipartisan consensus that rejects the current paternalism of both Left and Right.

Events

December 14

2018 Cato Institute Surveillance Conference

Featuring Michael Glennon, Tufts University; Susan Hennessy, Brookings Institution & Lawfare; Andrew Ferguson, Clarke Law School, University of the District of Columbia; Heather West, Mozilla; Rachel Levinson-Waldman, Brennan Center; Jennifer Daskal, Washington College of Law, American University; Spencer Ackerman, The Daily Beast; Hannah Quay-de la Vallee, Center for Democracy and Technology.

9:00AM to 5:30PM EST
Hayek Auditorium, Cato Institute

January 15

The Return of Great Power Competition

Featuring David Edelstein, Vice Dean of Faculty in Georgetown College and Associate Professor in the Department of Government, the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, and the Center for Security Studies, Georgetown University; Stacie E. Goddard, Professor of Political Science, Wellesley College; Paul K. MacDonald, Associate Professor, Wellesley College; and Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Boston University; moderated by Christopher Preble, Vice President for Defense and Foreign Policy Studies, Cato Institute.

12:00PM to 1:30PM EST
Hayek Auditorium, Cato Institute

More Events

Of Special Note

Freedom: Art as the Messenger

Freedom: Art as the Messenger

The Cato Institute welcomes artists working in any medium to address the concept of Freedom: Art as the Messenger. We are living in an era where people are finding their combative voice but having little conversation or dialogue. The goal of this inaugural exhibition is to provide a medium for that conversation.

This exhibition invites all investigative points of view in all media; 2-D, 3-D, audio, and video. A full spectrum of interpretation is invited — whether personal, emotional, general, realistic or imagined, communal, or individual — addressing Freedom in all its manifestations through art.

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

Home Study Resources

The Cato Institute offers a wealth of online educational audio and video resources, from self-paced guides on the ideas of liberty and the principles of economics, to exclusive, archived lectures by thinkers such as Milton Friedman and F. A. Hayek. Browse through some highlights of our collections, for personal study or for use in the classroom.

The Jones Act: Charting a New Course after a Century of Failure

For nearly 100 years the Jones Act has restricted the transportation of cargo between two points in the U.S. to ships that are U.S.-built, crewed, owned, and flagged. Meant to bolster the U.S. maritime industry, the Act has instead led to a steady deterioration in the number of ships, sailors, shipyards, and has imposed large economic burdens. This full-day conference examines the Act in greater detail and evaluates options for reform.