# Cato Quarterly --- ### Events ![Free Society - The Harm-Reduction Promise of GLP-1s cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-03/Free%20Society%20-%20Harm%20Reduction%20of%20GLP1s%20Cropped.jpg?itok=99w7NFBB) ### [The Harm-Reduction Promise of GLP-1s](https://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/harm-reduction-promise-glp-1s) GLP‑1 drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic) are known for fighting weight gain, but they may also reduce cravings for addictive drugs such as opioids or cocaine. The Food and Drug Administration inflates GLP‑1 costs and causes gray markets. Dr. Jeffrey A. Singer (far left), senior fellow at the Cato Institute, surveyed the latest research with Nicholas Reville (middle left), cofounder of the Center for Addiction Science, Policy, and Research; Sally Satel, MD (middle right), medical director at MedMark Treatment Center; and Michael F. Cannon (far right), director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute. ![Free Society - Understanding AI cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-03/Free%20Society%20-%20Understanding%20AI%20Cropped.jpg?itok=G9AiJb9I) ### [Understanding AI and AI Policy in 2024 and Beyond](https://www.cato.org/events/understanding-ai-ai-policy-2024-beyond) Artificial intelligence (AI) is already transforming fields like health care, disaster response, and logistics, but a heavy-handed regulatory approach could stifle innovation and hinder AI’s development. Jennifer Huddleston (left), senior fellow at the Cato Institute, was joined by Rep. Jay Obernolte (R‑CA, right), cochair of the House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, for a discussion about the future of AI and how policymakers should approach regulation moving forward. ![Free Society - Executive Orders That the Trump Administration Should Revoke or Amend](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-03/Free%20Society%20-%20Executive%20Orders%20That%20the%20Trump%20Administration%20Should%20Revoke%20or%20Amend%20Cropped.jpg?itok=_-INbd3n) ### [Executive Orders That the Trump Administration Should Revoke or Amend](https://www.cato.org/events/executive-orders-trump-administration-should-revoke-or-amend) Cato experts across five policy areas joined forces to highlight which executive orders the Trump administration should revoke or amend and to encourage Congress and the courts to rein in presidents’ excessive use of this power. From left to right: Travis Fisher, director of energy and environmental policy studies; Michael F. Cannon, director of health policy studies; Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies and editor of the *Cato Handbook on Executive Orders and Presidential Directives*; Eric Gomez, former senior fellow in defense and foreign policy studies; and Chris Edwards, Kilts Family Chair in Fiscal Studies. ![Free Speech - 2025 College Free Speech Rankings cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-03/Free%20Society%20-%202025%20College%20Free%20Speech%20Rankings%20Cropped.jpg?itok=DvMBKFFS) ### [2025 College Free Speech Rankings](https://www.cato.org/events/2025-college-free-speech-rankings) The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) scores universities in its annual College Free Speech Rankings by assessing administrative policies, student activism, faculty perspectives on free speech, and more. Erec Smith (far left), research fellow at the Cato Institute and cofounder of the website Free Black Thought, hosted three experts from FIRE to explain their 2025 rankings. From left: Angela C. Erickson, vice president of research; Laura Beltz, director of policy reform; and Sean Stevens, chief research adviser. ![Free Society - The Role of Islam in Middle Eastern Statecraft](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-03/Free%20Society%20-%20The%20Role%20of%20Islam%20in%20Middle%20Eastern%20Statecraft.jpg?itok=DUNq0nP8) ### [The Role of Islam in Middle Eastern Statecraft](https://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/islam-statecraft-religious-soft-power-arab-gulf-states) Jon Hoffman (center), a research fellow at the Cato Institute, offers fresh insight into the geopolitics of religion in the Middle East with his new book, *Islam and Statecraft: Religious Soft Power in the Arab Gulf States*. Along with Mustafa Akyol (right), Cato senior fellow, and Annelle Sheline (left), research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, they explored how ruling elites in the region preserve their regimes and project power. ### Publications ![Libertarian Mind cover 16x9](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-02/Libertarian%20Mind_16x9.jpg?itok=J04R5OJ8) ### [The Libertarian Mind](https://www.cato.org/books/libertarian-mind-2025) In his final interview with *Free Society*, David Boaz called *The Libertarian Mind* his “crowning accomplishment.” This revised edition encapsulates his commitment to civic life and to deliberation among free citizens of free countries. David finished the revisions to this book shortly before he passed away. **“I’m so pleased, as he would be, that this book is now available, with updated data and new and very relevant connections to the current setting.…** ***The Libertarian Mind*** **offers a clear vision of liberty when it is so desperately needed.”** **—Tom G. Palmer**, senior fellow at the Cato Institute and close friend of the late David Boaz ![David Boaz - Libertarian Mind](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2025-03/boaz.png?itok=LFb7lHhM) David Boaz, former executive vice president and distinguished senior fellow of the Cato Institute ![Your Body, Your Healthcare 16x9](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-01/Your%20Body%20Your%20Healthcare%20Social.jpg?itok=RQyM0WUs) ### [Your Body, Your Health Care](https://www.cato.org/books/body-health-care) Through thoughtful analysis of issues such as prescription requirements, the right to self-medicate, access to harm-reduction techniques, and licensing laws, Dr. Jeffrey A. Singer proposes a road map for reforming health care policy that prioritizes individual rights. **“Ultimately, Dr. Singer’s book provides a stark reminder that patient autonomy is still a vital ethical principle worth keeping.”** **—Jay Bhattacharya**, MD, PhD, professor of health policy, Stanford University **“Whether or not the reader agrees with everything that Dr. Singer writes about the regulatory state, they will be challenged to think differently and/​or to defend to themselves why they disagree. If the reader is a policymaker, they may be taking notes as to legislation to propose.”** **—Sen. Bill Cassidy (R‑LA)**, MD ![Triumph of Fear_16x9](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-02/Triumph%20of%20Fear_16x9.jpg?itok=RHXzwsA1) ### [The Triumph of Fear: Domestic Surveillance and Political Repression from McKinley to Eisenhower](https://www.amazon.com/Triumph-Fear-Surveillance-Repression-Eisenhower/dp/1647125448?tag=catoinstitute-20) Drawing on declassified government documents (many obtained via Freedom of Information Act lawsuits and analyzed for the first time), Patrick G. Eddington, Cato senior fellow in homeland security and civil liberties, offers surprising new revelations about how domestic spying helped fuel federal assaults on free speech and association. **“From prosecution of Americans making ‘disloyal utterances’ in the Wilson era … to the FBI’s early persecution of Martin Luther King Jr., Eddington explains how the surveillance state grew and why it lives on today.”** **—Bob Goodlatte**, former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and senior policy adviser to the Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability ![Modern_Libertarianism_16x9](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-02/Modern%20Libertarianism_16x9_Cover.jpg?itok=7r187Q7s) ### [Modern Libertarianism: A Brief History of Classical Liberalism in the United States](https://www.libertarianism.org/books/modern-libertarianism) Brian Doherty’s concise introduction is superb for the newcomer yet rich and varied enough for others interested in the tradition; it is a tribute to those who advocated the cause of individual liberty in America in the 20th century. **“Idiosyncratic personalities and eccentric ideas come alive in this book. Both fans and critics of libertarianism will walk away from it entertained and edified.”** **—Matt Zwolinski**, coauthor of *The Individualists: Radicals, Reactionaries, and the Struggle for the Soul of Libertarianism* ### Featured Cato Studies ![Congress and Spending](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-11/congress-money%20Cropped.jpg?itok=LLNSaF8C) ### [A Fiscal Agenda for the 119th Congress](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/fiscal-agenda-119th-congress) Romina Boccia, director of budget and entitlement policy, and Dominik Lett, research associate, lay out the following fiscal priorities in one of their latest studies: establish clear, enforceable fiscal targets; reform entitlement programs, possibly by establishing an independent fiscal commission; pursue pro-growth, deficit-neutral tax reform; reinstate and strengthen discretionary spending caps; and allow temporary health care subsidies to expire. The 2025 fiscal cliff is an opportunity to improve the nation’s economic trajectory by tackling these issues together. Without proper action, the national debt is projected to exceed 106 percent of gross domestic product by 2027—its highest level ever, a risk we cannot take. ![Human Freedom Index 2024 - Social](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-12/human-freedom-index-2024-cover%20Cropped.jpg?itok=-uhUd8je) ### [Human Freedom Index 2024](https://www.cato.org/human-freedom-index/2024) The United States jumped four spots to 17th in the global freedom rankings in this latest annual report, copublished by the Cato Institute and the Fraser Institute. According to 2022 data (the latest available) for 86 indicators of personal, civil, and economic freedoms, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Denmark were the three freest nations. Overall, human freedom increased slightly in 2022 but remains well below its pre-pandemic levels. The report finds a strong positive relationship between human freedom and per capita income, democracy, tolerance, charitable giving, life expectancy, and environmental health. March 4, 2025 ##### [Corporate Welfare in the Federal Budget](/policy-analysis/corporate-welfare-federal-budget-0) By [Chris Edwards](https://www.cato.org/people/chris-edwards) February 18, 2025 ##### [Immigrant and Native Consumption of Means-Tested Welfare and Entitlement Benefits in 2022](/briefing-paper/immigrant-native-consumption-means-tested-welfare-entitlement-benefits-2022) By [Alex Nowrasteh](https://www.cato.org/people/alex-nowrasteh) and [Jerome Famularo](https://www.cato.org/people/jerome-famularo) February 12, 2025 ##### [Congress Can’t Outgrow or Inflate Away the Social Security Financing Problem](/policy-analysis/congress-cant-outgrow-or-inflate-away-social-security-financing-problem) By [Romina Boccia](https://www.cato.org/people/romina-boccia) and [Dominik Lett](https://www.cato.org/people/dominik-lett) January 30, 2025 ##### [Subsidizing Transport](/policy-analysis/subsidizing-transport-how-much-do-taxpayers-pay-rail-road-air-travel) By [Marc Joffe](https://www.cato.org/people/marc-joffe) and [Krit Chanwong](https://www.cato.org/people/krit-chanwong) January 21, 2025 ##### [Ending Federal Student Loans: There Is a Small Window of Opportunity to Get the Government out of Student Lending](/briefing-paper/ending-federal-student-loans) By [Andrew Gillen](https://www.cato.org/people/andrew-gillen) January 14, 2025 ##### [A Comprehensive Evaluation of Policy Rate Feedback Rules](/policy-analysis/comprehensive-evaluation-policy-rate-feedback-rules) By [Jai Kedia](https://www.cato.org/people/jai-kedia) and [Norbert J. Michel](https://www.cato.org/people/norbert-michel) January 1, 2025 ##### [Fair Access to Banking](/working-paper/fair-access-banking) By [Nicholas Anthony](https://www.cato.org/people/nicholas-anthony) December 11, 2024 ##### [Cato Institute Report to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)](/white-paper/cato-institute-report-department-government-efficiency-doge) By [Alex Nowrasteh](https://www.cato.org/people/alex-nowrasteh) and [Ryan Bourne](https://www.cato.org/people/ryan-bourne) December 10, 2024 ##### [Licensing Would Reduce Access to Lactation Support Services](/briefing-paper/licensing-would-reduce-access-lactation-support-services) By [Jeffrey A. Singer](https://www.cato.org/people/jeffrey-singer) and Sofia Hamilton November 14, 2024 ##### [Trends in Higher Education: State Funding and Tuition Revenue at Public Colleges from 1980 to 2023](/briefing-paper/trends-higher-education-state-funding-tuition-revenue-public-colleges-1980-2023) By [Andrew Gillen](https://www.cato.org/people/andrew-gillen) November 13, 2024 ##### [Manhattan Institute’s “Lifetime Fiscal Impact of Immigrants” Report Shows Upside to Immigration](/working-paper/manhattan-institutes-lifetime-fiscal-impact-immigrants-report-shows-upside) By [David J. Bier](https://www.cato.org/people/david-bier) November 13, 2024 ##### [The Social Security Trust Fund Myth](/policy-analysis/social-security-trust-fund-myth) By [Romina Boccia](https://www.cato.org/people/romina-boccia) [![Milton Friedman - Promo Block - Free Society](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/promo_block/public/2025-03/Friedman_2.jpg?itok=72u1GbHB)](https://www.cato.org/friedman-prize-2025) ##### Featured Event ### [The Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty](https://www.cato.org/friedman-prize-2025) The Milton Friedman Prize Dinner will be held on **Thursday, May 1, 2025**. We hope you will join us to honor Milton Friedman’s legacy and recognize our Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty recipient. [Register to Attend](/friedman-prize-2025) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).