# [ ](/free-society) Winter 2026 ![Hand Holding Eagle](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_3x/public/2026-01/hand%20holding%20eagle.jpg?itok=nbjYfmbO) Creating free, open, and civil societies founded on libertarian principles. ### [Cato in the News](https://www.cato.org/free-society/winter-2026/news-winter-2026) Noteworthy op-eds, TV appearances, and media highlights. ### [Cato Quarterly](https://www.cato.org/free-society/winter-2026/cato-quarterly) Events, publications, and studies. ![](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/2024-03/peter-goettler-portrait.png?itok=5uvrGnxs) ## [ A Letter from the President, Peter Goettler ](/free-society/winter-2026/letter-president-peter-goettler) The architecture of government bequeathed to us by the Founders has long since been bent well beyond its initial shape. [Read the Letter](/free-society/winter-2026/letter-president-peter-goettler) #### Features [![THE Conspicuous Fist OF TRUMP’S STATE CORPORATISM - List Image](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2026-02/fs-1.png?itok=-b1IQJIf)](https://www.cato.org/free-society/winter-2026/conspicuous-fist-trumps-state-corporatism) Free Society ### [The Conspicuous Fist of Trump’s State Corporatism](/free-society/winter-2026/conspicuous-fist-trumps-state-corporatism) By [Scott Lincicome](https://www.cato.org/people/scott-lincicome) From steel and semiconductors to defense and mining, the federal government is increasingly intertwined with private firms. This new era of “state corporatism” threatens the market-driven dynamism and innovation that have long underpinned American prosperity. [![From Writs to Wires - Free Society Winter 2026](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2026-02/Screenshot%202026-02-12%20at%205.49.32%E2%80%AFPM.png?itok=GshyOjKK)](https://www.cato.org/free-society/winter-2026/writs-wires-surveillance-states-long-war-privacy) Free Society ### [From Writs to Wires: The Surveillance State’s Long War on Privacy](/free-society/winter-2026/writs-wires-surveillance-states-long-war-privacy) By [Patrick G. Eddington](https://www.cato.org/people/patrick-g-eddington), [Nicholas Anthony](https://www.cato.org/people/nicholas-anthony), [Jeffrey A. Singer](https://www.cato.org/people/jeffrey-singer), & [Jennifer Huddleston](https://www.cato.org/people/jennifer-huddleston) The evolution of surveillance technologies and techniques is creating new points of vulnerability from a constitutional rights standpoint. [![Pamphlet Read Round the World - List Image](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2026-02/fs-3.png?itok=MW8Tn6Fy)](https://www.cato.org/free-society/winter-2026/pamphlet-read-round-world-250th-anniversary-thomas-paines-common-sense) Free Society ### [The Pamphlet Read Round the World: The 250th Anniversary of Thomas Paine’s *Common Sense*](/free-society/winter-2026/pamphlet-read-round-world-250th-anniversary-thomas-paines-common-sense) By [Paul Meany](https://www.cato.org/people/paul-meany) First published on January 10, 1776, Thomas Paine’s *Common Sense* pushed hesitant colonists toward independence, and its messaged echoed around the world for the next two centuries. #### In This Issue [![machado](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-10/Machado%20picture%20.jpg?itok=pzxpneqm)](https://www.cato.org/free-society/winter-2026/maria-corina-machados-promise-venezuelan-freedom) Free Society ### [María Corina Machado’s Promise of Venezuelan Freedom](/free-society/winter-2026/maria-corina-machados-promise-venezuelan-freedom) By [Ian Vásquez](https://www.cato.org/people/ian-vasquez) In this special preview for the Winter 2026 issue of *Free Society*, Cato’s Ian Vásquez details how María Corina Machado exposed the Chavista regime’s massive electoral fraud and unified Venezuela’s opposition. Her movement now represents the country’s best hope for freedom. [![Whole Foods Cofounder John Mackey - Free Society - List Image](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2026-02/fs-4.png?itok=5ikijc_P)](https://www.cato.org/free-society/winter-2026/whole-foods-cofounder-john-mackey-win-win-mentality-lifted-humanity-out) Free Society ### [Whole Foods Cofounder John Mackey on the Win-Win Mentality That Lifted Humanity Out of the Dirt](/free-society/winter-2026/whole-foods-cofounder-john-mackey-win-win-mentality-lifted-humanity-out) By [Ryan Bourne](https://www.cato.org/people/ryan-bourne) In this wide-ranging Q&A, Whole Foods cofounder John Mackey details the win-win mentality that powers free markets; dismantles the fantasy of efficiently run government-owned grocery stores; explains why innovation always outruns monopolies; and reflects on the nascent Make America Healthy Again movement. [![Sphere - Free Society Winter 2026](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2026-02/fs-5.png?itok=wJ-xmgus)](https://www.cato.org/free-society/winter-2026/catos-sphere-education-initiatives-igniting-curiosity-civil-discourse) Free Society ### [Cato’s Sphere Education Initiatives: Igniting Curiosity and Civil Discourse in the Classroom](/free-society/winter-2026/catos-sphere-education-initiatives-igniting-curiosity-civil-discourse) By [Josh Hardman](https://www.cato.org/people/josh-hardman) Teachers from Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Colorado, all in the Sphere network, spoke to *Free Society* about the challenges of teaching in 2026 and how they are promoting civic culture. [![Bud - List Image](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2026-02/Screenshot%202026-02-19%20at%2012.33.24%E2%80%AFPM.png?itok=rxMq-6Gx)](https://www.cato.org/free-society/winter-2026/martin-bud-matterns-legacy-independent-thought) Free Society ### [Martin “Bud” Mattern’s Legacy of Independent Thought](/free-society/winter-2026/martin-bud-matterns-legacy-independent-thought) By Josh Ferencik When Martin “Bud” Mattern left nearly $1 million to the Cato Institute in his estate plans, he was securing a future for the principles and ideas that guided his own life. [![Tupy - Last Word List Image](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2026-02/Screenshot%202026-02-19%20at%2011.50.33%E2%80%AFAM.png?itok=Mo0gdyY1)](https://www.cato.org/free-society/winter-2026/last-word-cure-everything-sucks-epidemic) Free Society ### [Last Word: A Cure for the “Everything Sucks” Epidemic](/free-society/winter-2026/last-word-cure-everything-sucks-epidemic) By [Marian L. Tupy](https://www.cato.org/people/marian-l-tupy) Let us not be disheartened. America has seen much darker days in the past, and the country’s capacity for course correction and regeneration is unparalleled. ### Never miss a beat. [ ](/free-society) Sign up for our email newsletter now to get the latest digital *Free Society* issues delivered straight to your inbox. [text](#) “ All civil virtue and happiness, every moral excellency, all politeness, all good arts and sciences, are produced by liberty. ” Cato’s Letter, no. 63 1723 John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon