![Hands raised to sunset in prayer.](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/optimized/public/2020-08/202008_muslimfreedom.jpg?itok=RFWeXAeJ) # Global Freedom At a Glance Cato’s scholars seek to advance policies and support institutions in developing and developed countries that protect human rights and extend the range of personal choice. In particular, Cato research explores the central role that freedom in its various dimensions—economic, civil, and personal—plays in human progress and in solving some of the world’s most pressing problems, including global poverty. Share This Topic #### Featured Content [![venezuela](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2026-01/venezuela%201.jpg?itok=6vXmWSKZ)](https://www.cato.org/blog/how-socialism-destroyed-venezuela-16-charts) blog ## [How Socialism Destroyed Venezuela in 16 Charts](/blog/how-socialism-destroyed-venezuela-16-charts) By [Marcos Falcone](https://www.cato.org/people/marcos-falcone) and [Daniel Raisbeck](https://www.cato.org/people/daniel-raisbeck) In Venezuela, 27 years of “21st Century Socialism” have left behind a legacy of destruction that is impossible to ignore. [![sharia courts](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2026-07/GettyImages-2223150621.jpg?itok=twhPfo0m)](https://www.cato.org/commentary/america-needs-no-sharia-law-american-muslims-deserve-liberty) Commentary ### [America Needs No Sharia Law but American Muslims Deserve Liberty](/commentary/america-needs-no-sharia-law-american-muslims-deserve-liberty) By [Mustafa Akyol](https://www.cato.org/people/mustafa-akyol) Those who want a reformed Islam should welcome Muslims to the American way. [![Trump news conference on Maduro](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2026-01/202601_venezuela_trump.jpg?itok=7cq4EguW)](https://www.cato.org/blog/everything-about-us-venezuela-oil-deal-troublesome) blog ### [Everything About the US-Venezuela Oil Deal Is Troubling](/blog/everything-about-us-venezuela-oil-deal-troublesome) By [Ian Vásquez](https://www.cato.org/people/ian-vasquez) The US-Venezuela oil deal is a gift to socialists all over the world who can now point to it with some credibility as an example of an imperial resource grab. But the deal flies in the face of economic freedom and the principle of voluntary exchange that made the United States prosperous, and it makes little strategic or economic sense. [![financial freedom](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2026-08/GettyImages-2210225630.jpg?itok=lX_FRUIH)](https://www.cato.org/commentary/wealth-taxes-competition-long-term-prosperity) Commentary ### [Wealth Taxes, Competition, and Long-Term Prosperity](/commentary/wealth-taxes-competition-long-term-prosperity) By [Marian L. Tupy](https://www.cato.org/people/marian-l-tupy) Cooperation helps us survive, while innovation helps us prosper. How ‘interjurisdictional competition’ can foster the latter. [![Children Raising Hands - 2024 Annual Report](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-07/free-asc-ar-final.jpg?itok=dpKhLkYB)](https://www.cato.org/commentary/sweden-doesnt-mandate-childcare-ratios-why-does-america) Commentary ### [Sweden Doesn’t Mandate Childcare Ratios. Why Does America?](/commentary/sweden-doesnt-mandate-childcare-ratios-why-does-america) By [Chelsea Follett](https://www.cato.org/people/chelsea-follett) Child-to-staff requirements raise costs without delivering clear benefits. [View More Related Content](/search/topic/27473) #### Meet Our Experts [![Mustafa Akyol Cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/bio_picture_mobile/public/2024-11/akyol-cropped-new.jpg?itok=PnqQ3H0C)](/people/mustafa-akyol) ##### [Mustafa Akyol](/people/mustafa-akyol) Senior Fellow, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity [![Gabriela Calderon de Burgos Cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/bio_picture_mobile/public/2025-01/calderon-cropped.jpg?itok=iikOiEzE)](/people/gabriela-calderon-de-burgos) ##### [Gabriela Calderon de Burgos](/people/gabriela-calderon-de-burgos) Fellow in Latin American Studies [![James A. Dorn](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/bio_picture_mobile/public/2021-01/James%20dorn.jpg?itok=dft5Y53-)](/people/james-dorn) ##### [James A. Dorn](/people/james-dorn) Senior Fellow Emeritus [![Chelsea Follett](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/bio_picture_mobile/public/2021-01/Chelsea%20Follett.jpg?itok=eaQOLmbf)](/people/chelsea-follett) ##### [Chelsea Follett](/people/chelsea-follett) Research Fellow [![Johan Norberg cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/bio_picture_mobile/public/2023-11/johan-norberg-Cropped.jpg?itok=T1oNAMQ6)](/people/johan-norberg) ##### [Johan Norberg](/people/johan-norberg) Senior Fellow [![d-raisbeck-cropped.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/bio_picture_mobile/public/2022-05/d-raisbeck-cropped.jpg?itok=DupKq6VG)](/people/daniel-raisbeck) ##### [Daniel Raisbeck](/people/daniel-raisbeck) Former Policy Analyst [![marian-tupy-crop-temp.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/bio_picture_mobile/public/2022-08/marian-tupy-crop-temp.jpg?itok=wW_BiiI_)](/people/marian-l-tupy) ##### [Marian L. Tupy](/people/marian-l-tupy) Senior Fellow, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity [![Ian Vásquez](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/bio_picture_mobile/public/2021-01/Ian%20Vasquez.jpg?itok=HJ-vkM2y)](/people/ian-vasquez) ##### [Ian Vásquez](/people/ian-vasquez) Vice President for International Studies, Director of the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, and David Boaz Chair ![Superabundance cover](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/promo_block_book_cover_1x/public/2022-08/superabundance-cover.jpeg?itok=QA9SumYu) ##### Featured Book ### *Superabundance* ##### *The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet* This controversial and counterintuitive new book examines why population growth and freedom to innovate make Earth’s resources more, not less, abundant. [More About This Book](https://www.cato.org/books/superabundance)