Book Forum 

# *Common Law Liberalism: A New Theory of the Libertarian Society*

Published By Oxford University Press • 2024 

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Date and Time 

March 6, 2025 12 - 1:30 PM EST 

Location 

Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 

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##### Featuring 

[![Media Name: hasnas.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/authors/crops/hasnas.jpg?itok=MDgiaSi_)](/people/john-hasnas) 

[John Hasnas](/people/john-hasnas)

Professor of Ethics, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University; Executive Director, Georgetown Institute for the Study of Markets and Ethics

![David Schmidtz](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-02/david-schmidtz.jpeg?itok=aP0uHMgV) 

David Schmidtz 

Presidential Chair of Moral Science and Director, Social Philosophy and Policy Center, West Virginia University

[![Gene Healy](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Gene%20Healy.jpg?itok=EhkBZWC4)](/people/gene-healy) 

[Gene Healy](/people/gene-healy)

Former Senior Vice President for Policy, Cato Institute

In conventional political debate—particularly in Washington, DC—“law” is understood as top-down legislation: rules consciously designed and imposed by central authorities. John Hasnas challenges this unspoken assumption, pointing to the Anglo-American common law, a decentralized, continually evolving system that produces order without conscious design or political control. In his important new book, [*Common Law Liberalism: A New Theory of the Libertarian Society*](https://www.amazon.com/Common-Law-Liberalism-Libertarian-Society/dp/0197784607?tag=catoinstitute-20), he offers a theory of liberalism that demonstrates that the common law can serve as an effective alternative to traditional politically created legislation. Hasnas’s thesis has implications ranging from modest (many government functions can be better supplied by the common law than by centralized legislation) to radical (if human beings do not need the state to make law, do they need the state at all?).

Please join us for a discussion of this provocative new book featuring the author and Professor David Schmidtz, director of the Social Philosophy and Policy Center at West Virginia University, moderated by Cato’s Gene Healy.

![Common Law Liberalism cover](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/promo_block_book_cover_1x/public/2025-02/common-law-liberalism.jpg?itok=2tMt3LvT) 

##### Featured Book 

In conventional political philosophy, law is understood as consciously created rules that are a necessary mechanism for regulating the excesses of the free market. Although coercive in nature, law is seen as a necessary defense against anarchy. But is the situation that simple? In his examination of the purpose and functioning of the legal system, John Hasnas challenges this false dichotomy, presenting a new theory of liberalism that demonstrates that the common law can serve as an effective alternative to traditional politically created legislation.

[Purchase Book](https://www.amazon.com/Common-Law-Liberalism-Libertarian-Society/dp/0197784607?tag=catoinstitute-20) 

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