Open: The Story of Human Progress
The ideal of an open world faces many challenges, including infectious diseases like COVID-19 and a rise in economic protectionism and illiberal politics. But, as Johan Norberg argues, openness is critical to human success. The freedom to explore and exchange has led to stunning achievements in science and culture as well as unprecedented wealth and opportunity. Watch the event to learn why an open world and an open economy are worth fighting for, now more than ever.
Abolish Price and Wage Controls
Price gouging has become a controversial topic in the COVID-19 pandemic. Movements in market prices of products, services, and labor provide ongoing messages about their relative scarcity—of supply relative to demand. In this Pandemics and Policy study, the R. Evan Scharf Chair for the Public Understanding of Economics, Ryan Bourne, explains why state governments should not adopt anti‐price‐gouging laws, as they may thwart a full recovery.
Is Free Speech Still Alive on the American College Campus?
The status of free speech and academic freedom at U.S. colleges and universities has become an explosive issue. Critics claim that disruptions, disinvitations of speakers, and bureaucratic new speech‐inhibiting policies have smothered the open and honest discourse. Others consider the fears of crisis overblown, discerning the harms as less extensive in the vast domain of higher education than critics acknowledge. Drawing on his extensive experience as a free speech and academic freedom leader, Donald A. Downs portrays the university as an “intellectual polis” where free and honest academic discourse should pervade. Watch the event to see Downs and his guests at the Cato Institute discuss this important issue.
Experts
