Matt Zwolinski
@mattzwolinski.bsky.social
Philosopher. Co-author of The Individualists: Radicals, Reactionaries, and the Struggle for the Soul of Libertarianism (Princeton, 2023), and Universal Basic Income: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford, 2023).
Http://bleedingheartlibertarian.substack.com
Http://bleedingheartlibertarian.substack.com
Pinned
Matt Zwolinski
@mattzwolinski.bsky.social
· Nov 10
My book with John Tomasi, The Individualists, is now out in paperback.
If you’re interested in an intellectual history of libertarianism that shows how it went from radical supporters of abolitionism and women’s rights to a party that threw its weight behind Donald Trump, this is the book for you.
If you’re interested in an intellectual history of libertarianism that shows how it went from radical supporters of abolitionism and women’s rights to a party that threw its weight behind Donald Trump, this is the book for you.
Reposted by Matt Zwolinski
Here's my review of your excellent book. jollylibertarian.blogspot.com/2024/05/book...
Book Review: The Individualists: Radicals, Reactionaries, and the Struggle for the Soul of Libertarianism
Follow Us on Facebook and Bluesky Matt Zwolinski and John Tomasi’s recent book, The Individualists: Radicals, Reactionaries and the Strug...
jollylibertarian.blogspot.com
October 10, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Here's my review of your excellent book. jollylibertarian.blogspot.com/2024/05/book...
Reposted by Matt Zwolinski
Thank you to @mattzwolinski.bsky.social for this typically thoughtful and generous review of "The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism" from a libertarian standpoint....
www.independent.org/tir/2025-fal...
www.independent.org/tir/2025-fal...
Book Review: The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism, Matthew McManus
In 2022, the Pew Research Center published a report that caught many conservatives and classical liberals by surprise. Socialism, the report revealed, is
www.independent.org
September 24, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Thank you to @mattzwolinski.bsky.social for this typically thoughtful and generous review of "The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism" from a libertarian standpoint....
www.independent.org/tir/2025-fal...
www.independent.org/tir/2025-fal...
Abundance theorists are right to focus on the importance of building things. But by ignoring public choice theory, they miss the risk that state-driven growth will benefit the elite rather than the masses. My review of _Abundance_ and _Why Nothing Works_, at Econlib.
www.econlib.org/library/colu...
www.econlib.org/library/colu...
The Cost of Building Progress - Econlib
Book Review of: Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress–and How to Bring It Back by Marc J. Dunkelman,1; and Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson.2 Vera Coking and the Cost of Progress In 1961, V...
www.econlib.org
August 5, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Abundance theorists are right to focus on the importance of building things. But by ignoring public choice theory, they miss the risk that state-driven growth will benefit the elite rather than the masses. My review of _Abundance_ and _Why Nothing Works_, at Econlib.
www.econlib.org/library/colu...
www.econlib.org/library/colu...
Reposted by Matt Zwolinski
On Polycentrism and the New Classical Liberalism. Neoliberalism is dead; Long live Neoliberalism!, pt 1.
open.substack.com/pub/digressi...
with a shout out to @mattzwolinski.bsky.social @vladtarko.bsky.social, @drnickcowen.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/digressi...
with a shout out to @mattzwolinski.bsky.social @vladtarko.bsky.social, @drnickcowen.bsky.social
On Polycentrism and the New Classical Liberalism. Neoliberalism is dead; Long live Neoliberalism!, pt 1.
Fairly or not, neo-liberalism (and its cousin new public management) ended up being associated with monopolistic privatization, the Financial Crisis and the Great Recession, Austerity, and Pinochet.
open.substack.com
August 5, 2025 at 11:50 AM
On Polycentrism and the New Classical Liberalism. Neoliberalism is dead; Long live Neoliberalism!, pt 1.
open.substack.com/pub/digressi...
with a shout out to @mattzwolinski.bsky.social @vladtarko.bsky.social, @drnickcowen.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/digressi...
with a shout out to @mattzwolinski.bsky.social @vladtarko.bsky.social, @drnickcowen.bsky.social
Out today! The new and massively revised third edition of Arguing About Political Philosophy, co-edited with the fantastic @mjuarezgarcia_ . Perfect for courses in political philosophy or PPE.
July 31, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Out today! The new and massively revised third edition of Arguing About Political Philosophy, co-edited with the fantastic @mjuarezgarcia_ . Perfect for courses in political philosophy or PPE.
Reposted by Matt Zwolinski
Careful guys, if you don’t control migration you might turn out like <checks notes> the greatest, wealthiest city in the world.
June 25, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Careful guys, if you don’t control migration you might turn out like <checks notes> the greatest, wealthiest city in the world.
Trump channeling his inner Thomas Carlyle for Juneteenth.
“Quashee, if he will not help in bringing out the spices, will get himself made a slave again…and with beneficient whip, since other methods avail not, will be compelled to work.”
“Quashee, if he will not help in bringing out the spices, will get himself made a slave again…and with beneficient whip, since other methods avail not, will be compelled to work.”
June 19, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Trump channeling his inner Thomas Carlyle for Juneteenth.
“Quashee, if he will not help in bringing out the spices, will get himself made a slave again…and with beneficient whip, since other methods avail not, will be compelled to work.”
“Quashee, if he will not help in bringing out the spices, will get himself made a slave again…and with beneficient whip, since other methods avail not, will be compelled to work.”
Reposted by Matt Zwolinski
Truly wild photos coming in from Los Angeles right now.
June 15, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Truly wild photos coming in from Los Angeles right now.
Feels like a good time to repost this.
Homan and Miller are heading into the Trump administration, and people need to read Kukathas.
His point: you can’t limit freedom of immigration without severely limiting the freedom of citizens. Restricting their freedom means restricting our own too.
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
His point: you can’t limit freedom of immigration without severely limiting the freedom of citizens. Restricting their freedom means restricting our own too.
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Immigration and Freedom
A compelling account of the threat immigration control poses to the citizens of free societies
press.princeton.edu
June 11, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Feels like a good time to repost this.
Picking up on a distinction introduced by the late great Steve Horowitz, I argue that libertarians make a mistake when they equate being anti-state with being pro-liberty.
To Fight Authoritarianism, Libertarians Need to be More Pro-Liberty, Not Just Anti-State
Blogger Noah Smith’s praise for libertarianism comes at an odd time but offers an opportunity to clarify the side that has contributed to human freedom and flourishing
open.substack.com
June 2, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Picking up on a distinction introduced by the late great Steve Horowitz, I argue that libertarians make a mistake when they equate being anti-state with being pro-liberty.
Page proofs are in! Coming your way this July.
May 9, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Page proofs are in! Coming your way this July.
Reading @anneapplebaum.bsky.social's excellent, _Autocracy, Inc._. I can’t recommend it enough as a guide to understanding the rising tide of 21st century authoritarianism. And some of what she describes sounds eerily familiar…
April 29, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Reading @anneapplebaum.bsky.social's excellent, _Autocracy, Inc._. I can’t recommend it enough as a guide to understanding the rising tide of 21st century authoritarianism. And some of what she describes sounds eerily familiar…
Reposted by Matt Zwolinski
Reposted by Matt Zwolinski
WH has now confirmed: this is insane nypost.com/2025/04/02/u...
April 3, 2025 at 12:17 AM
WH has now confirmed: this is insane nypost.com/2025/04/02/u...
Reposted by Matt Zwolinski
If you're uncertain if this book is for you because you're not a socialist, check out this podcast I did with Matt about it. I am not a socialist, and disagree with Matt frequently, but found the book fascinating and worth talking about at length: www.aaronrosspowell.com/p/liberal-so...
"The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism" is on sale at Routledge. $10 bucks off.
www.routledge.com/The-Politica...
www.routledge.com/The-Politica...
The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism
McManus presents a comprehensive guide to the liberal socialist tradition, stretching from Mary Wollstonecraft and Thomas Paine through John Stuart Mill to Irving Howe, John Rawls, and Charles Mills.
...
www.routledge.com
April 1, 2025 at 1:31 PM
If you're uncertain if this book is for you because you're not a socialist, check out this podcast I did with Matt about it. I am not a socialist, and disagree with Matt frequently, but found the book fascinating and worth talking about at length: www.aaronrosspowell.com/p/liberal-so...
Reposted by Matt Zwolinski
There is no reason to doubt that this man speaks for the administration. Read it and consider where we are.
March 30, 2025 at 11:02 AM
There is no reason to doubt that this man speaks for the administration. Read it and consider where we are.
"For all its flaws, constitutional democracy remains our most reliable safeguard against the concentration of power—public or private—and our best hope for preserving true liberty in the face of the rising authoritarian temptation."
Libertarianism's Democracy Problem
Anti-democracy is the theory that the elites know what we want, and are going to give it to us good and hard
bleedingheartlibertarian.substack.com
March 25, 2025 at 2:59 PM
"For all its flaws, constitutional democracy remains our most reliable safeguard against the concentration of power—public or private—and our best hope for preserving true liberty in the face of the rising authoritarian temptation."
As Trump pursues his attack on the “deep state,” it’s a good time to reflect on the virtues and limits of expertise in a democratic society. Lisa Herzog’s _Citizen Knowledge_ is a helpful guide. My review is in the latest issue of Ethics.
University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent
www.journals.uchicago.edu
March 18, 2025 at 5:15 PM
As Trump pursues his attack on the “deep state,” it’s a good time to reflect on the virtues and limits of expertise in a democratic society. Lisa Herzog’s _Citizen Knowledge_ is a helpful guide. My review is in the latest issue of Ethics.
Want to study Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law with some of the best students from across the country? Consider applying for the 2025 PPEL Summer School, hosted on the beautiful campus of the University of San Diego. Free room+board. Spaces limited; applications due April 15. Don’t delay!
Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law Summer School
freedomcenter.arizona.edu
March 17, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Want to study Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law with some of the best students from across the country? Consider applying for the 2025 PPEL Summer School, hosted on the beautiful campus of the University of San Diego. Free room+board. Spaces limited; applications due April 15. Don’t delay!
I’ll be talking about UBI tomorrow at UT Austin.
Matt Zwolinski: The Pros and Cons of a Universal Basic Income
A Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a government program that gives regular cash payments to everyone, rich and poor, working and unemployed.
www.eventbrite.com
March 10, 2025 at 4:07 PM
I’ll be talking about UBI tomorrow at UT Austin.
Reposted by Matt Zwolinski
JD Vance confirms a fundamental shift in the world order as the US aligns with Russia and Russian-funded European fascist parties against the Atlantic alliance and its liberal democracies.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...
Vance Scolds Europe on Democracy but Offers No Clarity on Trump’s Plan for Ukraine: Live Updates
Vice President JD Vance scolded an audience in Munich, saying Europe was failing to uphold democratic values. He said nothing about President Trump’s talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, which...
www.nytimes.com
February 14, 2025 at 4:57 PM
JD Vance confirms a fundamental shift in the world order as the US aligns with Russia and Russian-funded European fascist parties against the Atlantic alliance and its liberal democracies.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...
Reposted by Matt Zwolinski
Rothbard's simplistic libertarianism
or...
What libertarians can learn from lawyers about how to understand ownership
or...
What libertarians can learn from lawyers about how to understand ownership
Rothbard's Simplistic Libertarianism
How not to argue for anarcho-capitalism
bleedingheartlibertarian.substack.com
January 30, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Rothbard's simplistic libertarianism
or...
What libertarians can learn from lawyers about how to understand ownership
or...
What libertarians can learn from lawyers about how to understand ownership
Reposted by Matt Zwolinski
Well last week certainly sucked, and more is on the way.
Now it falls on good people to do the right thing, wherever they are in America.
My latest: theblanksslate.substack.com/p/now-comes-...
Now it falls on good people to do the right thing, wherever they are in America.
My latest: theblanksslate.substack.com/p/now-comes-...
January 27, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Well last week certainly sucked, and more is on the way.
Now it falls on good people to do the right thing, wherever they are in America.
My latest: theblanksslate.substack.com/p/now-comes-...
Now it falls on good people to do the right thing, wherever they are in America.
My latest: theblanksslate.substack.com/p/now-comes-...