Dear Michael:
In case you have not already replied, I am writing to remind you of
our upcoming event, "The Promised Land of the Free," on Tuesday,
March 9th, at our conference center in Oakland.
http://WWW.INDEPENDENT.ORG/tii/forums/040309ipf.htmlGovernment has grown and individual liberty has diminshed in recent
decades. This trend is due largely to political favor-seeking by
special-interest groups (including politicians and bureaucrats), as
many of the programs and publications of The Independent Institute
have shown.Special-interest groups do not operate in a vacuum, however. They
rely upon (and help create) an intellectual climate predisposed
toward policies that enhance government power at the expense of
liberty. In recent years, they have advanced a host of novel
arguments in favor of restricting human freedom and enhancing the
government's power to over-tax, over-regulate, and meddle in the
lives of law-abiding Americans.I am pleased to invite you to an important program on strengthening
the case for liberty. One of the country's leading legal scholars
and
political theorists, Richard A. Epstein, will present and refute
these new, anti-freedom arguments -- while presenting an important,
new defense of liberty -- at the upcoming Independent Policy Forum,
"The Promised Land of the Free," to be held Tuesday, March 9th, at
our conference center in Oakland, Calif.Joining him will be historian and economist Jeffrey Rogers Hummel,
whose writings have also contributed to our understanding of how
best
to defend liberty.
With limited seating, I encourage you to make your reservation
without delay. Please contact me or the Institute's Events
Coordinator, Ms. Nichelle Beardsley, at 510-632-1366 x118
(NBeardsley@...).We hope to see you on Tuesday, March 9, 2004, at 6:30 PM!
Sincerely,
David J. Theroux
Founder and President
The Independent Institute
100 Swan Way
Oakland, CA 95621-1428
510-632-1366 Phone
510-568-6040 Fax
DTheroux@...
http://www.independent.org*****************************************
THE PROMISED LAND OF THE FREE -- Next Independent Policy Forum, with
Richard A. Epstein and Jeffrey Rogers Hummel (3/9/04)
http://www.independent.org/tii/forums/040309ipf.htmlThroughout the world, America has been known as the "land of the
free." Today, however, real life in the United States is quite
different from the famous promise. Over the past century, the U.S.
government has grown astronomically as the average citizen's life is
increasingly taxed, regulated, and spied upon. In the last few years
alone, federal spending has skyrocketed by almost 30 percent,
creating the largest federal deficit in U.S. history, explosive
corporate welfare, and abuses of civil and economic liberties.In his writings, noted legal scholar Richard Epstein goes to the
root
of the problem, addressing the moral and conceptual foundations of
liberty and how they have been systematically undermined. Should
individuals be free to make their own peaceful choices or should
decisions by special interests, in the name of the "public good," be
imposed by force? What about property rights, taxes, regulation,
civil rights, and the welfare state? At this Independent Policy
Forum, Richard Epstein and historian and economist Jeffrey Rogers
Hummel will discuss why the time has come for a bold new defense of
the free society.SPEAKERS:
Richard Epstein is Professor of Law, University of Chicago, and
author of SKEPTICISM AND FREEDOM: A Modern Case for Classical
Liberalism (University of Chicago Press).Jeffrey Rogers Hummel is Professor of Economics, San Jose State
University, and author of EMANCIPATING SLAVES, ENSLAVING FREE MEN
(Open Court Publishers)WHEN:
Tuesday, March 9, 2004
Reception and book signing: 6:30 p.m.
Program: 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.WHERE:
The Independent Institute Conference Center
100 Swan Way
Oakland, CA 94621-1428
For a map and directions, see
http://www.independent.org/tii/tii_info/about.html#mapTICKETS: $15 per person ($10 for Independent Institute Members), or
$45 for admission and a copy of SKEPTICISM AND FREEDOM. (25% off
cover price!) Reserve tickets by calling (510) 632-1366 or ordering
online at
http://www.independent.org/tii/forums/040309ipf.html.Praise for SKEPTICISM AND FREEDOM: A Modern Case for Classical
Liberalism, by Richard A. Epstein (University of Chicago Press):"Epstein's new book, SKEPTICISM AND FREEDOM, belongs on the same
shelf with [Adam] Smith's THEORY OF MORAL SENTIMENTS. It is a book
of
enormous erudition lightly worn, working its way through the great
issues of public policy conversationally, sensibly, and humanely."
-- Charles Murray, American Enterprise Institute"SKEPTICISM AND FREEDOM is a signal, comprehensive, clear statement
by a preeminent legal thinker. In the tradition of Hume, Hayek, and
Friedman: Richard Epstein is radical without being unreasonable,
practical without being compromised."
-- Charles Fried, Harvard Law School"This is an elegantly written and powerful defense of classical
liberalism -- of belief in a system with great economic and
political
freedoms and with only a limited role for government. Of particular
interest is Epstein's argument that the proper scope of government
is
not made any greater on account of modern views holding that
individuals do not have stable preferences, behave irrationally, and
are subject to cognitive biases."
-- Steven M. Shavell, Harvard Law School"Epstein has to be taken seriously, and not only because of the
power