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
I'm not much of a video guy, but you should definitely watch this one. The choice is *always* between democracy and some form of authoritarianism. It's never between democracy and something you find nicer. It is never, as some libertarians have put it, a choice between democracy and free markets.
Adam Gurri@adamgurri.liberalcurrents.com · 5d agoYou cannot understand democracy if you don't understand the alternatives. I walk through them in this video youtu.be/C_tz9Af8IAk
And as @mattzwolinski.bsky.social wrote, it's important that political power can be lost--without violence: www.liberalism.org/p/democracy-...
![Why should it matter so much that power can be lost? One answer can be found in the work of the economic historians Douglass North, John Joseph Wallis, and Barry Weingast. In their sweeping and ambitious book, Violence and Social Orders, they argue that for most of human history, communities have solved the problem of social violence by means of what they call a “limited access order.” A coalition of elites agrees not to fight, and that agreement is held together by privilege. Only members of the coalition may hold certain kinds of property, enter certain trades, or form certain kinds of organizations. “The creation of rents through limiting access,” they write, “provides the glue that holds the coalition together.”
This is precisely the world of chartered monopolies and guild privileges that Adam Smith attacked in The Wealth of Nations. But it wasn’t just the economic logic of Smith’s critique that brought that world to an end. In the countries that made the transition to “open access,” economic and political openness arrived together, “within relatively narrow windows of historical time.” General incorporation laws replaced corporate charters that had required “an explicit grant by the legislature [or] the crown.” The reform occurred during the same era that competitive political parties formed and the franchise began to widen. This was no accident. On North, Wallis, and Weingast’s account, the two kinds of openness depend on each other. Closed economies and closed political systems propped each other up, and economic openness could be sustained only alongside political openness.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:uz23le2kxydwxfhdml455iqg/bafkreidesgdx5lxn2ccs42q6nxgeevgmltlzolffdwrqgt3efqvl6tq6xi)
In this post, I consider @mattzwolinski.bsky.social's insightful recent article on libertarianism and democracy. Democracy is generally way better than authoritarianism. But recent events highlight importance and validity of libertarian critiques of its weaknesses: reason.com/volokh/2026/...
Libertarianism and Democracy
Matt Zwolinski is right to emphasize that democracy is generally superior to authoritarianism, but wrong to suggest it should be a central libertarian commitment. Moreover, recent events highlight the...
reason.com
Mostly, I wrote this because it's something I wish I'd had access to when everything started falling apart a decade ago and I couldn't get anyone to explain to me how everything had gone so terribly wrong. But I also think (hope) it teases out lessons for liberals today who want to do better.
A hard look at libertarianism
Quinn Slobodian's 2025 book provides the starting point of a more thorough post-mortem
janetbufton.ca
I've been very eager to see this one by Matt Zwolinski @mattzwolinski.bsky.social at @liberalism.org . It's true, it's important, it's important to have BHL founder Matt saying it, and it's important to have lib dot org publishing it. www.liberalism.org/p/democracy-...
Democracy Belongs on the List
Classical liberalism has sometimes been suspicious of democracy. But it shouldn’t be.
liberalism.org
It's so good to see someone NOT on the left, recognizing the harms caused by extreme wealth inequality. I'm not a libertarian, but I have a lot of respect for some libertarians, and @mattzwolinski.bsky.social is one of those. www.liberalism.org/p/the-power-... #inequality #libertarianism
The Power of Wealth
In every political system, wealthy and powerful people will try to write the rules to favor themselves. Liberal democracies should use a range of policy tools to resist elite capture.
liberalism.org
I am heartily in favour of taking an oft-quoted Adam Smith passage and doing something completely different with it. Latest entry from @mattzwolinski.bsky.social
Liberalism.org@liberalism.org · 2mo agoThe appeal of simple political principles is real, and @mattzwolinski.bsky.social argues it is also where the trouble begins. www.liberalism.org/p/not-so-obv...
Heba Gowayed is totally right, and there is a robust literature for it. Bureaucratic violence is harm administered without overt force, through decision-making, paperwork, inaction, and exclusion. It reads as separate stories because responsibility is distributed in ways that avoid accountability.
Heba Gowayed هبة جويد@hebagowayed.bsky.social · 2mo agoA man died in ICE custody due to neglect of his leukemia. Gary Indiana has no power & water sources are contaminated — people with electric stoves have no way to boil it. These are told as separate stories but they’re the same fact of death by neglect written in different fonts.
Rent control is a bad idea, but not because it's socialist. Building more housing is a good idea, even when socialists promote it. If a label can bundle a clearly bad policy with a clearly good one, the label isn't telling you much. My latest at @liberalism.org. www.liberalism.org/p/is-it-real...
Is It Really Socialism?
Don’t fight over mere words. Understand what’s behind them.
liberalism.org
Enjoyed this thoughtful if critical piece by @mattzwolinski.bsky.social for @liberalism.org Appreciate the acknowledgement of the efforts socialists have made defending liberal democracy www.liberalism.org/p/is-it-real...
I am honored to be at the center of building a truly pluralistic school at @jhu.edu. I believe it's a duty to academia and to America. "Johns Hopkins has done more to promote ideological pluralism than most, placing it near or at 'the top of the leaderboard,' says higher ed scholar Neil Gross."
Inside one major school’s campaign to bring conservatives to campus * WorldNetDaily * by Vince Bielski, Real Clear Wire
Heading for 'uncharted' territory of becoming 'a citadel of ideological pluralism'
wnd.com
Happy Independence Day. Just one clarification. That long section in the middle of the Declaration is a list of grievances. Not a to-do list.
Everything is political. But how can we live in the grip of all that has come before us? One way is to address our failings while getting on with life—and tending to our plots just as we tend to society, as @jkuznicki.bsky.social writes in this lovely essay www.liberalism.org/p/against-fr...
Against Friends, Against Enemies
On the liberalism of productive ambiguity. And pineapples.
liberalism.org
Recently we had a wide ranging conversation with political theorist @martinjacobson.bsky.social about #geoism, #anarchism, #LVT, #effectivealtruism, #animalrights, #StarTrek, and more. 🏴 Check it out! 👇 🔗 pod.link/1499036871/e... @uu-polisci.bsky.social @lucystag.bsky.social #georgism #philosophy
Public-sector unions bargain with politicians whose campaigns they help fund, against a public that isn’t in the room. My new piece at Liberalism.org argues this matters more than most defenses of unions admit, and looks at what it costs us in our schools and our policing.
The Power of Public Unions
Not all labor unions are alike. Public sector unions face different incentives, and they often bargain away better governance.
liberalism.org
When government employees help elect the officials negotiating their contracts, it leads to capture, not countervailing power. And it hurts poor and minority communities most. @mattzwolinski.bsky.social explores this concentration of power in his latest essay. www.liberalism.org/p/the-power-...
The Power of Public Unions
Not all labor unions are alike. Public sector unions face different incentives, and they often bargain away better governance.
liberalism.org
New at Law and Philosophy: Paul Forrester, "Property Rights and Natural Resources" Open access. link.springer.com/article/10.1... #Geolibertarianism #Georgism
When police officers violate constitutional rights, there should be accountability. @radleybalko.bsky.social traces how the Supreme Court has steadily dismantled the legal tools Congress created to provide accountability, and what it would take to restore it.
Federal Courts, Local Wrongs: How Qualified Immunity Gave Us Lawless Law Enforcement
In case after case, the U.S. Supreme Court has made it easier for police to get away with harming the innocent. Radley Balko looks at how the federal courts have gutted our protections against police ...
hubs.la
I’ve got a new paper out today in Politics, Philosophy & Economics, responding to Robert Hale’s 1923 argument that markets are “permeated with coercive restrictions of individual freedom.” Open access at the link below. doi.org/10.1177/1470...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
doi.org
I wrote about the places seeing historic lows in murder and appreciating just how far murder has fallen throughout the country relative to where it was at its peak. Murder & gun violence are by no means solved, but sometimes it's good to see the progress. jasher.substack.com/p/appreciati...
Appreciating Just How Far Murder Has Fallen in the US
I talk about US murder trends a ton which usually involves a lot of numbers.
jasher.substack.com
Jeff Asher@jeffasher.bsky.social · 5mo agoPhiladelphia reported 39 murders through April which is the fewest reported there since 1963. New York City reported 75 murders through April 26 which is on track to be the fewest murders through April ever reported (previous low was 86 in 2018).
Step 1: Read @mattzwolinski.bsky.social’s new Liberalism.org essay. Step 2: Read @nescio13.bsky.social’s response. digressionsimpressions.substack.com/p/against-th...
Against the Generality Principle and Pro Politics; Or why I am a Machiavellian and not a Classical Liberal.
I have been reading Matt Zwolinski (San Diego) with admiration since the very first days of the Bleeding Heart Libertarians (hereafter BHL) blog over fifteen years ago or so.
digressionsimpressions.substack.com
I am very happy to see this essay by @mattzwolinski.bsky.social on classical liberal approaches to wealth inequality. It's an important step for libertarians to recognize wealth inequality as a problem at all. Still, I find it dissatisfying. Short 🧵
The Power of Wealth
In every political system, wealthy and powerful people will try to write the rules to favor themselves. Liberal democracies should use a range of policy tools to resist elite capture.
liberalism.org
If you like arguments about why (and how) liberals should take wealth inequality seriously, drawing on Acemoglu and Robinson, Buchanan, Lindsey and Teles, Smith, etc..., boy have I got a book (chapter) for you... academic.oup.com/book/55806/c...
Paul Crider@paulcrider.liberalcurrents.com · 6mo agoI am very happy to see this essay by @mattzwolinski.bsky.social on classical liberal approaches to wealth inequality. It's an important step for libertarians to recognize wealth inequality as a problem at all. Still, I find it dissatisfying. Short 🧵
Wealth inequality may not be unjust in itself, but wealth concentrated enough to purchase political influence is a problem classical liberals can no longer wave away. @mattzwolinski.bsky.social argues we already have what we need to address it. hubs.la/Q04dxjhz0
The Power of Wealth
In every political system, wealthy and powerful people will try to write the rules to favor themselves. Liberal democracies should use a range of policy tools to resist elite capture.
hubs.la
This is a really good discussion of how ideologies drift and fracture. The underlying philosophical principles and ideas underdetermine the ideology. The real work is done more by sociology and social attachments. Libertarianism is just the example here. Applies generally.
Matt Zwolinski@mattzwolinski.bsky.social · 6mo agoNew essay: the tribe comes first, the philosophy comes second. Even for libertarians. Maybe especially for libertarians.
New essay: the tribe comes first, the philosophy comes second. Even for libertarians. Maybe especially for libertarians.
The Myth of Libertarianism
Tribe first, theory later
open.substack.com
NIMBYs are the worst. From my conversation with @mattzwolinski.bsky.social, which you can listen to here: www.liberalism.org/podcast/the-...
Liberalism.org@liberalism.org · 6mo ago“As a result zoning rules favor the interests of insiders in a way that limits the supply of housing, keeps housing prices high and makes it generally hard for anybody to afford a home. What can you do about that?” — @mattzwolinski.bsky.social Listen to the full episode: hubs.la/Q04b_TM80
“The most important insight in the liberal tradition is that by spreading power out you can mitigate its harmful effects.” — @mattzwolinski.bsky.social
A free, searchable index of 212,000+ philosophy book reviews. Covers 1,200+ journals going back to the 1890s. Filter by subfield, journal, author, reviewer, year, or access type. Built it because I kept wishing this existed. Now it does. philreviews.org
PhilReviews
A comprehensive, searchable database of 212,000+ philosophy book reviews across 1,480 academic journals.
philreviews.org
Liberals take concentration of power seriously, and liberalism offers solutions to the dangers of concentrated power. @mattzwolinski.bsky.social talks about how in a new essay at @liberalism.org. www.liberalism.org/p/the-enemy-is…
The Enemy Is Power, Wherever You Find It
Concentrations of power are a danger, and a liberal society must reckon with them wherever they occur. Liberals must watch for concentrations of economic as well as political power. An analysis of "A Positive Program for Laissez Faire" by Henry Simons shows this insight's power in liberal political…
liberalism.org