According to classic Marxism, human nature is nothing but matter, and everything we think or do is determined by our relationship to the means of production. As a result, individual liberty is an illusion, and the state is justified in coercing society into a supposed future of pure equality. After all, when the state regiments people toward this aim, it is only helping along the “forces of history” which really control everything.

The trouble with this vision was that it was false. It remains false even when it mutates into quasi-Marxist iterations like identity politics or state regimentation in the service of putative “social justice.”

Contrary to Marxism and its offshoots, human beings are, in fact, more than matter; their brains are more than politically-programmable tools; and their individual free choices make a significant difference. The ideas people hold matter, and what they choose matters more than material forces.

Human creativity, when given an opportunity, can surmount obstacles, overcome abuse, and foster “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Independent Institute has always believed in the inviolability of human freedom and the importance of ideas. Our peer-reviewed research cogently exposes abuses of government power, and gives reasons to defend individual liberty.

And people respond to facts, when given the fair-minded opportunity to do so.

This work will grow in 2025! In the New Year, we will continue to host our groundbreaking podcast The Independent with Scott Atlas, which puts the spotlight on the ideological derailment of higher education. Our forthcoming book, Let Colleges Fail: The Power of Creative Destruction in Higher Education, by Richard Vedder, will take the argument further still.

I will continue to offer you my own online interviews with writers and policymakers in our Independent Outlook and Independent Conversations podcasts.

My colleague Phillip Magness, who wrote to you last week, will expand his work showing the intellectual corruption of the derivatively-socialist agenda in media, education, and government.

For 39 years, Independent Institute has consistently championed enterprise, ingenuity, and the creative potential of the human spirit. Your support has made this possible. Will you join us again as we continue this important work in 2025?