Labor Day is often celebrated with parades, speeches, and a well-deserved respite from work. Yet its fullest meaning is found in the recognition that labor, freely chosen, is one of the clearest expressions of individual liberty. The dignity of work lies not only in what is produced, but in the independence and responsibility that accompany it.
At the Online Library of Liberty and Econlib, we seek to preserve and share the ideas that defend this freedom: that individuals have the natural right to their labor, that prosperity is built through voluntary cooperation, and that coercive restraints on enterprise diminish both dignity and wealth. In this spirit, we highlight a selection of resources that illuminate the moral and economic dimensions of labor.
We invite you to explore the essays and classic texts featured in this issue. They remind us that to honor labor is to honor liberty itself—and that both remain essential to a free and flourishing society.
David Henderson, Honor Laborers. “To honor laborers, you would have to respect their right to make choices for themselves.” Yet laborer often face obstacles to their choices, which Henderson explains in this classic piece.
Lysander Spooner on the Natural Right to Labor. Spooner articulates a powerful perspective that each person has a natural right to their labor and its fruits—framing labor not only as work, but as a moral individual entitlement.
Charles Baird, Labor Day is Not Union Day. Baird distinguishes between the day’s original purpose and its modern conflation with union celebrations, encouraging a broader and more nuanced appreciation of all labor.
Franz Oppenheimer on Economic versus Political Means. Oppenheimer’s distinction—between acquiring through one’s own labor (economic means) and through coercion (political means)—resonates deeply with Labor Day’s spirit of dignified work.
Read this family bio for a stunning legacy of a family whose belief in industriousness and civic responsibility shaped generations of both community and liberty. In The Goodriches: An American Family, Dane Starbuck chronicles the lives of James P. Goodrich—Indiana’s governor and presidential adviser—and his son Pierre F. Goodrich, a successful entrepreneur who went on to endow Liberty Fund.
With gratitude,
—The Econlib Team
