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| How does the concentration of war powers shape the balance between liberty and security—and what role should constitutional deliberation play in guiding decisions of war and peace? |
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| “The type of civilization produced by a warlike life is not favorable to liberty. War and liberty are antagonistic. Liberty is based on restraint, peace, industry, and order; war demands obedience, discipline, coercion.” — William Graham Sumner |
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| By examining how conflict has shifted the balance between executive authority and legislative oversight, we gain perspective on the enduring tension between security and self-government. The history of American war powers reveals both moments of healthy constitutional debate and periods when concentrated authority displaced deliberation and accountability. Understanding these shifts helps us see more clearly the stakes for liberty when decisions of war and peace are made without broad public scrutiny. This week’s featured resources explore what it takes to preserve constitutional limits and civic responsibility even in moments of crisis. |
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| Christopher J. Coyne & Abigail R. Hall, A Call to Liberty
War has been central to the American story from the Revolution onward, but its effects on liberty are often corrosive. This essay traces how military conflict, once tied to independence, became interventions that expanded state power, raising enduring questions about whether liberty can survive the pressures of continual war.
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| Pierre Lemieux, EconLib
By modeling how rulers weigh incentives for war or peace, this essay highlights how political self-interest often drives conflict more than national necessity. In exploring how power is distributed within governments, it raises enduring questions about whether citizen constraints, institutional checks, or public accountability can prevent war from eroding liberty. |
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| Sarah Burns, Law & Liberty
Debates over war powers reveal both the strengths and limits of America’s constitutional framework. The forum considers how the Framers envisioned deliberation as a safeguard against hasty warmaking, and how history shows the balance shifting between executive initiative and legislative oversight. |
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| Claudia Williamson Kramer, Jayme Lemke, Joshua D. Ammons, and Abigail R. Hall, Online Library of Liberty
This series explores how war affects men and women in different ways, with women often encountering distinct challenges as warriors, workers, entrepreneurs, and refugees. Using varied research approaches, the authors highlight how complex issues can be viewed from multiple perspectives—and why such problems rarely yield simple answers. |
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| Edwin van de Haar, Adam Smith Works
Adam Smith’s reflections on war and peace reveal a sober understanding of human nature and the limits of international order. He argued that diplomacy, international law, and the balance of power could help restrain conflict, but that war was often inevitable and costly. Trade, while a force for prosperity, could also spark rivalry, making defense a central duty of governments. |
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| Nathan Goodman, EconLib
This review explores how government communication has shaped public understanding of the war on terror and its lasting effects. Drawing on economic perspectives, it shows how information and incentives influence decision-making in times of conflict, raising questions about civil liberties, accountability, and public trust. |
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| EconTalk
David Wyatt joins Russ Roberts to discuss Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls and the ways war shapes moral choices, human relationships, and cultural memory. As part of our theme War Powers and the Constitutional Balance, the conversation shows how literature deepens our understanding of freedom and its fragility in times of conflict. |
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