As we reflect on the ideas that shaped the American founding, we are reminded of how fragile and precious the conditions for liberty truly are. Smith teaches us that a free society rests not on grand gestures of nationalism but on the quiet, everyday exchanges that allow people to pursue their ends in peace. In Liberty Fund seminars, we gather around texts that illuminate this insight, exploring how impartial justice, open markets, and limited power sustain the dignity of ordinary life. As we consider the colonists’ appeal to natural liberty, we give thanks for the institutions that still make thoughtful inquiry possible and for the enduring tradition that calls us to steward freedom with understanding, restraint, and care.
