Libertarianism in History
MIT OpenCourseWare's survey traces the idea of personal freedom from its sociological and theological roots through modern debates over the regulatory state. Early sessions define liberty against its rivals and relatives: property, equality, community, and republicanism. The middle of the course turns to case studies, including the abolition of slavery, the fight for religious freedom, and the twentieth-century American civil liberties movement, tracking how libertarian arguments actually operated in political struggle. The final unit applies those arguments to present-day disputes over counter-terrorism policy, health care, financial regulation, and internet governance, weighing libertarian positions against defenses of state intervention. Materials include readings drawn from historical and philosophical texts alongside lecture notes, following MIT's standard OCW format. There is no instructor video or graded certificate; the course is offered as open courseware for self-study, free to access under a Creative Commons license.