




Ideas for
Prosperity
Tomorrow’s leaders need better, bolder ideas about how to make our society freer and more prosperous. That’s why the Civitas Institute exists, plain and simple.

Through research, commentary, and public outreach, we explore all aspects of a free and vibrant society, including economic dynamism, individual flourishing, civic virtue, and constitutionalism.
The Civitas Institute is part of the University of Texas at Austin.
Independent thought, civil discourse, free speech, reasoned deliberation and intellectual curiosity are central to our ethos.
The Civitas Institute takes its name from The University of Texas at Austin motto, Disciplina Praesidium Civitatis, a condensed Latin rendering of Mirabeau Lamar’s famous statement that a “cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy.”
This origin reflects both the university’s institutional heritage and the Institute’s interest in the link between knowledge and liberty.

Our history






Our team
We are dedicated to exploring the ideas and institutions that create flourishing societies.

SAVE America, SAVE the Senate
The path Thune has chosen includes elements of both the nuclear option and talking filibuster.

Justice Clarence Thomas, "Remarks on the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence"
The primacy of our rights in relation to our government is crucial in reconciling the immortal words of the Declaration with our Constitution and our history.

“Project Hail Mary’s” Success: A Story You Can Believe In
The film features a weak, defeated man who turns from a coward to a hero, from selfishness to sacrifice, and from loneliness to friendship.
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