Civitas Outlook

Civitas Outlook, the online journal of the Civitas Institute, publishes original writing about the ideas that create flourishing societies.

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Waging Municipal Lawfare

Waging Municipal Lawfare

The limited authority of local governments to initiate public interest litigation is a matter of law, not politics.

Doug Peterson, Michael Toth
Constitutionalism
Oct 23, 2025

What Game Are We Playing?

What Game Are We Playing?

If you decide to play Calvinball, you have become a partisan of Calvinball.

John Grove
Constitutionalism
Oct 23, 2025

Trump's Industrial Policies Will Strangle Growth

Trump's Industrial Policies Will Strangle Growth

The public should doubt that the feds can run the nation’s businesses. 

Richard Epstein
Economic Dynamism
Oct 22, 2025

All topics

Civitas Outlook seeks understanding from a variety of authors, ideas, and disciplines. Choose a specific topic above or explore our full library.

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The Wages of War and Punishment
John Yoo
Politics
Oct 2, 2025
Law Can’t Answer Every Question Posed by AI
Kevin Frazier
Economic Dynamism
Oct 2, 2025
Trump Is Refighting The “War” That Congress and the Burger Court “Waged” Against President Nixon
Josh Blackman
Constitutionalism
Oct 1, 2025
The Protectionist Threat of Trump’s H-1B $100k Tax
Richard Epstein
Economic Dynamism
Oct 1, 2025
Pascal's Diagnosis of the Modern Soul
Titus Techera
Pursuit of Happiness
Sep 30, 2025
The Deficit Trap: Why Spending Cuts Must Take Center Stage
Adam Michel
Economic Dynamism
Sep 30, 2025

Economic Dynamism

We consider the principles, policies, and culture that supports free market capitalism

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Trump's Industrial Policies Will Strangle Growth
Richard Epstein
Economic Dynamism
Oct 22, 2025
The Reign of the Greenback
Alex J. Pollock
Economic Dynamism
Oct 16, 2025
Don’t Choose Your Own Adventure: Understanding Middle-Class Earnings Trends
Scott Winship
Economic Dynamism
Oct 15, 2025
The Tariff Debacle Is Renewed
Richard Epstein
Economic Dynamism
Oct 15, 2025
A Nobel Prize for Innovation, Dynamism, and Creative Destruction
Jonathan Hartley
Economic Dynamism
Oct 14, 2025
Trump Delivers Mixed Results on Health Reform
Sally C. Pipes
Economic Dynamism
Oct 14, 2025

Politics

We investigate what it means to be a constitutional people who remain tethered to the rule of law.

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Why Reagan Crushed the PATCO Strike
Tevi Troy
Politics
Oct 16, 2025
Jefferson's Complex Legacy on Slavery and Race
Richard Samuelson
Politics
Oct 10, 2025
That Elusive Gaza Solution
Richard Epstein
Politics
Oct 9, 2025
Is Post-Liberalism a Real Remedy?
Graham McAleer
Politics
Oct 8, 2025
The Path to Civility
David C. Rose
Politics
Oct 8, 2025
The Wages of War and Punishment
John Yoo
Politics
Oct 2, 2025

Constitutionalism

We discuss the political thought that undergirds a society of freedom and virtue.

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Waging Municipal Lawfare
Doug Peterson, Michael Toth
Constitutionalism
Oct 23, 2025
What Game Are We Playing?
John Grove
Constitutionalism
Oct 23, 2025
Does Federal Law Extend to Portlandia?
John Yoo
Constitutionalism
Oct 22, 2025
Creed, Culture, and American Memory
Wilfred McClay
Constitutionalism
Oct 21, 2025
The Constitution and the National Guard
Robert G. Natelson
Constitutionalism
Oct 20, 2025
Have We All Misunderstood Enumerated Powers?
Johnathan O'Neill
Constitutionalism
Oct 9, 2025

Pursuit of Happiness

We explore how citizens, neighbors, workers, families, and communities shape the future of American society.

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Chernow Speaks of Twain But Doesn’t Know His Words
Lee Oser
Pursuit of Happiness
Sep 12, 2025
Adam Smith in the Shadow of Thucydides
Graham McAleer
Pursuit of Happiness
Sep 5, 2025
Urban Designing for Dignity
Samuel J. Abrams
Pursuit of Happiness
Sep 3, 2025
What Evil Can and Cannot Teach Us
Nathaniel Peters
Pursuit of Happiness
Aug 29, 2025
The French Origins of Urban Renewal
Tyler Turman
Pursuit of Happiness
Aug 22, 2025
Diversity, Real and Imposed
Gregory M. Collins
Pursuit of Happiness
Aug 21, 2025

Technology & Innovation

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Civitas Institute

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Who we are

We are a community of scholars exploring the ideas and institutions that create flourishing societies.

The Civitas Institute is part of the School of Civic Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin.

Independent thought, civil discourse, reasoned deliberation and intellectual curiosity are central to our ethos.

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