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Civitas Outlook publishes essays, book reviews, symposia, podcasts, and videos to improve our thinking and practice about freedom, civility, responsibility, and the rule of law. We are not directed by ideology or intellectual conformism but rather seek understanding from a variety of authors, ideas, and disciplines.

The opinions expressed on Civitas Outlook are solely those of the writers and do not reflect those of Civitas Institute or the University of Texas at Austin.

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

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Civitas Outlook

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Washington’s Housing Fix Isn’t a Fix

Empower markets over bureaucrats. Allow private capital to flow. And most importantly, let builders build.

Tobias Peter
Economic Dynamism
Mar 25, 2026

Parliament, Country, and Friendship

James Grant’s delightful Friends Until the End also has much to tell us about the character of statesmen and the power (and limits) of rhetoric.

Luke Foster
Politics
Mar 25, 2026

The Economist Who Knew Too Much

Peru’s situation highlights a broader lesson: development rarely turns on electing the “right guy” alone; it depends on whether a country is willing to adopt the institutions that make prosperity possible.

Julia R. Cartwright
Economic Dynamism
Mar 24, 2026

Why Can’t We Have a Real Filibuster?

The history of congressional reform is the history of unintended consequences.

Joseph Postell
Politics
Mar 24, 2026

The Tragedy of Paul Ehrlich

In Ehrlich's view of the world, every new person is just a stomach and a pair of hands.

Economic Dynamism
Mar 23, 2026
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