Frederic Bastiat Interversity's 
Libertarian Certification Program

Based on the examination given out to participants of the 1994 Libertas Academy, organized and presented by Michael Everling, Director of Operations of the Libertarian Party of Los Angeles County, and co-developed by Sam Wells (BA, Political Science; MA, Political Philosopny and Economics) with input from consultants Ernst Ghermann and Dennis Decherd, the FBI Libertarian Certification Exam is an objective test in format and covers basic economics, political philosophy, history, and American Constitutional rights and principles from a libertarian (pro-freedom) frame of reference. Although there is much intentional overlapping of topics among the questions, in general the first fifty questions tend to dd soeal with basic concepts and history of economics, while the remaining questions generally relate to political philosophy, the U.S. Constitution, and general history relating to the issues of liberty and statism.

When an applicant passes the exam with a score of 90 percent or better, he or she will be awarded a Certificate of Libertarian Authenticity, suitable for framing and hanging.

So, if you believe you are a real libertarian, and your spouse and friends have suggested for years that you are certifiable, well . . . maybe you are! Find out for sure by taking the Libertarian Certification Exam. If you pass it, you can objectively prove to others that you are a Certified Authentic Libertarian! So, don't delay -- join the elite of constitutional freedom activists fighting for the principles that made America great.

 
Take the test

Suggested Sources for Background Preparation

The following books, articles and other sources are but suggested readings on the topics covered by the exam questions. The background material, facts, and principles covered on the test are included in -- but not limited to -- the information in these sources, which are familiar to most libertarians and Libertarians. Most, if not all, the books listed below are available from Laissez-Faire Books, the Foundation for Economic Educaiton, Blackstone Audio Books, or amazon.com. The articles and other online sources are "clickable" to the appropriate links.

The Law by Frederic Bastiat -- Softback
The Law by Frederic Bastiat -- Hardcover
The Law by Frederic Bastiat -- Unabridged Audio Cassette
The Law (as Chapter 2 of Selected Essays on Political Economy) by Frederic Bastiat (as translated by Seymour Cain) -- Online
Economic Sophisms by Frederic Bastiat
The Incredible Bread Machine by Richard W. Grant
"That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen" by Bastiat
Economics In One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
"Textbook of Americanism" by Ayn Rand
"The Physiology of Plunder" by Bastiat
"The Essence of Liberty" by David Nolan, cofounder of the American LP
"Some Basic Definitions" by Wells
"What a Libertarian Is -- and Is Not" by Wells
"The Three Categories of Human Activity" by Wells
On the Proper Role of Government by Ezra Taft Benson
Cliches of Politics ed. by Mark Spangler
Government and Legal Plunder: Bastiat Brought Up To Date by Dean Russell
Libertarianism, a Primer by David Boaz
Libertarianism In One Lesson by David Bergland
"A Petition from the Candlemakers" by Frederic Bastiat
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand
Healing Our World: The Other Piece of the Puzzle by Dr. Mary Ruwart
Libertarianism by Dr. John Hospers, the LP's first Presidential candidate
The Libertarian by Robert LeFevre (Bramble minibook)
Anything That's Peaceful: The Case for the Free Market by Leonard Read
Free To Choose by Milton and Rose Friedman

Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman
Restoring the American Dream by Robert Ringer


What Has Government Done To Our Money? by Rothbard
The Case Against the Fed by Rothbard
Two Treatises of Government -- 2 Audio Tapes, excerpts & historical analysis
Origins of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights by Mayer -- 2 Audio Tapes
The Intellectual Foundations of American Constitutionalism by Mayer
The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson
The Constitution of the United States
The U. S. Bill of Rights (First ten amendments)
Major Documents in the Historical Development Toward the American Constitutional Republic (web links)
The People's Pottage by Garet Garrett
The Task Confronting Libertarians from chapter 24 of Man Versus the Welfare State
The Wisdom of Henry Hazlitt

Suggestions for More In-Depth Investigations

FBI's crime reports

Books & Articles

Capitalism: A Treatise On Economics by Prof. Goerge Reisman
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Anarchy, State, and Utopia by Robert Nozick
The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek
America's Great Depression by Rothbard
The Case for a 100 Percent Gold Dollar by Rothbard
The Economics of a Pure Gold Standard by Mark Skousen
"Gertrude Coogan and the Myths of Social Credit" from Introduction to Christian Economics by Dr. Gary North
Hoodwinking the Nation by Julian Simon
Second Treatise on Civil Government by John Locke
The English Bill of Rights of 1689
The Virginia Declaration of Rights by George Mason
The Federalist Papers
The Anti-Federalist Papers
The Papers of James Madison
The Levellers: Libertarian Radicalism and the English Civil War by Hoiles
Philosophic Sources of the American Founding -- Claremont Institute
The Independent Whig & Cato's Letters of Trenchard & Gordon
The Founders' Constitution ed. by Kurland & Lerner
A General Outline of Political Systems -- analyzed in terms of Governmental Form and Governmental Scope
A "Vertical" Political Spectrum A new slant on an old conflict
Not Yours To Give A speech before the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Davy Crockett
The Noblest Triumph Property & Prosperity Through the Ages by Tom Bethell
The Industrial Revolution and Free Trade by Folsom
The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism by F. A. von Hayek
More Guns, Less Crime by Lott
The Seven Myths of Gun Control by Poe
On Liberty and Drugs: Essays on the Free Market and Prohibition by Milton Friedman & Thomas Szasz
The Creature from Jekyl Island by G. Edward Griffin
The Libertarian Reader by David Boaz
The Ayn Rand Lexicon ed. by Harry Binswanger
Antitrust: The Case for Repeal by Dom Armentano
The Case Against Government Schools: Getting Politics Out of Education by Frank E. Fortkamp
A Basic History of the United States Vol 2: The Beginning of the Republic 1775-1826 by Clarence B. Carson
A Basic History of the United States Vol 4: The Growth of America, 1878-1928 by Clarence B. Carson
A Basic History of the United States Vol 5: The Welfare State, 1929-1985 by Clarence B. Carson
The Conquest of Poverty by Henry Hazlitt
Man Versus the Welfare State by Henry Hazlitt
Time Will Run Back by Henry Hazlitt (Hazlitt's one and only novel)

 
 


A Petition from the Candlemakers . . . a classic of delightful satire

What is the Proper Function of Political Law and its Agencies of Enforcement?

In the year 1850, not long before his untimely death from tuberculosis, Bastiat wrote and published perhaps the most eloquent essay on the proper role of government ever written. It is entitled "The Law" and is filled with Bastiat's usual clarity of expression and profound insights. Click on the following link and read the full text of the American translation of this classic exposition: The Law (HTML version) by Frederic Bastiat

The Law (plain text version) by Frederic Bastiat


Quotations from Frederic Bastiat on a Variety of Topics
Dallas Federal Reserve President Bob McTeer's Wall Street Journal tribute to Frederic Bastiat
Why Frederic Bastiat is my hero
Economist Dr. Walter Williams on "Liberty's Greatest Advocate"

For a sampling of Bastiat's other writings, bibliography, and a good source for further investigation, click on the Bastiat Institute on the Resource and Reference button below:Frederic Bastiat Resource Reference Link (The Bastiat Institute)

For brief quotations from other heroes of the mind, check out The Dead Economists Society.


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