Economics is never the "dismal science" when discussed by Nobel Laureate economist Gary S. Becker and his wife, the historian Guity Nashat Becker. In this Independent Policy Forum and based on their book, The Economics of Life: From Baseball to Affirmative Action to Immigration, How Real-World Issues Affect Our Everyday Life, the Beckers will examine the "war on drugs," healthcare, education, marriage and divorce, the homeless, immigration, corporate leadership, religion, baseball, affirmative action, the minimum wage, Social Security, crime, and much more.

Many people have wondered how technological progress will affect political, economic, and civil freedoms. With the rise of encryption software, the National Security Agency's Echelon worldwide surveillance system, and the FBI's Carnivore e-mail snooping program, this subject is no longer the exclusive domain of speculative thinkers or futurists, it is the subject of intense public-policy debate. Will privacy-enhancing technology improve faster than privacy-threatening technology? Should the government mandate privacy standards? Should it enforce contracts in cyberspace, or would private law do a better job? Economist, physicist, and legal scholar David Friedman discussed these and related questions about technological change and the case for and against government involvement.

The 20th Century has witnessed state-sponsored carnage on an unprecedented scale. What made this era so susceptible to Hitler’s “Final Solution,” Stalin’s Gulag, Mao’s “Great Leap Forward,” Pol Pot’s killing fields, and other atrocities? Does the answer lie in the rogue ideologies that found acceptance among society’s intellectual elites—“isms” that elevated the dictates of the State over the rights of the individual and the institutions of civil society? Celebrated historian Robert Conquest discusses the rise of these ideologies—and how to protect the 21st Century from their destructive grip.

Subscribe: Is global warming real, imminent, and a threat to human life? Have such predictions been established scientifically? The proposed Global Climate Treaty calls for extensive government controls to reduce fossil fuel use. Yet, there is no scientific consensus to support global-warming pessimism. Would the proposed massive 'carbon' taxes and other controls put our society- especially those most disadvantaged- at great risk? Based on his widely acclaimed book, renowned astrophysicist Fred Singer will separate fact from fiction in this raging global warming debate.

S. Fred Singer

President, Science and Environmental Policy Project

First Director, U. S. Weather Satellite Service

Author, Hot Talk, Cold Science: Global Warming's Unfinished Debate.

With California's current economic despair, how will we get the economy out of its rut? With compelling portraits of those who defy convention to originate the products that fire a growing economy, George Gilder delivers an ardent message: People must be free as entrepreneurs to innovate and create new wealth through market-based enterprises which benefit everyone.

A luncheon to honor David Packard, co-founder of The Hewlett-Packard Company.

The Civil War was a great turning point in American history. It abolished the evil of slavery, established federal power over the states, and—paradoxically—created precedents that restrict individual freedom today. The ideas and personalities of the Civil War are forever etched in our memory, but they are not merely of historic interest. Based on their acclaimed books, Henry Mayer and Jeffrey Rogers Hummel will discuss the abolitionists, political and business interests, war mobilization and conduct, etc.—and how they continue to shape American society.

Jeffrey Rogers Hummel Professor of Economics, Golden Gate University

Henry E. Mayer National Book Award Finalist Author, All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the Abolition of Slavery

The gala reception and presentation of the Thomas S. Szasz Awards for Outstanding Contributions to the Cause of Civil Liberties to Robert Higgs and Robert Spillane, followed by a special forum featuring Dr. Higgs on “Liberty and Leviathan,” based on his acclaimed book, Depression, War, and Cold War (Oxford University Press).

Thomas S. Szasz The Thomas S. Szasz Award is a tribute conferred annually by the Center for Independent Thought for the avocation of civil liberties and to encourage others to work to protect personal autonomy from state encroachment.

Robert Higgs Senior Fellow, The Independent Institute. Winner, 2006 Thomas S. Szasz Award, General Award. Author, Depression, War, and Cold War, Against Leviathan, and Crisis and Leviathan.

Robert Spillane Professor of Management Macquarie University Australia. Winner, 2006 Thomas S. Szasz Award, Professional Award.

Andrea Millen Rich President, Center for Independent Thought

David J. Theroux Founder and President, The Independent Institute