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Despite his obscurity today, the French Irish economist Richard Cantillon was the first person to put forward a theory of the entrepreneur in the market economy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 1879, Henry George wrote Progress and Poverty, still one of the bestselling economics books of all time; in it, he argued for the abolition of all kinds of taxes but one. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Marie De Gournay’s “The Equality of Men and Women” is one of the first books to use equality to define the relationships between the sexes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Though born into obscurity, Josiah Wedgwood would become a household name across the European continent over the course of his life, representing refinement and taste. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The ancient Indian writer Kautilya had more knowledge of economic affairs than any thinker for over a thousand years. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The life of the subversive novelist José Rizal proves that sometimes the pen really is mightier than the sword. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Born into a middle-ranking samurai family and a volatile political scene, Itagaki Taisuke would become one of the most influential figures in Japanese history. His early exposure to western ideas of liberalism led him to become a fierce advocate of constitutional government. He became the leader of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement, which later developed into Japan's first-ever political party, the Liberal Party. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We are taking a holiday break on the Portraits of Liberty Podcast. Look for new episodes from us come the New Year. In the meantime, be sure to check out our catalog of previous episodes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Four hundred before Adam Smith wrote the Wealth of Nations, the 14th-century Andalusian statesman and scholar Ibn Khaldun discussed the division of labor, the benefits of trade, and the optimal rate of taxation. Today, historians consider Ibn Khaldun's work as the precursor to the disciplines o economics, historiography, and sociology. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Despite being the first-ever vice president and second president, until very recently, John Adams was ignored by historians in favor of figures like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. But Adams was one of the practical and philosophical powerhouses of the American Revolution. Without the lifelong dedication of Adams, it is arguable the American Revolution might never have succeeded. C. Bradley Thompson joins Portraits to vindicate why Adams deserves a place amongst the greats of American history. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Beginning life as the son of a baker, Luis Cabrera Lobato rose to prominence as a lawyer and became one of the sharpest intellects of the Mexican Revolution. At the time, he was Mexico's foremost constitutional. Luis noticed that without the restraint of the law, names change, but dictators remain.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Intellectual, poet, and playwright Václav Havel began life on the fringes of Communist Czechoslovakia. Alongside fellow dissidents, Václav played a vital role in the Velvet Revolution, peacefully toppling the communist state and becoming the first president of the newly founded country. Today he is remembered for his moral integrity and biting critique of the spiritual oppression inherent in the communist system. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mary Dyer left England to pursue her religious beliefs without persecution in the New World. However, once she arrived, she quickly realized the hypocrisy of the Puritan authorities, who persecuted her, even fashioning her tragic miscarriage as a "monstrous birth" in order to discredit her. Her execution, and that of many religious dissidents like her, carved out the space for the kind of religious freedom we so often take for granted today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Born in Havana in 1853, José Martí witnessed the horrors of slavery at a young age and dedicated his life to fighting against imperialism and racism. Martí many things, a poet, a philosopher, journalist, professor, but above all else a patriot to Cuba. He was an anti-racist and anti-colonial thinker who criticized any form of oppression. Though he failed in his efforts to gain independence for Cuba, Martí has become a heroic figure for liberty in Latin America. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today Cicero is often read-only by classical scholars and reluctant students which is a great shame because his life and philosophy reflect a sort of proto-liberalism that came to influence a wide variety of thinkers such as John Adams, John Locke, Adam Smith, Voltaire, and Montesquieu. His life and works have echoed throughout the western tradition of political philosophy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Unlike their monarchical neighbors, the 17th-century Dutch Republic was a tolerant capitalist society amid a Golden Age of exploration, commerce, and science. The most outstanding defenders of this out of place, yet highly successful republic were the De La Court brothers, two radical writers who become precursors to the most radical elements of Enlightenment thought in favor of commerce, toleration, and above all else, liberty. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Born in Germany in the first half of the 20th-century, Sophie Scholl witnessed the rise of the Nazi party and state throughout her childhood. By the time she was a student at the University of Munich, she could not stand idly by as the Nazi war machine raged. Scholl joined the peaceful activist group known as the White Rose and tried to shine a light on Nazi Germany's evil crimes. For her activism, she paid the ultimate price. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Born in England while Puritans were persecuted, Williams hopped aboard a ship to America in an attempt to find a place where freedom of religion was a guaranteed right. Unable to find a home free of religious persecution, he founded his own colony, now known as Rhode Island, one of the first places ever to establish absolute freedom of religion with no ifs or buts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mustafa Akyol joins Portraits of Liberty to discuss the life and thought of the famous Andalusian polymath Ibn Rushd. Born during what is called the Golden Age of Islam, Ibn Rushd was one of the earliest thinkers in the Middle East to articulate what would later become the core values of liberalism. His influence stretched into the western world, where his translations of Aristotle caused an intellectual renaissance. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A lot of people talk about abolishing the state, but can it be done? Often the status quo says no. Founder of the Brehon Law Academy, Kevin Flanagan, disagrees and explains that Ireland was a stateless society for hundreds if not thousands of years. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.