From Classical Liberalism to Libertarianism

I will give the keynote address this evening on the theme “From Classical Liberalism to Libertarianism” at the conference on “Libertarianism and Its Critics” at Chapman University, then some presentations tomorrow.  The program has been organized by my long-time friend Tibor Machan, author of some very fine books (I’m especially fond of his book on Generosity: Virtue in Civil Society).  After the conference ends tomorrow night, I’ll drive to LAX airport to catch the midnight flight to Beijing, where I’ll land Sunday morning.  We will hold a major conference there on Monday on “Thirty Years of Reform: China’s Path to Harmonious Development.”  The conference is co-organized and sponsored by the Cato Institute and the Renmin University.  The papes are especially important, as they both represent nearly a year of research by nine working groups of Chinese scholars who have researched and prepared proposals for reform in key matters of economic and legal policy, and because the October 12 announcement by the Chinese authorities that farmers will have transferrable rights to land is central to the overall reform process.  After the conference, I will give some lectures at various universities in Beijing and Nanjing, and then head back to the US.