Supremacy of Law: Meaning and Limits on Power
Subjecting public power to law does not place ordinary legislation above the constitution. The distinction becomes clear when we ask who may decide, on what legal grounds, and subject to what checks.
Fundamentals
Fundamentals works as the conceptual map of Libertatis Venezuela. It gathers explainers on individual liberty, private property, the rule of law, limited government and market economics for readers who want to understand the basics before moving into current affairs, opinion or applied analysis.
A useful reading path starts with individual liberty, private property, the rule of law and limited government, then moves toward free markets, free prices, inflation, central banks, taxes, public debt, protectionism and competition. The section prioritizes doctrinal clarity, precise distinctions and ordered arguments over slogans.
Freedom of Research: Scope, Safeguards, and Limits
Research freedom requires independence to ask questions, test explanations, and share findings. Its safeguards go hand in hand with rigorous evaluation and respect for people.
Political consent: when is there authorization to govern?
Living in a country or voting in its elections raises a question: what have we authorized? An explanation of political consent, its conditions, and its scope.
Freedom to Publish: What It Protects and How It Works
Publishing connects ideas with readers. Learn what this freedom protects, which decisions belong to publishers, and how restrictions must be justified.
Freedom of Worship: What It Protects and Its Limits
Holding a ceremony, gathering for prayer, or choosing not to participate all raise the same demand: respect for personal choice. This is what distinguishes freedom of worship from religious privilege.
Freedom of Thought: What It Means and What It Protects
Freedom of thought protects the ability to form, hold, and change convictions without coercion. Understanding it means distinguishing thought, communication, and action.
Freedom of Movement: What It Protects and Where Its Limits Lie
Moving within a country, leaving it, and returning to your own country are distinct rights. Understanding them helps assess when a restriction is justified.
Liberalism vs Populism: Differences and Limits on Power
Addressing popular demands and claiming to speak for the entire people are different things. That distinction offers a liberal perspective on populism.
Economic Competition and Political Power: How They Interact
A business can win customers by improving its offer or seek rules that protect its position. Distinguishing these strategies helps explain how markets and political power interact.
Liberalism and Limits on Power: Why Winning Is Not a Blank Check
Winning an election gives a government authority within defined limits. A fictional fine imposed on a critical publication shows why rights need institutional checks and effective ways to challenge abuses.
Currency Board: What It Is and How It Works
A currency board links a domestic currency to a foreign anchor through rules on reserve backing and conversion. Its balance sheet reveals what it constrains and which risks remain.
Cultural Tolerance: What It Is, Why It Matters, and Where Its Limits Lie
Cultural tolerance allows people to live alongside beliefs and customs they do not share without abandoning disagreement or treating every practice as acceptable.
Fractional reserve banking: what it is and why it is debated
Fractional reserve banking allows demand deposits to coexist with loans and other assets. This structure facilitates credit, but it requires liquidity, capital, and rules capable of containing its risks.
Liberalism and Freedom of Expression: Why It Matters and Where Its Limits Lie
Freedom of expression protects autonomy, pluralism, and scrutiny of power, but it is neither an absolute right nor immunity from every consequence.
Liberalism and Decentralization: When Dispersing Power Protects Freedom
Decentralization can limit concentrations of power, bring decisions closer to citizens, and create room for institutional diversity. But without rights, resources, and accountability, it can also move arbitrary power to the local level.
Inflation and Institutional Crisis: How They Reinforce Each Other
Inflation and institutional fragility can reinforce each other through public finances, credibility, and contracts, but the relationship is not automatic.
Judicial Independence: What It Is, How It Is Protected, and Its Limits
Judicial independence allows judges to decide cases according to the facts and the law, free from orders or reprisals, but it does not exempt them from explaining their decisions or from legitimate oversight.
Right to Petition: What It Is, What It Guarantees, and How to Exercise It
The right to petition allows people to address public authorities and receive a response in accordance with the law, but it does not guarantee that their request will be granted.
Guarantist Constitutionalism: Rights, Guarantees, and Limits on Power
Guarantist constitutionalism subjects legislation to constitutional limits of both form and substance. A guide to its concepts, scope, and tensions.
What Is Constituent Power, Who Exercises It, and What Are Its Limits?
Constituent power creates or replaces a political community’s constitutional framework. Understanding it requires distinguishing its holder, the body that exercises it, and the limits on its use.
Government Transparency: What It Is, How It Works, and Its Limits
Publishing information is not enough: transparency requires public decisions and resources to be findable, understandable, and open to scrutiny.
Moral Responsibility: What It Is and When It Can Be Attributed
Moral responsibility allows us to ask people to answer for actions and omissions, but it requires us to consider how much control and knowledge they actually had.
Inviolability of the Home: What It Protects, Scope, and Limits
The inviolability of the home protects a sphere of autonomy against arbitrary entry and searches. It is not absolute, but it requires legal grounds, limits, and oversight.
Liberal Individualism: What It Is, Principles, and Criticisms
Liberal individualism treats each person as a bearer of rights and requires power exercised over them to be justified, without denying the importance of social bonds.