About

Welcome to Discourse, an online journal of politics, economics and culture published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Discourse is dedicated first and foremost to discourse, to the idea that good thinking and good ideas arise amid the interplay of different viewpoints and perspectives. Discourse is also dedicated to promoting and defending time-tested liberal values with new and innovative thinking.

At a time when many of the liberal ideas that help undergird American society are under attack from different sides, our editors and writers aim to use calm reason and provocative thinking to move our society back in a more open and tolerant direction. With this in mind, we seek to lead by example, embracing humility as well as intellectual honesty and rigor in our editorial policies. And in the spirit of discourse, we also strive to publish a diversity of voices, serving our readers by promoting friendly competition and challenge among our writers.

At the same time, our work remains grounded in the very ideas that have allowed generations of Americans to obtain greater freedom and prosperity. These beliefs—which include freedom of speech, thought and worship; open and free markets; pluralism and tolerance; and limited government and a respect for civil society—will always be vigorously defended in our pages.

We hope that you enjoy Discourse and that our work helps spark new thinking and new conversations. For a limited time, new subscribers will receive a free digital copy of Discourse’s Abundance Agenda print edition, which contains some of the best essays from our recent series looking at the benefits of economic and social abundance.

And please feel free to join the discourse and let us know your thoughts by sending a letter to the editor. We’d love to hear from you about everything from your views on the articles we have published to your suggestions for articles we should run in the future.

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Where Ideas Meet. Subscribe now to receive your free digital copy of Discourse's Abundance Agenda print edition.

People

Robert Tracinski is the editor of Symposium, a columnist with Discourse Magazine, and also publishes commentary at The Tracinski Letter.
David Masci is Editor-in-Chief of Discourse at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Previously, he worked as a senior research fellow and senior editor at the Pew Research Center and as a staff writer at Congressional Quarterly.
Jennifer Tiedemann is the Executive Editor at Discourse Magazine.
Sometime political scientist, sometime political theorist
Christina Behe is the managing editor at Discourse magazine.
Writing on everything AI and technology policy. Exploring classical liberalism in the AI age. Research Fellow and technologist for the AI and Progress Project @mercatus .
Author of The Revolt of the Public, former CIA analyst, presently a Visiting Fellow at the Mercatus Center of George Mason University
Writing with a focus on urbanism, culture, popular history. [email protected]
Policy scorekeeping at AFPI, propaganda analysis via Mercatus, contributor at the Washington Examiner, developer of http://policychangeindex.org, and alum of AEI, Northwestern and the Univ. of Hong Kong.
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is the world’s premier university source for market-oriented ideas
Philosophy Prof & Director of GSU's PPE Program, author of Toleration (2014), Toleration & Freedom from Harm: Liberalism Reconceived (2018), now finishing a book intended as an instruction manual for civil discourse. (See www.AndrewJasonCohen.com.)