The need for a state - a single authority of law and government, with exclusive jurisdiction over some territory - is a basic assumption of much political theory and popular discourse. Tom Palmer challenges this common prejudice, and makes the case for non-coercive institutions in place of a central monopoly in law, as at present.

Vice President of the Cato Institute and General Director of the Atlas Global Initiative, Dr Tom Palmer is a prominent libertarian activist. He has recently published an edited collection of his essays, Realizing Freedom: Libertarian Theory, History and Practice, which defends libertarianism from its critics and ably sets out, with one eye on history, the case for individual freedom and property rights.

Recorded at Christ Church, University of Oxford, on 19th October 2009