




Ideas for
Prosperity
Tomorrow’s leaders need better, bolder ideas about how to make our society freer and more prosperous. That’s why the Civitas Institute exists, plain and simple.

Through research, commentary, and public outreach, we explore all aspects of a free and vibrant society, including economic dynamism, individual flourishing, civic virtue, and constitutionalism.
The Civitas Institute is part of the School of Civic Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin.
Independent thought, civil discourse, free speech, reasoned deliberation and intellectual curiosity are central to our ethos.
The Civitas Institute takes its name from The University of Texas at Austin motto, Disciplina Praesidium Civitatis, a condensed Latin rendering of Mirabeau Lamar’s famous statement that a “cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy.”
This origin reflects both the university’s institutional heritage and the Institute’s interest in the link between knowledge and liberty.

Our history






Our team
We are dedicated to exploring the ideas and institutions that create flourishing societies.
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A Doctor In Full
The goal is not a doctor who has eliminated the contradictions of pain, caring, and death — that is impossible — but one who at least comprehends it.

Racing Earnhardt
This is what American greatness looks like, and in our strange, chaotic, anger-filled world, Altman’s documentary is like an oasis.

Why Reagan Crushed the PATCO Strike
A new book demonstrates why Reagan made the decision he did and, in doing so, helps advance the current-day understanding of why Reagan was such a successful president.