"Until recently, we knew liberty without order was decadent and order without liberty was tyrannical. But many powerful and influential figures have decided this wisdom is obsolete because it obstructs their demands for ‘systemic equity’ or their desire to ‘own the libs.'" In The Spirit of '76: Libertarianism and American Renewal, Alexander W. Salter advocates for a return to founding-era principles of "ordered liberty," emphasizing natural rights and limited government. Published in 2023, the book outlines a defense of traditional American ideals against the expansion of state power. 

Alexander W. Salter is Comparative Economics Research Fellow at the Free Market Institute and Georgie G. Snyder Professor of Economics in the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Administration. Dr. Salter's research and teaching interests include comparative political economy, institutional analysis, and the economics of governance. He is interested in monetary economics and macroeconomics, and especially the question of which monetary and macroeconomic institutions best promote economic stability. He is the author and coauthor of four books and more than 80 articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals including Journal of Macroeconomics, American Political Science Review, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Contemporary Economic Policy, Journal of Institutional Economics, and Public Choice. He also serves as an associate editor of The Journal of Private Enterprise. 

Alex's popular writing has appeared in several other publications including The Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, National Review, RealClearPolitics, and City Journal. Alex teaches an undergraduate course in Applied Business Economics and a gradate course in Austrian Economics. He has also taught a graduate course in Public Choice.

Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, capitalism has unleashed unimaginable growth in opportunity and prosperity. And yet, at key points in American history, economic disruption has led to a greater role for government, ostensibly to protect against capitalism's excesses. Today, government regulates, mandates, subsidizes, and controls a growing share of the American economy. Based on his book, The Triumph of Economic Freedom: Debunking the Seven Great Myths of American Capitalism (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2025), Phil Gramm examines the seven events and issues in American history that define, for most Americans, the role of government and how the 21^st century world works. To many Americans, these five periods of American history, which include the Industrial Revolution, Progressive Era, Great Depression, decline of America's postwar preeminence in world trade, and the Great Recession, along with the existing levels of income inequality and poverty, represent strong evidence for expanding government in American life. Sen. Gramm argues that the evidence points to a contrary verdict: government interference and failed policies pose the most significant threat to economic freedom.

Phil Gramm has had a long and distinguished career in public service, academia, and the private sector. He served in the United States Congress representing Texas for more than two decades, first as representative for the 6^th congressional district representative in the House, then later as Senator. Sen. Gramm currently serves as a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He was Vice Chairman of UBS Investment Bank and is now Vice Chairman of Lone Star Funds. Sen. Gramm taught economics at Texas A&M University for 12 years before becoming a member of Congress.

Sen. Gramm's legislative record includes landmark bills like the Gramm-Latta Budget – which reduced federal spending, rebuilt national defense and mandated the Reagan tax cut – and the Gramm-Rudman Act, which placed the first binding constraints on federal spending. As chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Gramm steered legislation modernizing banking, insurance, and securities laws. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act amended the 70-year-old Glass-Steagall Act, allowing banks, security companies and insurance companies to affiliate through a financial services holding company.

Sen. Gramm has published numerous articles and books, including his most recent book The Triumph of Economic Freedom: Debunking the Seven Great Myths of American Capitalism (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2025) (co-authored with Donald J. Boudreaux of George Mason University).