PUBLICATIONS
Dive into our collection of thought-provoking articles and in-depth publications that explore the key issues, reforms, and policies central to the Liberty First initiative. Here, you will find expert analysis, research, and commentary on the importance of individual freedom and economic prosperity
The Blueprint for Freedom
The FMF launched Liberty First after the 2024 election to promote reforms for growth and progress. Based on the Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) report, the book outlines proposals on trade, government size, regulation, property rights, and sound money, providing a clear roadmap for the GNU or any future government to strengthen South Africa’s economic freedom and prosperity.
A POLICY AGENDA FOR SOUTH AFRICA’S 2024-2029 PARLIAMENTARY TERM
The 2024 election has opened the door to real policy reform. Using the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom standards, the FMF proposes reforms to free South Africans and boost the economy by 2029.
Freedom to Trade Internationally
Liberty first: Freedom to Trade Internationally
This policy paper offers recommendations for South Africa’s post-2024 government to increase trade freedom, enhancing productivity, driving economic growth, and reducing poverty and unemployment.
TROUBLED WATERS: RESCUING SOUTH AFRICA FROM A TARIFF DISASTER
The paper argues that only unilateral free trade, through repealing tariffs, liberalising capital, and enshrining openness in the Constitution, can counter foreign protectionism, revive South Africa’s economy, and secure peace and prosperity.
Size of government
Liberty first: Size of Government
South Africa’s excessive state spending can be tackled by enforcing fiscal responsibility, implementing tax reform for fairer taxpayer returns, and pursuing privatisation to end resource waste on inefficient public services.
Lean But Efficient: The Fiscal and Moral Imperative of Cutting South Africa’s Cabinet
The FMF advocates limiting Cabinet to 10 key portfolios, reducing regulation, easing burdens, and signalling restraint.
Regulation
Liberty first: Regulation
This paper advocates for deregulating labour, education, and healthcare to boost economic freedom in South Africa. Reducing regulatory burdens can energise the economy, create jobs, support SMEs, and expand individual freedoms.
Defusing the Joblessness Timebomb: Restoring Dignity and Choice Through Labour Regulation Exemption
The FMF’s Job Seekers Exemption Certificate (JSEC) lets anyone jobless for six months get a free, revocable certificate exempting them from all labour laws for 24 months, giving them the freedom to say, “I choose work on my terms.”
Legal System & Property Rights
Legal and physical limits on state power are essential for economic freedom. Constitutionalism ensures legal limits on government, while private property protects physical spaces from intrusion without consent.
Constitutional Land Reform: Alternatives to Confiscation and Land Retribution
Property rights are essential for a free society, and so is expanding access and restoring dispossessed land. Properly framed, land reform and property protection work together. This paper presents constitutional alternatives to the destructive Expropriation Act of 2024.
Sound Money
Liberty first: Sound Money
This paper contains policy recommendations and proposed reforms to strengthen the soundness of money in South Africa. It additionally analyses the pernicious effects of inflation and how to mitigate it.
Statist policy and state dysfunction are eroding economic freedom in South Africa. This paper presents Bitcoin as practical state-proof money and a tool to protect monetary freedom.