Ilya Somin
American legal scholar; professor of law at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School and a contributor to The Volokh Conspiracy. Author of Democracy and Political Ignorance (2013) and Free to Move (2020); writes on property rights, migration, federalism and libertarianism.
Ilya Somin did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
What they believe
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Fusionism is preferable to nationalism and postliberalism.
I agree with Slade, Jonathan Adler, and others that fusionism is far preferable to nationalism and postliberalism.
reason.comSaid 14 Oct 2026This on korrents
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Libertarians should generally prefer democracy to other forms of government, but it should not be a first-order priority.
Libertarians should generally prefer democracy to other forms of government. But democracy should not be a first-order libertarian priority.
reason.comSaid 4 Oct 2026This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 12 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
Fusionism is preferable to nationalism and postliberalism.
I agree with Slade, Jonathan Adler, and others that fusionism is far preferable to nationalism and postliberalism.
The Volokh Conspiracy Said 14 Oct 2026
An alliance with abundance liberals is likely a more promising political strategy for libertarians than a revival of fusionism in the short to medium term.
Finally, at least in the short to medium term future, an alliance with "abundance liberals" is probably a more promising political strategy for libertarians than a revival of fusionism.
The Volokh Conspiracy Said 14 Oct 2026
Fusionists are unlikely to regain control over the conservative movement in the near future.
But we should recognize that fusionists are unlikely to regain control over the conservative movement anytime soon, and that fusionism has notable inherent limitations.
The Volokh Conspiracy Said 14 Oct 2026
Show 9 more
Libertarians should generally prefer democracy to other forms of government, but it should not be a first-order priority.
Libertarians should generally prefer democracy to other forms of government. But democracy should not be a first-order libertarian priority.
The Volokh Conspiracy Said 4 Oct 2026
Democracy is an instrumental tool that can help achieve fundamental values if properly constrained, but it is not inherently valuable in itself.
Rather, democracy is an institutional tool that can - if properly constrained - help achieve genuinely fundamental values. In that respect, it is similar to such institutions as federalism, separation of powers, and judicial review. All of these can have great instrumental value. But none are valuable in and of themselves.
The Volokh Conspiracy Said 4 Oct 2026
Real-world voters are often systematically ignorant, perform poorly when evaluating information, and sometimes hold deeply illiberal values.
But, as outlined in my own recent contribution to Liberalism.Org (which Zwolinski generously references in his article), real-world voters are are often systematically ignorant, do a poor job of evaluating the information they do know, and sometimes have deeply illiberal values.
The Volokh Conspiracy Said 4 Oct 2026
The Nazis were similar to socialists in backing sweeping government control over the economy, yet different from them in rejecting racial and ethnic equality.
The right answer is that the Nazis were similar to socialists in backing sweeping government control over the economy, yet different from them in rejecting racial and ethnic equality.
The Volokh Conspiracy Said 29 Sept 2026
The ubiquity of ethnic persecution under socialist regimes suggests a systematic pattern.
The ubiquity of ethnic persecution - often rising to the level of deportation and mass murder - under socialist regimes, suggests a systematic pattern.
The Volokh Conspiracy Said 29 Sept 2026
Socialism requires immense coercion and concentration of power to function.
A key factor is that socialism requires immense coercion and concentration of power in order to function.
The Volokh Conspiracy Said 29 Sept 2026
Expanding exit and choice opportunities is the best way to help students from less advantaged families.
Although she does not seem to recognize it, the best way to help students from less advantaged families than her own is to expand exit and choice opportunities for them.
The Volokh Conspiracy Said 21 Sept 2026
Peer-reviewed studies suggest school vouchers improve the quality of public schools left behind by those who exit.
Peer-reviewed studies of the effects of vouchers find that they actually improve the quality of public schools "left behind" by those who exit.
The Volokh Conspiracy Said 21 Sept 2026
Expanding exit rights and choice particularly benefits the poor and disadvantaged, including minorities.
As noted in my book, studies indicate that expanding exit rights and choice particularly benefits the poor and disadvantaged - including minorities.
The Volokh Conspiracy Said 21 Sept 2026
What is a korrent?
A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.
Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.
Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.
Where they publish
Blog Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy His posts on constitutional law, tariffs, migration and political theory. Has a per-author feed.
Link verified 24 Oct 2026.
x.com @IlyaSomin His X account.
Link verified 24 Oct 2026.
About the English under a post
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The post itself is never changed, moved or hidden: what is set in the serif above is exactly what the person published, and it is what to quote them on. A translation can be wrong in ways that matter, especially about tone.
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