Youth Voices of Kerala is an anthology of essays on pertinent and current public policy topics authored by young students from colleges in Kerala. It is an outcome of college seminars organised by the Centre for Public Policy Research in collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, South Asia.

The workshop offered alternative thinking to the public’s perceptions of liberty. It contextualised the grand theories with public policy case studies, providing basic information about the economy: what well-functioning markets accomplish, their limits and an exploration into the impact of government intervention through policies. Discussions on liberty are often restricted to the myopic ‘socialism versus capitalism’ viewpoint, leading to misconceptions and false narratives on libertarianism. The workshops focused on introducing and engaging the students to look at the political economy from a classical liberal perspective. The workshops empowered the participants to be critical thinkers with a nuanced understanding of the market economy and the innovative solutions it offers, especially in the context of public policy.

The essays cover a wide range of subjects, including waste management, urban transport, artificial intelligence in education, unemployment in Kerala, and problems with higher education. The writers have examined the issues from a regional standpoint and have suggested fixes based on classical liberal ideas.

The views expressed are those of the authors.