The LIBERTARIAN READER: Classic & Contemporary Writings from Lao-Tzu to Milton Friedman - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0684832003 ISBN 13: 9780684832005

Publisher: Free Press, 1997

Synopsis

Gathers the writers and works that represent the building blocks of libertarianism, including Thomas Paine, John Stuart Mill, Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, and John Perry Barlow

About this title

Review:

Conceived as the companion volume to David Boaz's Libertarianism, this anthology comprising the likes of Lao-tzu and Milton Friedman is a treasure trove. That's because libertarianism touches on such important issues as the nature and extent of individual rights, the proper powers of government, and the virtues and shortcomings of the marketplace, and besides, it has tempted many of history's best minds. Pound for pound, the most impressive piece of reasoning here is philosopher Robert Nozick's attempt to defend a "minimal state, limited to the narrow functions of protection against force, theft, [and] fraud, [and] enforcement of contracts" and the view "that any more extensive state will violate persons' rights not to be forced to do certain things." Still, I wonder if Nozick has always turned down federal research grants and has always refused to pay income taxes, and if he hasn't, why not?

About the Author:

David Boaz is executive vice president of the Cato Institute. He is the author of Libertarianism: A Primer (an updated edition to be released in 2015 called The Libertarian Mind), and his articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. He lives in the Washington, DC, area.

About this edition

• Publisher: Free Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0684832003
• ISBN 13: 9780684832005
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 480
• Editor: David Boaz