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Excellent selection of essays on Libertarianism, if perhaps a bit too focused on the market. Also surprising was the lack of any specific Ayn Rand essay, just the Playboy interview with her and an analysis on her views. Boaz's reasoning for not including any of her specific work seemed weak to me, and I hope in future editions he reconsiders.
Absolutely nothing bad to say about the book. Short writings from people who are smarter than you. High re-readability!
A great introduction to Libertarian thinkingFrom Adam Smith to Friedman, dozens of writings present the cornerstones of libertarianism: Life, Liberty and Property. Also useful are the recommended readings
Still slogging my way through. More a collection of short essays all separated into chapters with a common theme. I'm trying to understand the past so I can figure out the future.
A rather motley crew with varying quality contributions and a spectrum of understandings of what libertarian ism is.
This book offers a foundation overview of Libertarian philosophy. This is your "go-to" book if you're seeking to expand your knowledge of individualism, free markets and other ideas that Libertarians espouse.
The Libertarian Reader: Classic and Contemporary Writings from Lao Tzu to Milton Friedman by David Boaz (1998)
This book is, simply put, nothing less than brilliant. Both easily accessible for those unfamiliar with the philosophical foundations of liberty and comprehensive enough to satisfy more experienced readers, this volume of essays and selections covers a host of critical topics such as spontaneous order and individual rights. Many of the authors are those one might expect to see, such as Milton Friedman, Frederick Hayek, and John Locke, but I was particularly surprised to discover brief selections...
i liked this at the time..
Apparently politics is not one of my strong suits. I slogged along trying to stay interested and awake. Lots of good stuff here for someone else.
Loved this. I read this after Libertarianism, and it clarified many of the questions I had (in particular, economic calculations). Recommended
I am not rating it low because it was a bad book. I am glad to have read through it because it gave me some exposure to ideas I do not often get exposed to. These days, it is very hard to tell apart conservatives, libertarians, classical liberals, and other labels. If you want to get a good sampling of what it is to be libertarian and what readings and authors helped to create and influence libertarianism, then this is a good primer to go. It contains a selection of short pieces by writers inclu...
I received this book as a Good Reads first read. I didn't read this cover to cover but I skimmed through and read many of the essays. It's a good mix of essays of varying length. Everything is short enough that you can get the point of the essay without being lost in the terminology or politics. There are works by Frederick Douglas and John Locke, an interview with Ayn Rand, a short section with ideas from Lao Tzu. You won't get weighed down with dry, heavy language. This book is designed to be
Sweet Book. It is actually a collection essays from clasical and contemporary thinkers on issues such as, markets, liberty and freedoms.
Good overview of libertarian thought. Not terribly exciting though. As non-native speaker I had trouble with some of the earlier writers who use old English and strange expressions
Excellent compilation of classical liberal writings.
A thorough overview of libertarian thought and development; I will be adding books written by many of the essay writers to my reading list (notably Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia). Herbert Spencer's essay "The Right to Ignore the State" was particularly inspiring; but in all, a great book for anyone curious about the traditions, philosophy, nature, and consequences of liberty.
This book for me is an excellent reference with a thorough sample of all the libertarian thinkers over the centuries. I find reading 18th and 19th century writings difficult and therefore some essays are a chore. A bibliography and index would be advantageous.
i only read about 1/3 of this - even that might be a little generous.i am not an intellectual, not all that bright (but a little above avg maybe), and i found most of the essays to be a bit of a slog. i think it's better if i let someone explain hayek to me, rather than going right to the source.if you're a smarty-pants, you may get a lot out of this. myself? i'm glad i checked this out of the library rather than buying it as i'd planned, cuz i found this exhausting and humiliating. i'll still g...
I have picked this book out of many, just to highlight the Cato Institute, a Libertarian think tank in Washington (www.cato.org). Cato is not, as many think, to the far right of the Far Right. On the contrary it holds many positions (free speech, civil liberties, privacy, anti-war) that are those of Liberals. Libertarian thought is based on two principles: 1) the absolute primacy of the individual; and 2) a limited role for government. This last is important for the misunderstanding it has gener...
