Category: Freedom
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
General Description
The Fountainhead has become an enduring piece of literature, more popular now than when published in 1943. On the surface, it is a story of one man, Howard Roark, and his struggles as an architect in the face of a successful rival, Peter Keating, and a newspaper columnist, Ellsworth Toohey. But the book addresses a number of universal themes: the strength of the individual, the tug between good and evil, the threat of fascism. The confrontation of those themes, along with the amazing stroke of Rand’s writing, combine to give this book its enduring influence.Why the President Should Read This Book
Although the book is needlessly disturbing in parts, the themes of individual freedom and the innate drive humans have to excel, contrasted against the greed that motivates one to look for shortcuts to the top, serve as superb examples of true human nature, what can be accomplished when individuals are free to pursue their own courses, and how those who do not follow their dreams can become envious of those who do, and like the crabs in a bucket work to prevent those who would succeed from achieving it. A President who read and understood this … Read the rest of this entry »Nullification by Thomas E. Woods Jr.
General Overview
Citizens across the country are fed up with the politicians in Washington telling us how to live our lives—and then sticking us with the bill. But what can we do? Actually, we can just say “no.” As New York Times bestselling author Thomas E. Woods, Jr., explains, “nullification” allows states to reject unconstitutional federal laws. For many tea partiers nationwide, nullification is rapidly becoming the only way to stop an over-reaching government drunk on power. From privacy to national healthcare, Woods shows how this growing and popular movement is sweeping across America and empowering states to take action against Obama’s socialist policies and big-government agenda.From the Inside Flap
Unconstitutional laws are pouring out of Washington…but we can stop them.Just ask Thomas Jefferson. There is a “rightful remedy” to federal power grabs—it’s called Nullification.
In Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century, historian and New York Times bestselling author Thomas E. Woods, Jr. explains not only why nullification is the constitutional tool the Founders envisioned, but how it works—and has already been employed in cases ranging from upholding the First Amendment to knocking down slave laws before the Civil War. In Nullification, Woods shows:… Read the rest of this entry »
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
General Description (from Amazon.com)
“Walden” is the classic account of two years spent by Henry David Thoreau living at Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. The story is detailed in its accounts of Thoreau’s day-to-day activities, observations, and undertakings to survive out in the wilderness for two years. Thoreau’s journal is an exquisite account of a man seeking a more simple life by living in harmony with nature. In today’s fast-paced consumer-driven society the austere life style endorsed by Thoreau is as relevant and refreshing as ever.Why the President Should Read This Book
Aside from being a classic that gives us insight into the early years of the American experiment, this book is notable in that it shows how an individual, both in the 1800s as well as today, can survive on his own. Thoreau did not have a government-provided safety net, welfare, unemployment, housing assistance, health care, the food pyramid, nor was he obligated to pay taxes. The life he led at Walden Pond for those brief years shows the beauty and richness of a life unencumbered by state-imposed regulation. And yet Thoreau was hardly cut off from society. He helped the poor, he assisted his neighbors, was healthy, … Read the rest of this entry »For a New Liberty by Murray N. Rothbard
General Description
I couldn’t find a good summary, so I actually have to write one myself. This book is, as near I can tell based on my limited introduction to libertarianism, the manifesto of libertarianism. That is, if you’re not sure what constitute libertarian principles, or what a libertarian would think about a certain issue, then this is where to start. Rothbard takes you through one issue at a time, explaining in easily understandable terms the libertarian position on that issue. You’ll learn about the non-aggression axiom, how man can live with very limited government, and how private property rights and free markets can provide us with everything we need, including roads, fire departments, and police protection.Why the President Should Read This Book
Some might call For a New Liberty a Utopian pipe dream, and those who subscribe to the ideals described therein as naive fools. But what is more naive, to believe that most people are good and that individuals working with individuals can largely fend for themselves, or that an organization with massive power can resist the corrupting influence of that power and centrally orchestrate the millions of daily decisions that would otherwise be made by individuals … Read the rest of this entry »Defending the Undefendable by Walter Block
About the Book (from Amazon.com)
Defending the Undefendable is among the most famous of the great defenses of victimless crimes and controversial economic practices, from profiteering and gouging to bribery and blackmail. However, beneath the surface, this book is also an outstanding work of microeconomic theory that explains the workings of economic forces in everyday events and affairs.Murray Rothbard explains why:
“Defending the Undefendable performs the service of highlighting, the fullest and starkest terms, the essential nature of the productive services performed by all people in the free market. By taking the most extreme examples and showing how the Smithian principles work even in these cases, the book does far more to demonstrate the workability and morality of the free market than a dozen sober tomes on more respectable industries and activities. By testing and proving the extreme cases, he all the more illustrates and vindicates the theory.”
F.A. Hayek agreed, writing the author as follows: “Looking through Defending the Undefendable made me feel that I was once more exposed to the shock therapy by which, more than fifty years ago, the late Ludwig von Mises converted me to a consistent free market position. Some may find it too … Read the rest of this entry »
Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman
General Description (from Amazon.com)
How can we benefit from the promise of government while avoiding the threat it poses to individual freedom? In this classic book, Milton Friedman provides the definitive statement of his immensely influential economic philosophy—one in which competitive capitalism serves as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom. The result is an accessible text that has sold well over half a million copies in English, has been translated into eighteen languages, and shows every sign of becoming more and more influential as time goes on.About the Author (from Wikilea…err, Wikipedia, I mean)
Milton Friedman (July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist, statistician, a professor at the University of Chicago, and the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics. Among scholars, he is best known for his theoretical and empirical research, especially consumption analysis, monetary history and theory, and for his demonstration of the complexity of stabilization policy. He was an economic advisor to U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Over time, many governments practiced his restatement of a political philosophy that extolled the virtues of a free market economic system with little intervention by government. As a … Read the rest of this entry »Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
General Description (from Amazon.com)
With this acclaimed work and its immortal query, “Who is John Galt?”, Ayn Rand found the perfect artistic form to express her vision of existence. Atlas Shrugged made Rand not only one of the most popular novelists of the century, but one of its most influential thinkers.Atlas Shrugged is the astounding story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world–and did. Tremendous in scope, breathtaking in its suspense, Atlas Shrugged stretches the boundaries further than any book you have ever read. It is a mystery, not about the murder of a man’s body, but about the murder–and rebirth–of man’s spirit.
My Description
I thought the description from Amazon.com was woefully inadequate, but then again, just about any description would be. I had quite a time trying to decide which category to place it in, and in the end decided on “freedom” since I think that is the primary theme of the book, although it could just as easily fit in the categories of economics, human nature, leadership, management, evil, business, or tyranny.The book has to be read in its entirety to be understood on any level, although I … Read the rest of this entry »
The Revolution by Ron Paul
General Description (from Publisher’s Weekly)
Congressman, Republican Presidential candidate and author Paul (A Foreign Policy of Freedom) says “Let the revolution begin” with this libertarian plea for a return to “the principles of our Founding Fathers: liberty, self-government, the Constitution, and a noninterventionist foreign policy.” Specific examples demonstrate how far U.S. law has strayed from this path, particularly over the past century, as well as Paul’s firm grasp of history and dedication to meaningful debate: “it is revolutionary to ask whether we need troops in 130 countries… whether the accumulation of more and more power in Washington has been good for us…to ask fundamental questions about privacy, police-state measures, taxation, social policy.” Though he can rant, Paul is informative and impassioned, giving readers of any political bent food for thought. With harsh words for both Democrats and Republicans, and especially George W. Bush, Paul’s no-nonsense text questions the “imperialist” foreign policy that’s led to the war in Iraq (“one of the most ill considered, poorly planned, and… unnecessary military conflicts in American history”), the economic situation and rampant federalism treading on states’ rights and identities (“The Founding Fathers did not intend for every American neighborhood to be exactly the same”). … Read the rest of this entry »