The Liberty Movement had no plan for victory so veteran political consultant, tea party activist and libertarian author Jim Ostrowski created one. Direct Citizen Action is a concise strategy manual for those who want America to be a free country again. Ostrowski explains what you can do right now to restore American liberty. Hint: it's not voting for the lesser of two liars or writing a letter to your Congressman's waste paper basket.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
James Ostrowski is a trial and appellate lawyer and libertarian writer from Buffalo, New York. He graduated from St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute in 1975 and obtained a degree in philosophy from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1980 and a law degree from Brooklyn Law School in 1983. He served as vice-chairman of the law reform committee of the New York County Lawyers Association (1986-88) and wrote two widely quoted reports critical of the law enforcement approach to the drug problem. New York Newsday described his report on drug-related AIDS as “superb.” He has written a number of scholarly articles on the law on subjects ranging from drug policy to the commerce clause of the Constitution. He has written several bar association reports and given continuing legal education lectures on habeas corpus, lawsuits against government officials and jury nullification. His articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Buffalo News, Cleveland Plain Dealer and Legislative Gazette. His policy studies have been published by the Hoover Institution, the Ludwig von Mises Institute and the Cato Institute. He taught a course in the Constitution at Canisius College in Buffalo and has been a guest lecturer at the University at Buffalo Medical School. Presently he is an Adjunct Scholar at the Ludwig von Mises Institute and columnist for LewRockwell.com. He is editor of the libertarian blog, PoliticalClassDismissed.com and Founder and President of the Jeffersonian think tank, Free New York, Inc. He is the author of Political Class Dismissed (2004) and Government Schools Are Bad for Your Kids (2009) He and his wife Amy live in North Buffalo with their two children.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I hope this book does serve as a strategy manual for the liberty movement. I plan to share it with family and friends. The book can be read easily in less than a day and I hope it becomes a sort of "Common Sense" of our day. I held back on five stars as the book has some obvious "typos", but it is my understanding that the author skimped in some areas to keep the book cheap in order to assure the most widespread distribution. I am thankful for the inclusion of the Appendix and essay "Economics in Five Lessons".
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you look at most books proposing a "strategy" for the liberty movement, they tend to be very lacking in the specifics. Oh sure, there is talk about what policy platform ought to be followed, but getting there is left to one's own imagination.
Direct Citizen Action is not one of those books. Not only does Ostrowski give a good common sense platform to pursue, he gives an excellent set of tactics on how to achieve it. Instead of trying to get certain politicians elected, Ostrowski argues for what he calls "Direct Citizen Action," which some readers will find similar to the agorist tactics described by Samuel Edward Konkin III in New Libertarian Manifesto
Direct Citizen Action basically consists of influencing government power without having to use governmental avenues to do so. In that sense, what this book advocates is far more potent that traditional voting, because the tactics described produced immediate results unlike contributing a ballot to a pool of millions of others, which to be effective would require changing the minds of other people. In short, this is the primary advantage of Ostrowski's ideas. Instead of direct political participation, which entails that you get other people to agree with you (like that will ever happen amongst the Chomskyites and Michael Moore idolizers of today), you can help create a freer society by becoming self-sufficient and minimizing your contacts with government. Very rarely should we resort to voting or campaigning, unless the candidate in question is as well-rounded as Ron Paul.
The book is divided into three main parts:
First, it looks at what our present status is and where we ought to be. Ostrowski begins this part by highlighting the most significant shortcomings of our nation today in the context of governmental threats to liberty. He then explains what we ought to achieve in it's place. Here Ostrowski is far less radical than the agorists he otherwise seems to be similar to. If he is, then he certainly doesn't make it public in this book, and nor should he if he wants to draw attention to a feasibly accessible platform. From there he explains why traditional political methods of affecting the government's role in our lives are far from perfect, and that Direct Citizen Action is far more potent.
In the Second part, he explains some key points and tactics relevant to DCA. This includes everything from moving to less politically intrusive states to boycotting businesses who bankroll statist politicians. These are excellent tactics in my opinion, and they are a great add-on to any counter-economist as well as mainstream tea-partier. All in all, they are different ways of reducing the role and influence of government in your here and now. Over time they can lead to the system shrinking altogether.
Part Three is sure to raise a few eyebrows. It is intended to inform the reader on what they need to do in order to prepare themselves for what might potentially happen as more people take the actions of part two into practice. This includes forming a militia if necessary. I thought this was crazy at first, but then again what Ostrowski advocates here really isn't all that different from what might happen in the latter stages of agorist revolution. I definitely think he's onto something.
Along with the conclusion, the book also has some excellent bonuses which include an appendix detailing five key lessons everyone should know about economics, and a list of books and resources to further educate yourself for educating others.
I will say it clearly: If you are part of the tea-party movement, the Ron Paul Revolution, or are deep into Libertarian thinking in general (in my case, this has led me to adopt agorism), then you owe it to yourself to buy this book. Get multiple copies and give them as gifts, recommend it to others who happen to be interested in freedom-oriented writings. Most of all, don't forget to put this book's suggestions into practice yourself!
Direct Citizen Action is not one of those books. Not only does Ostrowski give a good common sense platform to pursue, he gives an excellent set of tactics on how to achieve it. Instead of trying to get certain politicians elected, Ostrowski argues for what he calls "Direct Citizen Action," which some readers will find similar to the agorist tactics described by Samuel Edward Konkin III in New Libertarian Manifesto
Direct Citizen Action basically consists of influencing government power without having to use governmental avenues to do so. In that sense, what this book advocates is far more potent that traditional voting, because the tactics described produced immediate results unlike contributing a ballot to a pool of millions of others, which to be effective would require changing the minds of other people. In short, this is the primary advantage of Ostrowski's ideas. Instead of direct political participation, which entails that you get other people to agree with you (like that will ever happen amongst the Chomskyites and Michael Moore idolizers of today), you can help create a freer society by becoming self-sufficient and minimizing your contacts with government. Very rarely should we resort to voting or campaigning, unless the candidate in question is as well-rounded as Ron Paul.
The book is divided into three main parts:
First, it looks at what our present status is and where we ought to be. Ostrowski begins this part by highlighting the most significant shortcomings of our nation today in the context of governmental threats to liberty. He then explains what we ought to achieve in it's place. Here Ostrowski is far less radical than the agorists he otherwise seems to be similar to. If he is, then he certainly doesn't make it public in this book, and nor should he if he wants to draw attention to a feasibly accessible platform. From there he explains why traditional political methods of affecting the government's role in our lives are far from perfect, and that Direct Citizen Action is far more potent.
In the Second part, he explains some key points and tactics relevant to DCA. This includes everything from moving to less politically intrusive states to boycotting businesses who bankroll statist politicians. These are excellent tactics in my opinion, and they are a great add-on to any counter-economist as well as mainstream tea-partier. All in all, they are different ways of reducing the role and influence of government in your here and now. Over time they can lead to the system shrinking altogether.
Part Three is sure to raise a few eyebrows. It is intended to inform the reader on what they need to do in order to prepare themselves for what might potentially happen as more people take the actions of part two into practice. This includes forming a militia if necessary. I thought this was crazy at first, but then again what Ostrowski advocates here really isn't all that different from what might happen in the latter stages of agorist revolution. I definitely think he's onto something.
Along with the conclusion, the book also has some excellent bonuses which include an appendix detailing five key lessons everyone should know about economics, and a list of books and resources to further educate yourself for educating others.
I will say it clearly: If you are part of the tea-party movement, the Ron Paul Revolution, or are deep into Libertarian thinking in general (in my case, this has led me to adopt agorism), then you owe it to yourself to buy this book. Get multiple copies and give them as gifts, recommend it to others who happen to be interested in freedom-oriented writings. Most of all, don't forget to put this book's suggestions into practice yourself!
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A quick easy read, well thought out and lays a groundwork on how to create grassroots activism for a libertarian, constitutional, movement. The Author was Ron Paul's election lawyer in NY. He has been a Libertarian for years. A must for any Libertarian who wants to help grow the party and the ideals of limited government.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
booo!
Great ideas - if youre a nutjob! It reads like a Green Party playbook, but in this case, its people with too much money on their hands; Mock funerals, puppets, playing dress up. Read more
Published 14 months ago by sir toppem hat
Move to the woods -> Grow crazy beard -> Stockpile weapons
How to take our country back
"Move to the woods -> Grow crazy beard -> Stockpile weapons"
Quote from Dan Cummins... Read more
"Move to the woods -> Grow crazy beard -> Stockpile weapons"
Quote from Dan Cummins... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Travis Edgar
A manual for liberty
It appears that James Ostrowski is by no means extraordinary--he's a family man and lawyer from New York. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Joseph Morse
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3. government creates its own demandbecause
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2. government control over political ideasthe
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Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.
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