The Freedom Manifesto: How to Free Yourself from Anxiety, Fear, Mortgages, Money, Guilt, Debt, Government, Boredom, Supermarkets, Bills, Melancholy, Pain, Depression, Work, and Waste (Paperback)

~ Tom Hodgkinson (Author)
Key Phrases: The Freedom Manifesto, Middle Ages, John Seymour (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this intermittently amusing but excessively long sequel to How to Be Idle: A Loafer's Manifesto, British author and editor (the Idler) Hodgkinson states upfront that his goal is to present a philosophy for everyday life based on freedom, merriment and responsibility, or anarchy. Asserting that before the Reformation, England was one non-stop party, he wants to overthrow modern Puritans and return to an approach to life that is basically having a laugh, doing what you want—and he provides alternatives to the many ills of the modern world such as those listed in the book's title. The main problem is that many of Hodgkinson's topics end up being played for easy laughs—in one chapter titled Forget Government, the message is Stop Voting, while in another on Submit No More to the Machine, Use Your Hands, his main advice is Use a Scythe. When he does try to move beyond laughs and explain how his philosophy can cause a radical redefinition of human relationships based on local needs instead of global capitalism, he never quite explores how this would happen in the real world, relying instead on grand statements (in a chapter called Stop Working, Start Living) such as A spade, a saw and a chisel, that is all you need to be free. (Dec.)
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Product Description

The author of How to Be Idle, Tom Hodgkinson, now shares his delightfully irreverent musings on what true independence means and what it takes to be free. The Freedom Manifesto draws on French existentialists, British punks, beat poets, hippies and yippies, medieval thinkers, and anarchists to provide a new, simple, joyful blueprint for modern living. From growing your own vegetables to canceling your credit cards to reading Jean-Paul Sartre, here are excellent suggestions for nourishing mind, body, and spirit—witty, provocative, sometimes outrageous, yet eminently sage advice for breaking with convention and living an uncluttered, unfettered, and therefore happier, life.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (December 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060823224
• ISBN-13: 978-0060823221
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #293,122 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars He likes writing manifestos, December 23, 2007

By	Baron von Gaspantstein "Barry" (Green Bay, WI) - See all my reviews

This book was excellent at first, then it frustrated, then it wavered between those two emotions for the remaining pages. About halfway through he acknowledges how someone could view his ideas as contradictory. For example, he juxtaposes Chapter 17 "In Praise of Melancholy" with Chapter 18 "Stop Moaning; Be Merry." That's fine, but the changes come quickly, and they don't compliment one another as well as they could. Sometimes the chapters feel like they are unfinished or could have gone deeper rather wider in reference across different texts. (The added section at the end titled "Further Reading" gives you a clue about his desire to let you know he's read many books in preparing this book. And yet, he seems to include books he found bland, but spent time looking through. Why do you want someone to do a lot of reading to tell you what's worth a shoulder shrug?)

I thought he was at his best when he was praising the will of the individual to find and create his own happiness, to break free of controls like government or the debilitating pangs of guilt. But then he talks about how people should live in communes and many other pieces of advice that seem to directly restrain the individual. Moreover, it's strange that he rails against external control and advocates freedom, while putting commands at the end of each chapter, like "Start a Guild" or "Cut Up Your Credit Card." When he's telling me things I should do to be free, one of which is "Say yes," the word that kept coming to me was "no."

A lot of his chapters could have been contained inside other chapters. For example, "Chapter 8: Stop Competing" was weak, and the negative sentiments could have gone in "Chapter 4: Reject Career and All Its Promise" and the positive sentiments could have gone in "Stop Working, Start Living," the last chapter on play. Or, they could have all been combined in one extended chapter on the complexities of work. So it comes off as being somewhat sloppy and pandering, even though the book is strongest when it sheds all consideration for what people think. Ironically, if he'd refined his philosophy and made it shorter (or "simpler"), I think it would have been stronger. As it is, the 29 chapters have large doses of filler.

Still, this was a fun book to read and think about and there are good ideas here. You have to find what you like and not get worked up over the abrupt changes in philosophical direction. Take what you like, leave what you don't. But if you needed me to tell you that, I wonder how much help this book could please you.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A doorway to the obvious, April 9, 2008

By	Eshto "Eshto" (Adelaide, South Australia) - See all my reviews

The freedom manifesto is a great read for the all those searching and yearning for a meaning to life. It is also a great read for those who believe are lives are largely manipulated by government, and corporate advertisement to maximise profits at the expense of our contentment. It doesn't pull its punches ~ and is not afraid to say things as they are. It is a doorway to the obvious ~ for when you read it you realize what it says is obviously common sense ~ although like most it is difficult to put in practice. It is a witty, cleverly crafted book that makes you laugh whilst trying to encourage us to lead a more rewarding self empowered life.
Well done!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Odd little book but a nice read., November 3, 2008

By	Dennis R. Mitton "tolstoy" (pacific nw, usa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an odd little book that I both enjoyed and shook my head at. On the whole the book is very readable. It's written in a conversational style with a kind of populist comfortability. It's a lot like talking to your grandpa about life on the farm. Hodgkinson offers lots of friendly advice and I think this is where the book does well - if you're looking for a coherent philosophy of simplicity and escape you won't find it here. For those of you familiar with the Britcom "The Good Neighbors" you could imagine Tom Good reading a couple chapters in front of the fire each night.
What I don't understand is Hodgkinson's skewed view of history: he seems to hold to an overly romantic view of history and especially of the middle ages. He refers to them frequently as time when trade guilds took care of their members, when times were more gentle and kind, and when everyone just got along in happy harmony. Silly facts like a thirty year old life span, rampant disease and poverty, and almost complete lack of freedom never seem to bother him.
In all I give the book four stars for general entertainment and you'll definitely come away thinking about things differently