Toward Liberty: The Idea That Is Changing the World [Paperback]

David Boaz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2002

In this collection, scholars and political leaders make the case for freedom, free enterprise, and the rule of law.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Those looking for a comprehensive anthology of libertarian thought on today's pressing issues should seek out Toward Liberty... -- National Review on June 3, 2002

From the Inside Flap

Jimmy Carter. Tip O'Neill. Energy czars. Gas lines. ABC-NBC-CBS. Mao Tse-tung. The Soviet Union. Apartheid. It was a different era.

What wasn't so obvious at the time was that it was the end of an era.

In 1977 the Soviet Union seemed a permanent fixture. The Democrats controlled Washington, and the big three networks had 91 percent of television viewers. Philosopher-statesman Daniel Patrick Moynihan lamented that "liberal democracy on the North American model has simply no relevance to the future. It is where the world was, not where it is going."

Twenty-five years later, the world has changed so much that we may have forgotten what a different era 1977 was. Within a few years Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher were moving public policy in the direction of lower taxes, less regulation, and privatization.

Today, the conventional wisdom is that Anglo-American democratic capitalism is the only viable model left in the world. After the tyrannies and central planning of the 20th century, true liberalism is making a comeback.

Everywhere that governments will allow it, people are choosing open markets, open societies, and responsibility for their own lives. Information, commerce, and investment increasingly flow in response to the choices of free people, not the dictates of politicians.

But the triumph of liberalism is by no means inevitable. There never was a golden age of liberty, and there never will be. Although we seem to have left behind some of the worst forms of government, we must remember that within the past century we have endured communism, fascism, and national socialism.

In this book are some of the people and ideas associated with the Cato Institute in its first 25 years. ­­Karl Popper on the failure of communism, Peter Bauer on economic development, Helen Suzman on the end of apartheid, F. A. Hayek on money and information, Milton Friedman on markets in China, Mario Vargas Llosa on "neoliberalism," Carolyn Weaver and José Piñera on Social Security, Antonin Scalia and Richard Epstein on the role of judges, Alan Greenspan on globalization, Nadine Strossen on Clinton's constitutional conduct, P. J. O'Rourke on rights and responsibilities, and Walter Williams on affirmative action.

Twenty-five years after Moynihan's dirge, the anti-liberal scholars Stephen Holmes and Cass Sunstein complain that libertarian ideas are "astonishingly widespread in American culture." These essays show why they will continue to be. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 450 pages
• Publisher: Cato Institute (April 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930865260
• ISBN-13: 978-1930865266
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,011,368 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Boaz is the executive vice president of the Cato Institute. He has played a key role in the development of the libertarian movement. He is the author of "Libertarianism: A Primer," described by the Los Angeles Times as "a well-researched manifesto of libertarian ideas," and of "The Politics of Freedom"; and the editor of "The Libertarian Reader," the "Cato Handbook For Policymakers," "Liberating Schools," "The Crisis in Drug Prohibition," and other books. His articles have been published in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, National Review, and Slate. He is a frequent guest on national television and radio shows, and has appeared on "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher," "Crossfire," Bill Buckley's "Firing Line," NPR's "Talk of the Nation" and "All Things Considered," "John McLaughlin's One on One," Fox News Channel, BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and other media. He is a popular speaker on college campuses and at corporate and community events.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IDEAS HAVE CONSEQUENCES - 50 of the best essays from Cato, December 2, 2002

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Tucker Andersen (Wall Street) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Toward Liberty: The Idea That Is Changing the World (Hardcover)

This book is a collection of some of the best speeches, public policy reports, and articles published by The Cato Institute in its twenty five years of existence. It has been edited by David Boaz, executive vp of Cato and author and editor of several other books regarding libertarianism. Cato is a public policy institute headquartered in DC that promotes limited government, free markets, peaceful coexistence and a return to the rule of law as envisioned by our founders, especially Madison and Jefferson. While this political philsophy is generally known as libertarianism, it is more correctly labeled the dominance of civil rather than political society. As a disclaimer, this reviewer has been a member of the Board of Directors of Cato for fifteen years and regards David Boaz as a friend; however, those who know me will vouch that I have been an vocal critic of Cato on those occasions where I have disagreed with its policy positions. Therefore, despite my position, I believe that my review provides a useful summary of this book.

The editor provides an introduction which attempts to summarize the changes in the political landscape over the past quarter century and concludes that classical liberalism is on the ascendancy after a century of many failed experiments in statism.The book is then divided into nine topics with several selections for each topic - these are Ideas and Consequences (3 articles), Economic Growth (3 articles), The Welfare State (5), The Regulatory State (4), A World In Transition (11), Foreign Affairs (4), Trade And international Finance (4), Law And Liberty (8), and Democracy And Culture (8). Read in order, which few readers will probably do due to both time constaints and lack of interest in some of the topics, the book provides both a wonderful retrospective on the changes in the political debate over the past twenty five years and also serves as a comprehensive overview of the relevance of these ideas today. The authors include such well known figures as Milton Friedman, Alan Greenspan, an interview with F.A. Hayek, Dick Armey, Lord Peter Bauer, Jose Pinera and Antonin Scalia, but regardless of the fame of the author all pieces are both enlightening and intellectually stimulating. P.J O'Rourke's brief comments at the dedication of Cato's current headquarters, titled "THe Right To Do As You Please And Take The Consequences" even adds some trenchant and well directed wit to the collection. The longest piece is only fourteen pages and several are only three pages in lenghth, so while some of the topics are difficult if the ideas are new to the reader any can be digested in a single session.

It is impossible to chose a few favorites, although I thought the strongest topic was the collection regarding law and liberty; perhaps that is only due to my intense interest in the area and my belief that a return to the Constitutional protections of life, liberty and property are essential to our continued freedom. And I do strongly recommend that everyone read the article by Scalia (as a judge on the Court of Appeals) and the brilliant critique and reply by Ricahard Epstein. For some added flavor, some of the other articles include "The Case For US Stategic Independence" (Ted Carpenter), "Myths Of Individualism" (Tom Palmer), "Are Libertarians Anti-Government" (David Boaz), and "Enviro-Capitalism Vs. Enviro-Statism" (Terry Anderson and Donald Leal).

In conclusion, this book is for anyone who cares about the advancement of liberty and wants to sharpen their understanding of the topics which it covers. If you want to understand these ideas, whether to argue for or against them, there is no comparable collection that covers them so succinctly and states them so well by their most ardent proponents. N.B., the book is 460 pages long, not the 250 indicated in the description, and all the material is worthwhile but it is a long read that has to be accomplished gradually.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very fine work, June 9, 2003

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Juris Imprudence "extralegal" (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Toward Liberty: The Idea That Is Changing the World (Paperback)

Boaz has assembled a very fine collection of essays regarding liberty and the failings of modern societies to create a world in which we can live as free men. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone remotely interested in libertarian (or for that matter free market or conservative) political thought.

Just to tone down my entheusiasm a bit, though, I would add that many of the essays may seem a little elementary to someone who has been reading libertarian publications for a long time. But on the whole, this is a solid, highly readable work full of ammunition for your libertarian debating arsenal.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding collection of essays, still applicable., December 5, 2004

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Ali-Reza Anghaie (Manchester, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Toward Liberty: The Idea That Is Changing the World (Paperback)

Usually this would warrant a four-star because I found perhaps 1/5th of the essays pretty lame/repetitive however the very fact that the other papers were so good and relevent/enlightening years after they were written warranted the make-up point IMO.

It's interesting to see the papers on foreign relations pre-9/11, the papers on privatization of various major Guv'ment spending programs, etc. all written WELL before most of the media started talking about it.

While I don't agree with some of the papers all-together (drug papers for example) I find myself in agreement and understanding positions better than I did before. And further research online filled in the minor gaps from the last papers (circa late 00) to now.

Very nice volume. Very nice. -Ali