Speaking of Liberty (Hardcover)

The Institute has published this collection of Rockwell's speeches in which Rockwell brilliantly makes the case for free enterprise and individual freedom. Rockwell has a knack for taking an insight of Mises's or Rothbard's and applying it to current events. For example, why is the Federal Reserve only criticized when it raises interest rates? If politicians were truly concerned about the economy, they would worry about the Fed lowering interest rates and creating artificial booms. There is a particularly powerful chapter concerning the negative effects of "civil rights" (anti-discrimination) laws and how such laws impede individual freedom and probably don't do much to help their intended beneficiaries (although they always increase the power of the state). Rockwell is prescient as well. He pointed out in the 90s that the "new era" boom couldn't continue, and when I was reading his 1998 article on Iraq I almost forgot that he was writing about Clinton and not George W. Bush. One of the best chapters concerns the presidency. Rockwell shows that both the left and the neocon "right" embrace the imperial presidency with almost equal enthusiasm.

SPEAKING OF LIBERTY also contains two interviews with Rockwell. He explains the rise of the modern libertarian movement and its relationship to conservatism (although I don't think he is completely fair to Russell Kirk). The bibliography, which contains a list of recommended books on liberty (not a few of which I've reviewed), is also excellent.

Such folks (I was one at one time, but fortunately, we get wiser with age) wonder why the answers aren't there that should be.

It's because the answers are not found in either party because neither party understands liberty. Lew Rockwell understands liberty.

This is not a book you should buy yourself... no, this is a book you should buy yourself AND your neighbors AND your relatives AND and every congressman who lies to you at every election. If "Speaking of Liberty" sounds like some policy-wonk book, you have been jaded by all the other policy-wonk books out there (and there are far too many). If you want to ENJOY as you learn about freedom in our post-free nation, you owe it to yourself to click RIGHT NOW and buy this book and several extra copies.

Those unfamiliar with the libertarian intellectual movement may be delighted to discover this alternative to the American left-wing/right-wing paradigm. Rockwell's ideas can be as appealing to liberal college students as they can be to conservative Christians.

Those already familiar with Rockwell will be happy to see him in top form, as he exposes and condemns the Warfare/Welfare State, recounts the development of libertarianism via Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard, and describes the current state of the movement.

Unlike the gurus of the left and right (Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Moore etc.), Rockwell's ideas are supported by powerful economic and historical arguments, rather than impassioned fear-mongering about the "other side" trying to "subvert America". He makes it clear that the danger is not other people, but the harmful policies of the central State.

Lew's writing style is thoroughly enjoyable. He is always controversial, never disrespectful. He can simultaneously shake up and attack certain political preconceptions, and inspire a new-found respect for others. If you're curious about libertarianism, Austrian economics, or just alternative political thought, this is a great place to start.