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Political Class Dismissed: Essays Against Politics, Including "What's Wrong With Buffalo" (Paperback)

~ James Ostrowski (Author) "These essays apply libertarian ideas to current political problems..." (more)
Key Phrases: democracy promote peace, rational apathy, trillion tax cut, New York, United States, Civil War (more...)

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Ostrowski's collection of essays . . . deserves publicity. . . this book is worthy of a read. -- Buffalo News, October 17, 2004

Political Class Dismissed sparkles with iconoclastic writing. . . . Ostrowski has developed into something of a modern-day Thomas Paine. -- The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, January/February 2005

[A]n enlightening book . . . an eye opener . . . both informative and interesting. . . outstanding. -- Speakupwny.com, June 2004

Product Description

Political Class Dismissed is an unrelenting assault on America's (and Buffalo's) political class: the people who have seized political power and used it to advance their own private interests--domestic and foreign--at our expense.

The author is uniquely qualified to expose the political class, growing up in a political family, being a former liberal Democratic activist and candidate, and practicing law in state and federal courts for twenty years. His trenchant and unprecedented critique of today's courts is alone worth the price of the book. He has been fighting the political machine for over twenty-five years, culminating with this broadside.

The centerpiece of the book is a 25,000-word essay detailing the decline of Buffalo, the quintessential rust belt city, from 1960-2000, explaining its causes and identifying its villains. Weaving together economic analysis, political theory, historical research and extensive personal experience, the author offers a panoramic view of the decline of one of America's great industrial cities.

The author's discussion of the decline of Buffalo gives readers from elsewhere a preview of what to expect in your city or town if the trend toward ever-expanding government continues.

That's just one of fifty incisive essays on politics, history, law, economics, war and peace. For example, 9/11, the Iraq War, and the Martha Stewart case are thoroughly dissected. There are "personality profiles" of Thoreau, Roosevelt, Chomsky, Clinton and Lincoln. Throughout the book, the reader gets the straight dope about politics from a writer who is pulling his own strings.

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Product Details

Paperback: 370 pages
Publisher: Cazenovia Books (April 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0974925306
ISBN-13: 978-0974925301
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #847,696 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
These essays apply libertarian ideas to current political problems. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
democracy promote peace, rational apathy, trillion tax cut, libertarian movement

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, Civil War, Middle East, Murray Rothbard, Ludwig von Mises, Bill Clinton, Buffalo News, Erie County, Supreme Court, Church of Lincoln, Mises Institute, Abraham Lincoln, Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, Declaration of Independence, First Amendment, New Jersey, Thomas Jefferson, World Trade Center, George Bush, Martha Stewart, Fort Sumter, George Will, Great Society

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 60 books:

The Road to Serfdom (Routledge Classics S.) by F.A. Hayek on page 4, page 21, and Back Matter
Anarchy, State, And Utopia by Robert Nozick on page 9, page 33, and Back Matter
The Road to Serfdom: Fiftieth Anniversary Edition by F. A. Hayek on page 4, page 21, and Back Matter
Capitalism and Freedom: Fortieth Anniversary Edition by Milton Friedman on page 9, and page 33
When the Odds Were Even: The Vosges Mountain Campaign, October 1944--January 1945 by Keith Bonn on page 32, and Back Matter

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Speaking of Liberty by Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.

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The Triumph of Liberty by James Powell

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Worthy Successor to Rothbard's _For a New Liberty_ , September 19, 2004

By	LR "Libertarian Reviewer" - See all my reviews

_Political Class Dismissed_ is a collection of 50 hard-hitting essays on the disastrous consequences of government intervention by James Ostrowski, a libertarian attorney and vociferous critic of the "war on drugs." He ranges from local politics (in this case, a searing indictment of statism and judicial corruption in Buffalo) to foreign policy ("Will Iraq Have Democracy or Peace?" offers a way out of the current morass). A section on current and past luminaries highlights Bill Clinton's presidential library, FDR's demagogic inaugural address, Noam Chomsky's economic illiteracy, the contradictions of Michael Moore's worldview, Thoreau's libertarianism, and the high crimes perpetrated by the 16th American president that have been enshrined in the Lincoln Myth. Two closing essays review _The Black Book of Communism_ and provide an overview of how a government strictly limited to defending life, liberty, and property can best ensure peace and prosperity.
It ends with a bibliography of books helpful in understanding libertarian arguments.

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars James Ostrowski : A Champion of Radical Decentralization, February 11, 2005

By	Ilana Mercer "Author, Broad Sides: One Woman'... (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

At this juncture in the catastrophe that is Iraq, I'd like to give credit where it's due. James Ostrowski's readers ought to know that he was one of the first writers, if not the first, to stipulate the solution to blood-soaked Mesopotamia: radical decentralization. In other words, "Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis should each form their own separate republics."

Kind of like the republic Americans once enjoy before the federal government occupied the States, isn't it? Indeed, it's this "libertarian localism" that I find particularly appealing and laudable in James' work: his firm grasp of-and commitment to-the long-lost American virtues of radical decentralization and local autonomy. For when all is said and done, the real freedom lover doesn't sit on a lofty, holier-than-thou, intellectual perch. Rather, he gets down to the messy business of reclaiming his neighborhoods, as James does in "What's Wrong With Buffalo."

And as James has done (with verve and vim) throughout "Political Class Dismissed."

But even more than this volume's blistering attack on Leviathan, the thing I most appreciate about James Ostrowski is ... James Ostrowski himself. Here's why: "Essays Against Politics," the subtitle of this book, emphasizes not politics (the source of our bondage), but life, private life (the source of our renewal). James practices in life what he preaches in these "Essays Against Politics." He fights injustice as a litigator (and still finds time to write prolifically). He is a devoted family man, whose love and admiration for an inspirational father lights up his work. And he is unusual among libertarians (we are indeed a fractious bunch) for being intellectually honest-James gives credit where and when it's deserved, and in the face of intellectual disagreement and difference.

In addition to a sprinkle of wry humor, James exhibits throughout "Political Class Dismissed" an uncanny knack for distilling the issues: "freedom means doing what you will with what you own," he writes. To our overlords in government, such words are pearls before swine, but they'll resonate with freedom-loving Americans.

James's hero-Thomas Jefferson, the author of "the greatest secessionist document in history, The Declaration of Independence"-is also mine. This is just one of the reasons I call James a friend, and a fellow literary comrade-in-arms.

And why I recommend his book.

Ilana Mercer
Author, Broad Sides: One Woman's Clash With A Corrupt Culture

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing, September 9, 2005

By	Philip Mayor "Phil Mayor" (Blasdell, New York USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent book for the topic. Not the usual complaining. While the writer addresses the topic and the problems he also offers positive possible solutions to the issues. It is well worth your time to explore this well written work. Also you can jump about and not have to wade through one chapter to make sense of the next due to the books lay out.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Libertarian Agrees
Jim Ostrowski writes on many matters in "Political Class Dismissed" , but the thread that binds these essays together is his doubts about the usefullness and honesty of... Read more

Published on March 10, 2005 by John M. Wadsworth

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Political Class Dismissed
Political Class Dismissed is a compilation of 50 essays by Buffalo attorney and author, James Ostrowski. Read more

Published on November 6, 2004 by Michael Kuzma

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