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What It Means to Be a Libertarian: A Personal Interpretation Paperback – December 29, 1997

by Charles Murray (Author)

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Charles Murray believes that America's founders had it right--strict limits on the power of the central government and strict protection of the individual are the keys to a genuinely free society. In What It Means to Be a Libertarian, he proposes a government reduced to the barest essentials: an executive branch consisting only of the White House and trimmed-down departments of state, defense, justice, and environment protection; a Congress so limited in power that it meets only a few months each year; and a federal code stripped of all but a handful of regulations.

Combining the tenets of classical Libertarian philosophy with his own highly-original, always provocative thinking, Murray shows why less government advances individual happiness and promotes more vital communities and a richer culture. By applying the truths our founders held to be self-evident to today's most urgent social and political problems, he creates a clear, workable vision for the future.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

ay believes that America's founders had it right--strict limits on the power of the central government and strict protection of the individual are the keys to a genuinely free society. In What It Means to Be a Libertarian, he proposes a government reduced to the barest essentials: an executive branch consisting only of the White House and trimmed-down departments of state, defense, justice, and environment protection; a Congress so limited in power that it meets only a few months each year; and a federal code stripped of all but a handful of regulations.

Combining the tenets of classical Libertarian philosophy with his own highly-original, always provocative thinking, Murray shows why less government advances individual happiness and promotes more vital communities and a richer culture. By applying the truths our founders held to be self-evident to today's most urgent social and political problems, he creates a clear, workable vision for the future.

From the Back Cover

For the legions of Americans expressing or exploring libertarian beliefs, Charles Murray has created a radical, compassionate blueprint for solving today's most urgent social and political problems.

Murray believes that America's founders had it right -- that strict limits on the power of the central government and strict protection of the individual are the keys to a genuinely free society. In What It Means to Be a Libertarian, he proposes a government reduced to the barest essentials: an executive branch consisting only of the White House and trimmed-down departments of state, defense, justice, and environmental protection; a Congress so limited in power that it meets only a few months each year; and a federal code stripped of all but a handful of regulations. Combining the tenets of classical libertarian philosophy with his own provocative thinking, Murray shows why less government advances individual happiness and promotes more vital communities and a richer culture.

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Product details

Paperback: 196 pages
Publisher: Broadway Books; Reprint edition (December 29, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780767900393
ISBN-13: 978-0767900393
ASIN: 0767900391
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 76 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #452,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #57 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Ideologies & Doctrines > Libertarianism
- #243 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Income Inequality
- #430 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Elections & Political Process > Political Parties

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David C Wile

Personal Freedom And Personal Responsibility - Opportunity Missed

August 10, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Hey folks,

Charles Murray has a great talent for explaining and simplifying things. Libertarian thought is very much targeted toward personal freedom and personal responsibility and the rights of other folks to also have personal freedom and responsibility. Murray's "interpretation" of libertarian principals is very astute and should be simple for us as a society to accomplish. While I applaud his idealism and hope for our libertarian future, the negative skeptic in me thinks our nation and society has long since passed its tipping point where we can achieve a true libertarian society. To me, it seems we are on the same path as our socialist nanny-state neighbors in Europe and elsewhere.

Murray is a great thinker with admirable ideas for our future, but it can never come about under our current constitutional government. Our only chance for a libertarian society relies on our reforming our government under a new constitution carefully crafted to avoid the pitfalls we have made under our current one. If we were to reform our government with the goal of a libertarian society, I would nominate Charles Murray to be one of the thinkers involved in crafting a new constitutional government.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

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A Compelling Vision

April 1, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Charles Murray introduces the reader to his view of Libertarianism,with a "small l". The vision painted by Murray in the 180 or so pages is nothing short of revolutionary. The pros and cons of a libertarian society are rationally explored, and the common and expected objections are hit head-on by the author in a practical way that both makes the reader think about the possibility that libertarianism just might be a solution to some of the country's ills, but also allows for the admission that there are practical challenges with a libertarian way of living - which cannot be glossed over or ignored.

This isn't a scholarly textbook, and the style is very approachable and allows for a quick read. The information contained in the book itself isn't footnoted or heavily supported by statistics. However, the author does have a comprehensive list of other sources to go peruse to build your knowledge and explore the foundations of liberal thought.

A solid and interesting read, and one that many of the country's fiscal conservatives would probably find hits close to home. Murray's view of practical libertarian thought crates a basis from which actual change may be explored.

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Jaroslav Tuček

A concise, readable overview

January 17, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A concise, readable overview of libertarian thought. The book can serve as an introduction to someone exploring the topic and presents some of the most fundamental anti-big-government arguments, eg. the trendline test or the regulation opt-out thought experiment.

The reader should note, however, that this is only the author's personal interpretation of libertarianism and does not provide a comprehensive overview. Indeed, Murray's "small" government features services such as a federal school voucher system that would make many other libertarians shudder.

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May 2, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Charles Murray gives an eloquent defense of libertarianism, defending freedom at a time when it is under attack from left wing academics. Building on arguments put forth by scholars such as Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, Robert Nozick, and Richard Epstein, Murray gives explicit recommendations for how to reduce the power and scope of government, and expand individual freedom.

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Clear and elegant writing on freedom and smaller government

April 27, 2005

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

If you actually read what Charles Murray actually writes he is a lot less controversial than he is represented to be in the media. Sure, he is challenging and, sure, he would like things to be a lot different than they are today. However, by taking us far away from today we can get some perspective on what it is we are really doing versus what we think we are doing. This book is a series of short chapters and thought experiments on what we could do to radically shrink our government and actually free ourselves to live our lives the way we think best.

The book is in three sections. In the first he lays out the framework of what limited government would actually mean. Nearly everyone comfortable with our large and centralized bureaucracy will be in danger of getting the bends from reading this. However, I urge you to press on and read the second section on "How Would It Work?". Here are the thought experiments that will show you how to eliminate so much waste and freedom reducing regulation from our lives. The last section has the title "Is It Possible?".

In this last section Murray notes that Americans do not want to give up all government, but that if we wanted to truly be free, we could achieve it and not abandon ourselves to a Hobbesian nightmare of solitary, nasty, brutish, and short lives. Is he persuasive? I like Murray and would like to move in his direction more than in the direction we continue to drift today. We are abandoning ourselves to a nanny state that cannot deliver on her promises. We then try to solve the failures we see by redoubling our reliance and dependency on the very institutions that are failing us. We seem to be possessed of the delusion that those who work in government are imbued with special powers, judgment, and moral sensibilities above our own. In writing it this plainly, its absurdity is manifest. However, we fear to give up our childish security blanket so we can get more comfort from pretending.

However, you will have to decide for yourself and reading this book, even if you reject it after thinking about it, will do you a great service. Just be sure to actually work out Murray's ideas in your own mind rather than a simple emotional rejection.

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