Historically, Americans have seen libertarians as
far outside the mainstream, but with the rise of the Tea
Party movement, libertarian principles have risen to the
forefront of Republican politics. But libertarianism is
more than the philosophy of individual freedom and
unfettered markets that Republicans have embraced.
Indeed, as Jason Brennan points out, libertarianism is a
quite different-and far richer-system of thought than
most of us suspect. In this timely new entry in Oxford's
acclaimed series What Everyone Needs to Know, Brennan
offers a nuanced portrait of libertarianism, proceeding
through a series of questions to illuminate the
essential elements of libertarianism and the problems
the philosophy addresses, including such topics as the
Value of Liberty, Human Nature and Ethics, Economic
Liberty, Civil Rights, Social Justice and the Poor,
Government and Democracy, and Contemporary Politics.
Brennan asks the most fundamental and challenging
questions: What do Libertarians think liberty is? Do
libertarians think everyone should be selfish? Are
libertarians just out to protect the interests of big
business? What do libertarians think we should do about
racial injustice? What would libertarians do about
pollution? Are Tea Party activists true libertarians? As
he sheds light on libertarian beliefs, Brennan overturns
numerous misconceptions. Libertarianism is not about
simple-minded paranoia about government, he writes.
Rather, it celebrates the ideal of peaceful cooperation
among free and equal people. Libertarians believe that
the rich always capture political power; they want to
minimize the power available to them in order to protect
the weak. Brennan argues that libertarians are, in fact,
animated by benevolence and a deep concern for the poor.
Clear, concise, and incisively written, this volume
explains a vitally important philosophy in American
history-and a potent force in contemporary
politics.
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