Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
In The Passion for Liberty, Tibor R. Machan defends a libertarian conception of a free society, one in which individuals are sovereign, self-governing beings, not subject to others' will without their consent. In the tradition of John Locke, Adam Smith, Ayn Rand, and Robert Nozick, Machan argues that such a society-far from being hedonistic, licentious, or disorderly-is the best possible ideal for humans. In doing so, he addresses specific issues such as affirmative action, abortion, military intervention, and torture in light of the relationship between liberty and democracy. As freedom takes on a new urgency, The Passion for Liberty reminds us of the importance of individual liberty and why it needs to be defended.
Table of Contents
Introduction: for individual rights -- Opposing senses of freedom -- Ethical egoism (or individualism): personal responsibility -- Why capitalism squares with morality -- Immigration into a free society -- Military defense of the free society -- Liberty: economic versus moral benefits -- Against utilitarianism -- Reflections on the right to private property -- The democratic ideal -- Revisiting class warfare -- Individual rights, democracy, and government debt -- Exploring extreme violence (torture) -- The norms of military intervention -- Democracy, foreign affairs, and military expansion -- Why abortion is not murder -- The destructive ironies of affirmative action -- The Bill of Rights and moral philosophy -- The media versus freedom: some cases in point.