The Field Guide to Libertarianism
Published by Self-published · Economics & Philosophy
An accessible introduction to libertarian ideas, key debates, and the spectrum of thought within the libertarian tradition.
Who this book is for
Libertarians who want to understand the full tradition beyond their own corner of it, non-libertarians who want to know where libertarian arguments come from, and political science students looking for a readable survey.
Table of contents
- What Is Libertarianism? Mapping the Territory
- Classical Liberalism: The Grandfather Tradition
- Objectivism: Ayn Rand and the Philosophy of Rational Self-Interest
- Minarchism: The Night-Watchman State
- Anarcho-Capitalism: Murray Rothbard and the Abolition of the State
- Left-Libertarianism: Liberty Without Capitalism?
- Paleolibertarianism and Right-Libertarianism: The Conservative Turn
- Libertarian Populism and the Liberty Movement Post-Ron Paul
- Agorism, Voluntaryism, and Crypto-Anarchism
- The Expanding Tent: Libertarian Feminism, Black Libertarianism, and New Voices
- Taxation: Is All Taxation Theft?
- Money, Banking, and the Federal Reserve
- Trade and Immigration: Open Borders or Fortress Liberty?
- Drug Policy and Personal Freedom
- Guns, Self-Defense, and the Second Amendment
- Education: The Case Against Compulsory Schooling
- Healthcare: Markets, Medicine, and the Price of Government Intervention
- The Environment: Property Rights as Conservation
- Criminal Justice: Victimless Crimes, Mass Incarceration, and Restorative Alternatives
- Foreign Policy, War, and Empire
- Strategy Over Policy: Why Libertarianism Needs More Than Arguments
- The Fear-Hate-Compulsion Cycle
- Tolerance as Infrastructure
- The Political Trap
- The Radical Case for Kindness
- Building Voluntary Communities
- Mutual Aid: The Forgotten Libertarian Tradition
- Raising Free Children
- The Art of Libertarian Dialog
- The Lovatarian Vision
Excerpt
Nowadays I find myself in no particular libertarian camp. What I want, more than any policy outcome, is for people regardless of ideology to be nicer and more open to each other. Open to the human experiences we can have with other individuals and the communities we choose to enrich our lives with. Open to seeing the value of protecting the autonomy that makes those enriching experiences possible, whether through the freedom itself or through the prosperity that gives us the leisure to enjoy that freedom.
