Brief History Liberty - Paperback

by David Schmidtz (Author), Jason Brennan (Author)

Through a fusion of philosophical, social scientific, and historical methods, A Brief History of Liberty provides a comprehensive, philosophically-informed portrait of the elusive nature of one of our most cherished ideals.

• Offers a succinct yet thorough survey of personal freedom
• Explores the true meaning of liberty, drawing philosophical lessons about liberty from history
• Considers the writings of key historical figures from Socrates and Erasmus to Hobbes, Locke, Marx, and Adam Smith
• Combines philosophical rigor with social scientific analysis
• Argues that liberty refers to a range of related but specific ideas rather than limiting the concept to one definition

Back Jacket

"This book impressively builds a compelling case for understanding David Schmidtz and Jason Brennan negative liberty as complementary to - rather than competitive with - other ways of conceiving freedom." Hillel STeiner, University of Manchester

Liberty is a lofty concept. But what exactly is liberty? What kind of value does it have? What institutions best promote and protect the forms of liberty that are worth wanting? And what are the specific benefits and dangers inherent in so-called free societies?

Using a fusion of philosophical, social scientific, and historical methods, A Brief History of Liberty offers a succinct survey of pivotal moments in the evolution of personal freedom, drawing on key historical figures from John Knox and Martin Luther to Karl Marx and Adam Smith to Roger Williams and Thurgood Marshall. The authors examine how past (if incomplete) successes in the struggle for liberty have led many of us to liberty's "last frontier" internal psychological obstacles to our being as autonomous as we would like to be. Readers are encouraged to reflect on their own concepts of personal freedom - what it is, where it comes from, why they have it, and what it has done for them.

Stimulating and thought-provoking, A Brief History of Liberty offers readers a philosophically informed portrait of the elusive nature of one of our most cherished ideals.

Author Biography

David Schmidtz is Kendrick Professor of Philosophy, joint Professor of Economics, and Director of the Freedom Center at the University of Arizona. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Philosophy, Ethics, and Political Theory.

Jason Brennan is Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Research, at Brown University, and a faculty associate of the Political Theory Project at Brown University. His articles have appeared in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, The Australasian Journal of Philosophy, and Ratio.