Outlook for Freedom

Outlook for Freedom

By:

Leonard E. Read

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Summary

Written in 1951, this is one of Leonard Read’s earliest pamphlets on what he called “the philosophy of freedom.”

As was often the case in Read’s essays on spreading the message of liberty, Read notes that the first step is evaluating one’s own thinking.

Communism and socialism, Read contends, are not ideologies that exist somewhere out there among foreigners and shady agents of conspiracy. In America, the ideas of communism and socialism are alive and well among the supporters of public schooling, social security, the post office, and other tools of the state.

In the end, whoever contends that the use of force is the proper method to attain “social performance” is spreading the ideas of socialism and communism.

He who wishes to spread ideas of freedom and free markets, Read explains, must first rid himself of his own socialistic thinking, and only then may he turn to spreading the ideas to others.

But even then, the task at hand is a qualitative battle, and not one of numbers or of “setting straight the ‘millions who have votes,’” or educating “the man on the street.” Instead, the defender of liberty must educate himself, lead by example, and merely present evidence to those who, like us, are human beings with free will and ideas of their own.

Others are beyond the dictation of the freedom activist, and cannot be coerced into agreement.

Read outlines numerous principles of spreading liberty from humility to patience to possessing a spirit of inquiry.

Writing in a time when central planning and Keynesian-style socialism were virtually unchallenged by intellectuals, Read sets out in this essay a recipe for success in spreading libertarian ideas.

Yet, Read’s methods are not for the impatient or the know-it-all. This essay is an antidote to the faulty ideas that inflect many freedom activists who believe that if only the next election can go the “right” way or if people just do what we say, then all will be set right.

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These books include racism, sexism, feminism and other such social justice issues relating to discrimination, freedom of association, freedom of speech, human rights, or political correctness. The topics of popular culture, American culture and Western Civilization are also represented.

Observations from many writers on these issues are provided through commentary and opinion and often investigative journalism leads down an interesting path, shedding light on these and other topics.


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Philosophy of Freedom

Within this topic you’ll find a wide variety of books, many of which we hold in the highest regard. These books are also associated with other topics, such as anarchist traditions and practical liberty. All your great libertarian manifestos, books that discuss individual liberty, the non-aggression principle, laissez faire, objectivism, etc. are found within.

Anarchist traditions would be a great shortcut to find books specifically calling out anarchist principles. The name "anarchist traditions" is purposefully broad, because in addition to anarcho-capitalism and voluntaryism, there are books on anarcho-syndicalism, anarcho-communism or other forms of collectivist anarchism, as well as egoism and other schools of thought.

Practical liberty has a hodge-podge of awesome content, from the great anti-war and abolitionist books to theoretical treatises on private defense and private law; from whistleblowing and WikiLeaks to other forms of activism and civil disobedience; from secession to jury nullification and describing revolution and resistance. We’ve even thrown in some interesting "how to" books on affecting change to further one’s activist ends.

The topic of philosophy is closely associated, as many of the books tagged to the philosophy of freedom contain deep philosophical arguments from ethics and epistemology to political theory and religion. A wide variety of ideologies are represented and critiqued within the pages of the books linked here, covering the full political spectrum: whether it is Fascism versus Communism; Neoconservatism versus Progressivism or Liberalism; Nationalism and Nazism versus International Socialism and everything in between.

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