Conservative Libertarian

Good Intentions is about a future United States that has become the ultimate nanny state. One man, Winston Jones, is chosen by the mysterious Fairness for EveryBody Society to be the next president because he has the required makeup—ethnic, racial, religious, sexual orientation, etc.—to “fairly represent the diversity of America.” The book is his reluctant adventure to discover what America is about and how to get it back to its real values. He comes across many clashing groups including “The Documented,” a group of legal aliens that refuse to break the law and thus get no ...

There is an underserved movement budding among young conservatives in which fiscal responsibility and controlled government spending remain crucial tenets, but issues like gay marriage and drug control are approached with a libertarian bent. The ideas of this growing wave need a public, nuanced voice. The implications for the Republican Party if this philosophy is more widely adopted may not only spur major change within the party but could also revitalize its chances of claiming more power in our government.

American freedom is being gutted. Whether we are trying to run a business, practice a vocation, raise our families, cooperate with our neighbors, or follow our religious beliefs, we run afoul of the government—not because we are doing anything wrong but because the government has decided it knows better. When we object, that government can and does tell us, “Try to fight this, and we’ll ruin you.”

David Boaz presents the essential guidebook to the libertarian perspective, detailing its roots, central tenets, solutions to contemporary policy dilemmas, and future in American politics. He confronts head-on the tough questions frequently posed to libertarians: What about inequality? Who protects the environment? What ties people together if they are essentially self-interested?

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.

When you want something to read in just a couple minutes, from your morning sitdown to something to make you sleepy before bedtime, you will find these short-short stories rewarding.