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The twin pillars of the nation created by America's Founders were strict limits on the power of central government and strict protections of individual rights. Now, at the close of the twentieth century, that state is gone - and Charles Murray wants to bring it back. In What It Means to Be a Libertarian, he offers a radical blueprint for overhauling our dysfunctional government and replacing it with a system that fosters human happiness because it safeguards human freedom.
In this very personal book, Charles Murray paints a vivid portrait of life in a genuinely free society. He explains why limited government would lead to greater individual fulfillment, more vital communities, and a richer culture. He shows why such a society would have stronger families, fewer poor people, and would care for the less fortunate far better than does the society we have now.
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If by "libertarian," Murray means "right winger who tolerates minorities for now until we reach the endgame," then sure, this is an authoritative book on that. If by "libertarian,' he actually means the leftist market anarchists of old who coined the term and wrote scads of important literature on what actual resistance to the state looks like, then "Dr." Murray does a disservice to anyone who might be genuinely interested in the movement.
In case I'm still being too vague: this book is hot garbage. Intellectual rot. It is one of the handful of popular books in the late '90s and early 2000s that collectively brainwashed a generation of young angry men into Paulites and goldbugs. As such, What It Means to Be a Libertarian serves as a demonstrable net negative on the thinking world. We are collectively dumber because of its existence and popularity.