From theoretical roots to contemporary policies, Boaz, who is executive vice president of the Cato Institute, a conservative think tank, presents a solid introduction to a trendy ideology. The end of libertarianism is individual freedom, its Antichrist the state, and its mantra the market. Unlike those who bash government simply to further their own interests, Boaz understands the substantive implications of the libertarian merger of natural-rights liberalism and capitalism, and he embraces them. He recognizes that liberty (which calls for maximizing individual choice) is not synonymous with democracy (which is a process of social choice) and promotes the former as the overriding concern. He rejects the government intervention in private lives favored by conservatives just as adamantly as the government intervention in the market favored by 20th-century liberals. There are some odd omissions, however: Public goods are discussed without accounting for national defense, and the role of government (or lack thereof) in the economy without mentioning the provision of money. A more serious omission is the absence of the ultimate critics of government, the 19th-century anarchists, from Boaz's version of intellectual history. No doubt they are ignored because the anarchists included private property and other elements of capitalism in their pantheon of coercive institutions. Boaz simply defines coercion as a function of government and thereby anoints capitalism as a coercion-free form of social organization. Sliding by the more encompassing anarchist critique with an assumption rather than an argument leaves the libertarian infatuation with capitalism open to question. Despite struggling with tunnel-vision, Boaz tries to be an intellectually honest cheerleader for capitalism and produces a work that should be taken seriously. (For another view of libertarianism, see Charles Murray's What It Means to Be a Libertarian, p. 1657.)
Pub Date: Jan. 15, 1997
ISBN: 0-684-83198-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Free Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1996
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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