Best Book You Haven't Heard Of
Well, I won't assume you have not heard of it, but until recently I knew nothing about Frank Chodorov and his book "The Rise and Fall of Society." Having read it (it is a very fast read - you can blaze through it before you are even 25% of the way through John Galt's monologue in Atlas Shrugged), I rank it as a must-read for libertarians. The Mises Institute sells it and discusses it here.
Shenpen:
The best book you probably haven't heard of, Warren, is The Morality of Pluralism from John Kekes. It makes an excellent attempt to make a case for Conservatism - in the intellectual sense of course, not in the Rush Limbaugh sense. It's both very deep and very easy to read, it's completely secular (no religious arguments at all) and it radiates a profound sense of practical wisdom. Very recommended. Not an attempt to convert you - it's just really well-written and really interesting.
http://books.google.com/books?id=73tGF0NHTJQC&dq=the+morality+of+pluralism&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=hu&ei=ujneSYaHEozMjAfV_5Aa&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4
http://www.amazon.com/Morality-Pluralism-John-Kekes/dp/0691044740/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239300522&sr=8-1
April 9, 2009, 11:10 amA. Flood:
PDF version here http://www.mises.org/books/society.pdf
April 9, 2009, 3:55 pmShenpen:
My previous comment has probably ended up in the spam folder because of the long links, so, without links now: the best book you haven't heard of is The Morality of Pluralism from John Kekes, which attempts to make a clear definition of the basic ideas (Pluralism) underpinning both Liberalism, Libertarianism and (Skeptical-Pluralistic) Conservatism, and demonstrating how the first two might not be the best ways to implement Pluralism. It's recommended as an intellectual challenge, as a very deep yet very readable and very easy to understand, "anvil" to hammer and refine your views against. It's not a Libetarian book although close to it - libertarians can't really be anti-pluralists - but if you can answer the challenge of this book, you'll be a better Libertarian. Instead of links, now, I just mention: The Morality of Pluralism is both on Amazon and Google Books.
April 12, 2009, 12:52 pmJohn:
I had to laugh at your note. I have (re)read the first 1,000 pages of Atlas Shrugged now that our beloved leader is in the White House, but have paused for a week at the prospect of diving into "This is John Galt Speaking." Just haven't yet found "the zone" mentally or, frankly, the time to take it on. I hope I'm up to the task!
Maybe now that the NCAA tourney and the Masters is over....
April 13, 2009, 8:19 amFortMcDowellResort:
Interesting article, congrats!
April 14, 2009, 6:30 am