Influential libertarians from diverse backgrounds and professions who have worked toward a freer society across the globe share their personal and intellectual journeys, including what their lives and thoughts were before they embraced libertarianism; which people, texts, or events most inspired them; what experiences, challenges, tribulations, and achievements they have had as participants or leaders in this movement, and how this philosophy has affected their private and professional lives.
The volume’s 80 contributors span the political-philosophical spectrum of libertarianism, including anarcho-capitalists, minarchists, constitutionalists, classical liberals, and thick libertarians. Their essays express different perspectives on many issues even while articulating such core principles as an appreciation for individual liberty, private property rights, the rule of law, and free enterprise. Together, they represent myriad individual journeys toward libertarianism, however defined. By bringing together a range of contemporary voices from outside the dominant left-right paradigm, this book aims to contribute to the viewpoint diversity that is crucially needed in today’s public discourse. These autobiographies not only offer compelling insights into their individual authors and the state of the world today, but may also inspire the next generation to make our society a freer one.
Cuprins
1. Jo Ann Cavallo and Walter E. Block, Introduction.- 2. Gloria Alvarez, With Liberty and Health Everything Is Possible in This World.- 3. Phillip Bagus, A Voyage of Discovery.- 4. Doug Bandow, A Beltway Odyssey.- 5. Jayant Bhandari, Out of India: From Wretchedness to Capitalism.- 6. James Bovard, Forty Years Sniping at Leviathan.- 7. Connor Boyack, One Person Changes the World.- 8. Per L. Bylund, From Meager Means to Market Anarchism: The Political Evolution of an Ordinary Swede.- 9. Gerard Casey, My Transformation into a Teacher of Liberty.- 10. Jo Ann Cavallo, “To study and at times to practice what one has learned, is that not a pleasure?”.- 11. Christopher J. Coyne, My Path to Becoming an Economist and Peacemonger.- 12. Lauren Daugherty, A Young American for Liberty.- 13. Marianna Davidovich, Family, Freedom, and Flourishing: An Educator’s Journey.- 14. Dumo Denga, Moments that Led Me to Libertarianism in South Africa.- 15. Beniamino Di Martino, The Libertarian Mission of a Catholic Priest.- 16. Brian Doherty, Thinking about and Working toward a Less Cruel World.- 17. Lukasz Dominiak, From Growing Up under Socialism to Becoming Libertarian.- 18. Richard M. Ebeling, My Life as an Austrian Economist and Classical Liberal: The Starting Point and Early Years.- 19. Robert B. Eckhardt, Maverick Scientist, Libertarian Capitalist.- 20. Gene Epstein, Mommy Was a Commie: My Personal Voyage from Intellectual Depravity to Libertarianism.- 21. Rafi Farber, My Journey to Liberty.- 22. Bernardo Ferrero, A Florentine Road toward Liberty.- 23. David Friedman, From Philosophy to Economics.- 24. Alan Futerman, Libertarianism as a Path to Life.- 25. Sean Gabb, Born Wanting To Be Free.- 26. Carla Gericke, Live Free and Thrive!.- 27. James Grant, Luckiest Guy on Wall Street.- 28. Zhu Haijiu, Human Action and My Austrian Economics Journey.- 29. Steve H. Hanke, A Life among the “Econ”.- 30. Norman Horn, The Growth of a Christian Libertarian.- 31. Jacob G. Hornberger, My Life as a Libertarian.- 32. Michael Huemer, Intuitive Libertarianism.- 33. Allen Jeon, Austro-libertarianism’s Existential Lessons.- 34. Marc Joffe, Learning from Libertarian Disappointments.- 35. Linda K. Kiguhi, Building a Community of Leaders for Liberty in Africa.- 36. Rowland Kingsley, My Story as an African Libertarian.- 37. Peter G. Klein, My Life as an Austrian Economist and Entrepreneurship Scholar.- 38. Barbara Kolm, If You Are a Tyrolean.- 39. Mitchell Langbert, Confessions of a Libertarian in Academe.- 40. Peter T. Leeson, It Began with Richard Nixon.- 41. Brad Lips, Discovering a World of Hope for Liberty.- 42. Carlo Lottieri, Some Notes in View of an Intellectual Autobiography.- 43. Yuri Maltsev, From Moscow toward Liberty.- 44. Lipton Matthews, No Greater Love than Choice.- 45. Allen Mendenhall, A Libertarian Literary Lawyer.- 46. Ilana Mercer, A Woman of the Libertarian Right.- 47. John Mosier, Confessions of a Proto-Austrian Libertarian.- 48. Antony P. Mueller, My Intellectual Journey in Search of a Social Order beyond the State and Politics.- 49. Michael C. Munger, A Presumption in Favor of Liberty.- 50. Robert P. Murphy, How I Became an Austro-Libertarian.- 51. Héctor Ñaupari, A Sower of Freedom in Latin America.- 52. Radu Nechita, Opening Minds and Sharing the Passion for Liberty.- 53. Wanjiru Njoya, From African Socialism to Libertarianism.- 54. Johan Norberg, Anarchy, Minimal State, and Freelance Utopia.- 55. Yuri Petukhov, Russia, My Journey, and the Hayek Foundation.- 56. Roger Pilon, An Unconventional Odyssey.- 57. Guglielmo Piombini, Dazzled by Murray N. Rothbard.- 58. Robert W. Poole, Jr., Building a Libertarian Think Tank.- 59. Michael Rectenwald, From Leftism to Liberty, A Personal Journey.- 60. Dann Reid, The Culinary Libertarian: Combining My Passion for Food and Liberty.- 61. David Chávez Salazar, And I Will Finally Know What Freedom Is.- 62. Antony Sammeroff, A Scottish Lefty Becomes a Libertarian.- 63. Li Schoolland, A Survivor’s Story.- 64. Karen Selick, Making Life Less Lonely for Canadian Libertarians.- 65. Parth J. Shah, Challenging India’s Socialist Mindset.- 66. Ilya Shapiro, Living the American Dream.- 67. Josef Šíma, The Fall of Communism as Only the First Step Towards a Free Society.- 68. Jo Ann Skousen, From Social Democrat to Libertarian.- 69. Mark Skousen, My Declaration of Independence.- 70. Barry Smith, Thinking Like an Austrian.- 71. Jacek Spendel, Beyond Philosophy: Libertarianism as a Way of Life.- 72. Krassen Stanchev, From the Soviets to Classical Liberalism.- 73. Frank J. Tipler, Physics and Libertarian Philosophy.- 74. Martin van Staden, Law, Voluntaryism, and Being Libertarian in Uninviting Africa.- 75. Laurence M. Vance, Christian Libertarianism.- 76. Richard Vedder, The Life of an Unlikely Libertarian.- 77. Richard E. Wagner, My Non-ideological Path to Becoming a Libertarian Thinker.- 78. Michael A. Walker, Why I Am a Big Government Skeptic and Small Government Advocate.- 79. Nena Bartlett Whitfield, Building the Future Together.- 80. Hiroshi Yoshida, Opening the Taxpayer’s Eyes.
Despre autor
Jo Ann Cavallo (Ph D, Yale, 1987) is Professor of Italian and Chair of the Italian Department at Columbia University and an Associated Scholar of the Mises Institute. She has brought an Austro-libertarian perspective to Italian studies through publications on Marco Polo, Machiavelli, Renaissance fiction, chivalric epic, and Sicilian puppet theater, as well as a co-edited volume (with Carlo Lottieri), Speaking Truth to Power from Medieval to Modern Italy
Walter E. Block (Ph D, Columbia, 1972) is Harold E. Wirth Endowed Chair and Professor of Economics, College of Business, Loyola University New Orleans, and Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute. He is the author of more than 600 refereed articles in professional journals, three dozen books, and thousands of op eds. He lectures widely on college campuses, delivers seminars around the world, and appears regularly on television and radio shows.