Overview

This book is constructed around great thinkers of the past and present who have been influential in developing the philosophy of freedom. Its main purpose is to provide a survey and overview of the ideas of leading individual philosophers and economists of capitalism who have contributed to developing what might be called the classical liberal or libertarian worldview. Champions of a Free Society endeavors to provide a guide to political and economic thinking about the desirability and construction of a free society that is intelligible to the educated layperson. Edward Younkins provides an historical perspective of the pursuit of political and economic truth. The goal of this book is to present the development of ideas in language that permits generally educated readers to understand and appreciate their significance. The book's chronological approach considers the thinkers and their ideas as they have developed over the course of time. There is much unfulfilled illuminative potential to be found in the ideas of the past and Younkins successfully integrates the ideas of past and current thinkers into a logical contemporary worldview.

Full Product Details

Author:   Edward W. Younkins
Publisher:   Lexington Books
Imprint:   Lexington Books
Dimensions:   Width: 15.40cm , Height: 2.90cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.608kg
ISBN:  

9780739126486

ISBN 10:   0739126482
Pages:   408
Publication Date:   25 August 2008
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

1 Table of Contents 2 Preface 3 Introduction Part 4 I. Ancient and Medieval Periods Chapter 5 1. Lao Tzu's Naturalistic Metaphysics, Ethics, and Politics Chapter 6 2. Aristotle and Human Flourishing Chapter 7 3. Aristotle and Economics Chapter 8 4. Epicurus on Freedom and Happiness Chapter 9 5. Thomas Aquinas's Christian Aristotelianism Part 10 II. Early Modern and Renaissance Periods Chapter 11 6. Spinoza on Freedom, Ethics, and Politics Chapter 12 7. John Locke's Limited State Chapter 13 8. Turgot on Progress and Political Economy Chapter 14 9. Adam Smith's Moral and Economic System Part 15 III. The Late Modern Period Chapter 16 10. Jean-Baptiste Say's Law of Markets: A Fundamental Conceptual Integration Chapter 17 11. Herbert Spencer on Liberty and Human Progress Chapter 18 12. Carl Menger's Economics of Well-Being Part 19 IV. The Contemporary Period Chapter 20 13. Ludwig von Mises on Human Action Chapter 21 14. Ayn Rand's Philosophy of Objectivism Chapter 22 15. Murray Rothbard's Randian Austrianism Chapter 23 16. The Road to Objective Economics: Hayek takes a Wrong Turn Chapter 24 17. Milton Friedman's Pragmatic and Incremental Libertarianism Chapter 25 18. Mises, Friedman, and Rand: A Methodological Comparison Chapter 26 19. James M. Buchanan: Constitutional and Post-Constitutional Political Economy Chapter 27 20. Robert Nozick's Libertarian Framework for Utopia Chapter 28 21. Reality is Not Optional: Thomas Sowell's Vision of Man and Society Chapter 29 22. Michael Novak's Vision of Democratic Capitalism Part 30 V. The Philosophy of Freedom: In Retrospect and Prospect Chapter 31 23. Revisiting the Intellectual Heritage of a Free Society Chapter 32 24. Developing a Paradigm for a Free Society Chapter 33 Index 34 About the Author

Reviews

Younkins provides a superb complement to his earlier book, Capitalism and Commerce. He presents an encyclopedic investigation of the rich intellectual heritage of liberty. This is a thought-provoking journey through the works of great thinkers, past and present.--Sciabarra, Chris Matthew

Champions of a Free Society is a compelling story of the evolution and development of liberalism's foundational ideas. In effortlessly readable prose, the author capsulizes the philosophic and economic views of twenty writers on liberty. He handles with ease and understanding the most difficult concepts of metaphysics and epistemology, as well as ethics, political philosophy, and economics. An eye-opening overview concentrated in just a few hundred pages.--Jerry Kirkpatrick

Author Information

Edward W. Younkins is professor of accountancy and business administration at Wheeling Jesuit University.

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