Alberto Benegas-Lynch, Jr. on “Realizing Freedom”

I was quite pleased to find today this review of my book Realizing Freedom: Libertarian Theory, History, and Practice by the distinguished Argentine economist Alberto Benegas-Lynch:

In our time, the open society around the world has come under severe attack including in the United States, going back to at least Franklin Roosevelt’s administration and continuing more recently with the administration of George W. Bush (who relied on state intervention “to save the free market” sic) and that of Barack Obama. Individual rights are being replaced by affirmative action; private property is undermined by socialist ecology; the war on drugs is destroying individual liberties; state education (as opposed to “public education” because private education is also for the public) has turned into indoctrination; public expenditure, federal debt and fiscal deficits are increasing at an exponential rate; compulsory bailouts with other peoples’ resources are paving the way for another crisis; legislation is on its way to intensify socialized medicine; the so-called Social Security program will soon go bankrupt; the monetization of debt and the manipulation of interest rates by the Federal Reserve are destroying the dollar; and there are always new wars to fight in the name of security.

In this climate of affairs nothing could be more timely than the collection of brilliant and provocative papers by Dr. Tom G. Palmer, Realizing Freedom: Libertarian Theory, History and Practice, published by the Cato Institute. Civilization means understanding and endorsing certain values and principles, which in turn depends on an open debate of ideas. This collection of essays provides a unique and insightful perspective on classical liberalism. Palmer’s arguments are powerful and combine the abstract with the tangible in unusually well written and thoroughly researched essays. They are a philosophical feast, touching on a board range of topics. It is an honest and outspoken voice. It is entertaining and enlightening. The essays are a sweeping blow to those who advocate collectivism and they reinforce the stand of those of us who believe that a free society is a much better place to live for all persons of good will.

Alberto Benegas-Lynch, Jr.
National Academy of Sciences
Buenos Aires , Argentina

Here’s the review by Alberto Mingardi that appeared in the Italian paper Il Riformista: Il Riformista review of Realizing Freedom Alberto Mingardi
I’ll try to get an English translation up soon. (But I have to rush to finish a hundred things before I fly to China in a bit over a week!)