Libertarian Book Reviews

Politics

My Passion for Liberty

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This is the first in a series of reviews of relevant books written by candidates for the Libertarian Party nomination for president. By relevant, I mean the book is plausibly related to their political views. So, Vermin Supreme’s iPony: Blueprint for a New America will be reviewed. Although it is irreverent, it is relevant. However, John McAfee’s Computer Viruses, Worms, Data Diddlers, Killer Programs, and Other Threats to Your System is not reviewed, since it is not relevant.

Aside from Vermin Supreme’s learned tome, I’ll be reviewing Adam Kokesh’s Freedom! as well as the subject of the present review, Jacob Hornberger’s My Passion for Liberty. I am not aware of other relevant books written by announced LP candidates. If I missed any, please let me know in the comments.

Now, let’s get to the review…

A candidate book is a genre, like a detective novel or a vampire novel. If you’ve read one you understand the basic formula. It is part autobiography, focusing on the formation of the author’s political views. And it is part political manifesto, outlining his approach to various issues of present concern to voters. In this sense, Jacob Hornberger’s My Passion for Liberty is a conventional exemplar of the genre. He touches all the bases and establishes himself as an earnest libertarian who has spent his time in the trenches.

From his upbringing in Laredo, Texas and education at the Virginia Military Institute, Hornberger seemed destined to a career as a lawyer, like his father. But along the way he discovered an anthology published by Leonard Read and the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). This was the proverbial Road to Damascus moment that set him on a different track. He eventually left his law practice to lead the FEE for a stint, before founding the Future of Freedom Foundation, which he continues to lead.

Hornberger’s political views, as described in this book, are at the vital center of libertarianism, “liberty, free markets, and limited government.” There is no discussion here of esoteric theoretical questions, or shocking “what if” dilemmas. He sticks close to the core, and does it soberly, with a pleasant, direct style.

The one area where Hornberger verges outside of what I’d consider core libertarianism is in his discussion of the JFK assassination, an area that as occupied him (some would say preoccupied) for years. Honestly, I was skeptical of his seeming fascination with the subject, but he does acquit himself well with his explanation, where he shows how he uses this to demonstrate the danger of America’s transformation into a national security state, where the state topples governments around the world, and perhaps even here at home.

The book has short introductions by Ron Paul and Richard Eberling, and closes with a handful of shorter pieces written by Hornberger.

The Case Against Socialism

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There are several classic books that make the case for individual freedom over the collectivist state. Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom, Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom, and Mises’s Liberalism come to mind. But for all the virtues they have, with the commanding sweep of their vision and their penetrating social analysis, the reader of today often struggles in understanding the argument due to the reliance on examples that today are dated, even obscure. The reader of 2019 reads these classics for their evergreen ideas, but often ends up baffled by discussions of 19th century English politicians, New Deal legislation, the Bretton Woods currency system, or Nixon-era price controls.

Against this background, Rand Paul’s new book, The Case Against Socialism, is a most welcome addition to the literature of freedom. He does not innovate—not need he—on the fundamental arguments in favor of liberty. Instead, Sen. Paul does an admirable job refreshing the argument for a reader of today, with 39 short, conversational chapters discussing topics such as Venezuela, Scandinavia, authoritarianism, economic inequality, climate alarmism and fake news.

The text is organized into six parts, containing 39 short, conversational chapters. The text is well-documented, with hundreds of footnotes citing sources, many of which I’ve copied down for further exploration.

This is a good, easy read, one I recommend heartily. It is the right argument, at the right time.

Income Tax: The Root of All Evil

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Before there was a libertarian movement of that name there was, in the United States, the Old Right.  These were anti-Progressive, anti-interventionist Republicans and conservative Democrats (remember them?) opposed to the New Deal.  They were staunchly individualist.  During the war hysteria that came in the 1940s, the the following Cold War hysteria, the Old Right was pretty much swept off the stage of public discourse.  But you probably know some of their names:  Albert Jay Nock, Senator Robert Taft, Gov. Al Smith,  H.L Mencken, and Frank Chodorov (1887-1966).

Frank Chodorov was involved in a variety of magazines, through the 1940s and 1950s, including his own journal, analysis,  and the Foundation for Economic Educations’s The Freeman, which he edited.

However, Chodorov is best known today for his 1954 book,  Income Tax: The Root of All Evil, his indictment of the 16th Amendment and the havoc it unleashed on the American way of life.  By Chodorov’s audit of the ill-effects of the income tax, it caused a long list of ailments, such as making us more bellicose, enabling the imperial presidency, upsetting the balance between the states and the federal government,  feeding class warfare, corrupting our charities,  and exploiting the poor.

In name, it was a tax reform. In point of fact, it was a revolution. For the Sixteenth Amendment corroded the American concept of natural rights; ultimately reduced the American citizen to a status of subject, so much so that he is not aware of it; enhanced Executive power to the point of reducing Congress to innocuity; and enabled the central government to bribe the states, once independent units, into subservience. No kingship in the history of the world ever exercised more power than our Presidency, or had more of the people’s wealth at its disposal. We have retained the forms and phrases of a republic, but in reality we are living under an oligarchy, not of courtesans, but of bureaucrats.

The remedy?  The same as used to repeal Prohibition:   Ratify an new amendment to repeal the 16th Amendment, 3/4 of state conventions.  It is an intriguing idea, certainly. Republicans currently control the state legislatures in 30/50 states,  or 60%.

Although one wishes a 1954 book on the income tax would no longer be relevant, the intervening years and the full range of tax “reforms” have not undone Chodorov’s original analysis or his recommendations.  And not only relevant, Income Tax: The Root of All Evil is a delight to read, a propose full of energy and grace.