PRINT-Radicals for Capitalism by Brian Doherty

Brian Doherty's Radicals for Capitalism is a history of the libertarian movement and is essential reading for all libertarians. It touches on various libertarian pioneers, but five people are prominent in this history--Ayn Rand, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Murray Rothbard, and Milton Friedman. These five are the pillars of the modern day libertarian movement. The irony is that they were so utterly different from one another.

The volume also touches on other minor libertarians like Henry Hazlitt, Leonard Read, Rose Wilder Lane, and others. The one thing you learn about libertarians is they are a diverse and wild lot of people. The only thing that unifies them is a belief that government should be much smaller and far less intrusive than it now is.

It is an interesting read, but as I said, it is required reading. It is not exactly fun reading. The book makes no points or arguments. It simply lays out a history of the movement. In places it becomes boring and tedious, but that is history. I recommend the volume for the education, but don't read this one for fun or inspiration. It is more like homework for freedom lovers.

Posted in: