Synopsis
A history tracing libertarianism's tangled lineage from radical abolitionists and free-market liberals through to its modern factions and internal contradictions.
Core passage idea
Paraphrase · Modern copyrighted workLibertarianism was never one settled creed but a contested tradition pulled between liberty as anti-domination and liberty as property and markets.
Seeing the movement as plural rather than monolithic explains why libertarians disagree so sharply about race, capitalism, and the state.
To avoid a bubble
Pair with John Tomasi, Free Market Fairness.
Reading note
Treat it as history rather than manifesto; the authors are sympathetic but aim to complicate, not to recruit.
Best paired with
John Tomasi, Free Market Fairness