Freedom in Chains : The Rise of the State and the Demise of the Citizen by James Bovard
Amazon.com Summary: This author comes highly touted by the mainstream conservative press, and with good reason. Bovard, a journalist best known for his influential Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty (St. Martin’s, 1994), sets forth a passionate indictment of the state’s coercive powers over the people. He is especially critical of the “Peter Pan” theory of good government and other political illusions fostered by the state. Bovard reviews 200 years of political philosophy and makes effective use of extreme examples of government programs and regulations to drive home his essential message. Although his argument is bipartisan in its critique of the state’s excesses and excuses, the overall effect is one of polemical overkill. Still, this is a well-researched book that can serve as a sampling of libertarian thought for many libraries.
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