The Individualists: Radicals, Reactionaries, and the Struggle for the Soul of Libertarianism

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A sweeping history of libertarian thought, from radical anarchists to conservative defenders of the status quo.

Libertarianism emerged in the mid-nineteenth century with an unwavering commitment to progressive causes, from womens rights and the fight against slavery to anti-colonialism and Irish emancipation. Today, this movement founded on the principle of individual liberty finds itself divided by both progressive and reactionary elements vying to claim it as their own. The Individualists is the untold story of a political doctrine continually reshaped by fierce internal tensions, bold and eccentric personalities, and shifting political circumstances.

Matt Zwolinski and John Tomasi trace the history of libertarianism from its origins as a radical progressive ideology in the 1850s to its crisis of identity today. They examine the doctrines evolution through six defining themes: private property, scepticism of authority, free markets, individualism, spontaneous order, and individual liberty. They show how the movement took a turn toward conservativism during the Cold War, when the dangers of communism at home and abroad came to dominate libertarian thinking. Zwolinski and Tomasi reveal a history that is wider, more diverse, and more contentious than many of us realise.

A groundbreaking work of scholarship, The Individualists uncovers the neglected roots of a movement that has championed the poor and marginalised since its founding, but whose talk of equal liberty has often been bent to serve the interests of the rich and powerful.

Reviews

"The Individualists is a superb work of intellectual history. Anyone wishing to understand a modern political denomination encompassing such diverse creatures as the anarchist Albert Jay Nock, the priestess of capitalism Ayn Rand, the politician Rand Paul and the billionaire philanthropist Charles Koch ought to have a copy on his shelf."---Barton Swaim, Wall Street Journal
"One of the best guides youll find to the libertarian universe."---Jesse Walker, Reason
"Zwolinski and Tomasis historical survey of the libertarian movement, warts and all, is uncommonly honest and comprehensive. Purely as exegesis, the book is without peer, and anyone who wants to know what libertarianism is should run, not walk, to pick it up."---Matt McManus, Jacobin
"[Zwolinski and Tomasi] are both committed libertarians who are appalled at the movements turn toward a harder-edged conservatism. . . . As they see it, libertarianism once had a left-of-center valenceand could still reclaim it."---Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker
"If there is one lesson to take away from The Individualists, its that the meaning of libertarianism has always been contested and in flux, a movement more capacious than it is often given credit for. . . . [It] doesnt shy away from the ugly parts of libertarianism, but it highlights much more that libertarians can take pride in."---Jacob Grier, Washington Examiner
"Some books become good friends. They not only stimulate our minds, but they also speak to our very souls. The Individualists . . . is such a book. . . excellent, wisely written, and beautifully crafted."---Bradley J. Birzer, Law & Liberty
"This represents the key division running through the delightful new book The Individualists, a fabulous intellectual history from Matt Zwolinksi and John Tomasi, two sympathetic biographers of the ideology who nonetheless acknowledge that their co-ideologists can be a bit impractical, even zany. . . . The Individualists is a clarifying work that both explains and demonstrates how libertarianism operates as a coherent philosophy and how it differs from other members of its philosophical family. Its authors write with a palpable love of ideas and even of the sometimes-goofy, often-curmudgeonly characters who propagated themand who find the idea of a drivers license a license to totalitarianism."---Tal Fortgang, Commentary
"A much-needed intellectual history of the movement, at a moment when libertarianism could use some rethinking. . . . You really must read it for yourself."---Randy E. Barnett, Claremont Review of Books

Author Bio

Matt Zwolinski is professor of philosophy at the University of San Diego, where he is director of the Center for Ethics, Economics, and Public Policy. His books include The Routledge Companion to Libertarianism. John Tomasi is president of Heterodox Academy in New York City. He is the author of Free Market Fairness (Princeton).