Readings in Liberalism
Detmar Doering (ed.)
Adam Smith Institute, London, 1995, 94 pp., £15 (pbk)
(ISBN 1 873712 39 1)
This book of readings was first published in German by
the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, as an introduction to classical
liberalism. As such, it works very well. The authors
extracted include Locke, Hume, Adam Smith, Humboldt, Bastiat, J.S.
Mill, von Mises, Hayek and Nozick. The subjects covered range
from markets to toleration to justice to utopia.
There is also a short piece by John Gray, which reminds what an
interesting writer he used to be - and perhaps still is, when not
whining in The Guardian about how Margaret Thatcher sacked all
the milkmen.
I am almost inclined to recommend the book. What holds me back
is the price. Who is going to pay £15 for 83 pages of
text? £1.50 would be more appropriate - especially considering
its most likely readership of students and East Europeans.