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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Individual liberty will be the defining issue of the twenty-first century, while fear of terrorism, crime and social chaos has put out ideas of liberty into retreat in recent years.
It is clear that there is not just a crisis of liberty, but a crisis in the way people talk about liberty. How do we, as individuals, negotiate the maximum amount of freedom in such a complex world? How can we resist the growth of intrusive authoritarianism without exposing ourselves to crime, terrorism and other risks? Even those who instinctively support social freedoms are losing confidence when confronted with such hard truths.
History provides a guide to answering these questions. We have a rich legacy to draw upon to help define our approach to current problems. Yet it is a history which we are in danger of forgetting or misreading. In What Price Liberty? Ben Wilson travels through four centuries of British, American and European history, elaborating not just how civil liberties were constructed in the past, but how they were continually re-thought – and re-fought – in response to modernity. The last chapters put into context the controversies of the last decade or so – the threat of terrorism and the rise of the database nation. If liberty is to survive now it must, like it did in the past, adapt to new circumstances. But to do this we need to agree about the value we place on liberty.
This is densely researched, comprehensive study of the history of notions of liberty from the early 17th century to the present day. Wilson is clearly at ease with his subject matter, discussing the ideas of a huge range of political philosophers, including John Stuart Mill, Hayek and Hobbes and setting out the political and historical context for ideas of liberty. Although the book’s blurb claims that Wilson takes into account American and European history, in practice these are little more than asides – the focus is very much on English history.
It’s a dense read and the academic nature doesn’t do much for its accessibility. Those with a background in political philosophy will probably get more out of it than the casual reader. However, the material really does come alive in the second half when the focus shifts to the 20th century where parallels can be drawn between the measures carried out during the first and second World Wars and those carried out today – including with regard to the government’s arguments for those measures.
Wilson’s disapproval of the current anti-terrorism measures is obvious, but he writes with fluidity and clarity and there’s much thought-provoking material here. It’s a novel that’s worth ploughing through, but probably best handled in small chunks.
The Verdict:
The density of the material makes this a challenging read, but the material comes alive in the second half to make for a thought-provoking book.
Individual liberty will be the defining issue of the twenty-first century, while fear of terrorism, crime and social chaos has put out ideas of liberty into retreat in recent years.
It is clear that there is not just a crisis of liberty, but a crisis in the way people talk about liberty. How do we, as individuals, negotiate the maximum amount of freedom in such a complex world? How can we resist the growth of intrusive authoritarianism without exposing ourselves to crime, terrorism and other risks? Even those who instinctively support social freedoms are losing confidence when confronted with such hard truths.
History provides a guide to answering these questions. We have a rich legacy to draw upon to help define our approach to current problems. Yet it is a history which we are in danger of forgetting or misreading. In What Price Liberty? Ben Wilson travels through four centuries of British, American and European history, elaborating not just how civil liberties were constructed in the past, but how they were continually re-thought – and re-fought – in response to modernity. The last chapters put into context the controversies of the last decade or so – the threat of terrorism and the rise of the database nation. If liberty is to survive now it must, like it did in the past, adapt to new circumstances. But to do this we need to agree about the value we place on liberty.
This is densely researched, comprehensive study of the history of notions of liberty from the early 17th century to the present day. Wilson is clearly at ease with his subject matter, discussing the ideas of a huge range of political philosophers, including John Stuart Mill, Hayek and Hobbes and setting out the political and historical context for ideas of liberty. Although the book’s blurb claims that Wilson takes into account American and European history, in practice these are little more than asides – the focus is very much on English history.
It’s a dense read and the academic nature doesn’t do much for its accessibility. Those with a background in political philosophy will probably get more out of it than the casual reader. However, the material really does come alive in the second half when the focus shifts to the 20th century where parallels can be drawn between the measures carried out during the first and second World Wars and those carried out today – including with regard to the government’s arguments for those measures.
Wilson’s disapproval of the current anti-terrorism measures is obvious, but he writes with fluidity and clarity and there’s much thought-provoking material here. It’s a novel that’s worth ploughing through, but probably best handled in small chunks.
The Verdict:
The density of the material makes this a challenging read, but the material comes alive in the second half to make for a thought-provoking book.
