<p><strong><font size="3"><span id="btAsinTitle">The Politics of Freedom: Taking on The Left, The Right and Threats to Our Liberties </span></font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="3"><span></span></font></strong>by <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=David%20Boaz"><font color="#003399">David Boaz</font></a> (Author) </p><p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/1933995149/sr=11-1/qid=1208611400/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1208611400&sr=11-1" target="AmazonHelp"><img id="prodImage" height="240" alt="The Politics of Freedom: Taking on The Left, The Right and Threats to Our Liberties" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Gbu40nohL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" width="240" border="0"/></a></p><li><b>Hardcover:</b> 350 pages </li><li><b>Publisher:</b> Cato Institute (February 25, 2008) </li><li><b>Language:</b> English </li><li><div class="content"><b>Book Description</b><br/>Is it any wonder that Americans have become so dissatisfied with government today? Politicians have given us soaring federal spending, rampant violations of our constitutional rights, a futile war in Iraq, corruption, incompetence, and a growing nanny state. Now one of the leading libertarian critics of big government raises the flag of freedom. David Boaz takes on both liberals and conservatives who seek to impose their own partisan agendas on the whole country. He discusses the roots of American freedom, the growing libertarian vote in America, the arrogance of politicians, and everything from taxes and education to terrorism and the war on drugs. For the millions of Americans who don't fit the red-blue divide, who are fiscally conservative and socially liberal, who reject <font color="#ff0000"><strong>big-government</strong></font> conservatism and nanny-state liberalism, this book points the way to a new politics of <strong><font color="#ff0000">freedom</font></strong>. </div></li><li><div class="content">  </div></li><li><div class="content"><strong><font size="4">Contents</font></strong><br/>Introduction ix<br/><strong>1. THE LIBERTARIAN IDEA 1</strong><br/>Pro-Choice 3<br/>Pro-Life 5<br/>Rights, Responsibilities, and Community 7<br/>Competition and Cooperation 15<br/>Liberalism and Change 19<br/>The Gun behind the Law 22<br/>Are Libertarians Anti-Government? 23<br/>The Ownership Society 25<br/>The Importance of History 28<br/><strong>2. A NECESSARY EVIL 31</strong><br/>The Hubris of Politics 33<br/>Government without Principles 35<br/>The Lobbyist Scandals 37<br/>Root of the Evil 39<br/>How the Republicans and Democrats Maintained Their<br/>Market Share 42<br/>No Consensus 44<br/>War, Collectivism, and Conscription 45<br/>The Fatal Conceit in the Bush-Clinton Years 47<br/>Our Magical President 49<br/><strong>3. THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF MARKET AND STATE 51</strong><br/>Chrysler, Microsoft, and Industrial Policy 53<br/>Parasite Economy Latches onto New Host 55<br/>Prisoner Held for Ransom 57<br/>The High Price of Regulation 59<br/>Junking Jobs: The War on Sidewalk Sales 61<br/>Felix Rohatyn Reconstructs America 62<br/>Capitalism and Change 64<br/>vi  Contents<br/><strong>4. THE POLITICS OF LEFT AND RIGHT 67</strong><br/>Left and Right in the Same Sorry Rut 69<br/>George Will and the Ideological Switcheroo 70<br/>Filibuster Flip-Flops 73<br/>The Budget Two-Step 74<br/>Bush, Kerry, and Partisan Hypocrisy 76<br/>Does Anybody Believe in Federalism? 78<br/>True Patriotism 80<br/>Liberals, Conservatives, and Free Speech 82<br/><strong>5. BIG-GOVERNMENT CONSERVATIVES 83</strong><br/>The Bush Betrayal 85<br/>Franklin Delano Bush 87<br/>Conservatives Warm Up to Majoritarian Tyranny 88<br/>Libertarians, Beware the Rigid Reign of Rudy 90<br/>Why Do Conservatives Like Bush? 91<br/>The Rise of Big-Government Conservatism 93<br/>Welcome to Our Side 95<br/><strong>6. BIG-GOVERNMENT LIBERALS 97</strong><br/>Hillary Hates Freedom 99<br/>Hillary Moves Right in All the Wrong Directions 101<br/>The Man with the Plan 102<br/>Hash Brownies and Harlots in the Halls of Power 105<br/>Our Friend, the State 107<br/>Taking Marxism to China 109<br/><strong>7. CIVIL RIGHTS AND WRONGS 111</strong><br/>Don’t Forget the Kids 113<br/>Legal Immigrants? 114<br/>Enlightenment Values 115<br/>Yellow Peril Reinfects America 116<br/>Marriage Measure Is an Amendment Too Far 119<br/>Domestic Justice 121<br/>Virginia Is for (Homoracial, Heterosexual,<br/>Mentally Adequate) Lovers 123<br/>Don’t Put Slavery in the Flag 125<br/><strong>8. DOWN THE DRAIN 129</strong><br/>At Least Eight Good Reasons to Pass a Tax Cut 131<br/>The Transportation Boondoggle Bill 132<br/>Contents  vii<br/>Budget Cuts: Less Than Meets the Eye 134<br/>What Does It Mean to Abolish an Agency? 136<br/>Bush’s Tiny Tax Cut 138<br/>Bush: The Biggest Taxer in World History 139<br/><strong>9. LET THE CHILDREN GO 141</strong><br/>Let the Children Go 143<br/>Congress Waves Good-Bye to Local Control of Schools 145<br/>California’s $200 Billion Mistake 147<br/>Can Government Put Values in the Schools? 149<br/>The Big Flaw in School Reform 151<br/>The Trouble with Compulsory Schooling 152<br/>A Right to Safer Schools 156<br/>Five Myths about School Choice 158<br/><strong>10. THE NANNY STATE 163</strong><br/>The Republicans, Smaller Government, and Terrell Owens 165<br/>Obesity and ‘‘Public Health’’? 167<br/>The Selective ‘‘Right to Choose’’ 168<br/>Where Have All the Smokers Gone? 170<br/>Thank You for Never Having Smoked 172<br/>Traditional Values on Screen, and on Trial 173<br/><strong>11. PUBLIC PROBLEMS, PRIVATE SOLUTIONS 175</strong><br/>Seceding to Gated Communities 177<br/>Privatize Air Traffic Control 180<br/>Privatize Marriage 182<br/>Privatize Social Security 185<br/>End Taxpayer Funding of Public Broadcasting 187<br/>The Benefits of Private Regulation 191<br/><strong>12. A DRUG-FREE AMERICA? 201<br/></strong>Let’s Quit the Drug War 203<br/>Czar Bennett’s War on Drugs 204<br/>America after Prohibition: The Corner Drugstore 206<br/>Journalists and the Drug War 209<br/>The Hydra-Headed Drug Business 216<br/>The War on Drugs 218<br/><strong>13. AMERICA AND THE WORLD 225</strong><br/>Hating Freedom 227<br/>Prosecuting the War 228<br/>viii  Contents<br/>Word Associations 231<br/>Promoting Democratic Capitalism 233<br/>Flood South Africa with American Culture 234<br/>Free Trade, Limited Government, and Secession 236<br/>The Return of Woodrow Wilson 238<br/>Private Property from Soweto to Shanghai 240<br/>From Russia, with Surprise 244<br/><strong>14. THE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT 249</strong><br/>The Who and Why of Big-Bucks Politics 251<br/>The Tentacles of Federal Funding 252<br/>The Distended Public Sector 255<br/>The Big Government Building Boom 257<br/><strong>15. LIFE AND LIBERTY 261</strong><br/>What to Be Thankful For 263<br/>Liberty at the Movies 265<br/>Where Are the Anti-Communist Movies? 267<br/>Fine Words 268<br/>The Separation of Art and State 270<br/><strong>16. CHARACTERS 275</strong><br/>The Heart and Soul of Ronald Reagan 277<br/>Pat Robertson’s Crackpopulism 279<br/>Rick Santorum: Left, Right, and Wrong 281<br/>Stalin’s Songbird 283<br/>The Man Who Told the Truth 284<br/>The Charismatic Collectivists of the ’30s 286<br/>Galbraith’s Mirror 292<br/>Murdoch vs. The Man 293<br/>Chavez: Do We Need Any More Evidence? 295<br/>A Toast to Yeltsin 296<br/><strong>17. THE POLITICS OF FREEDOM 299</strong><br/>A Free and Prosperous New Year 301<br/>Libertarian Orphans 303<br/>Libertarian Voters in 2004 and 2006 304<br/>Misunderstanding Politics: Stockman and His Revolution 312<br/>The Good News and the Bad News 313<br/>Are We Freer? 315<br/>Index 319<br/><strong>Acknowledgments 331</strong></div></li>