Foundations of a Free Society

Foundations of a Free Society PDF

Author: Gregory Salmieri

Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press

Published: 2019-03-15

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 0822986531

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Foundations of a Free Society brings together some of the most knowledgeable Ayn Rand scholars and proponents of her philosophy, as well as notable critics, putting them in conversation with other intellectuals who also see themselves as defenders of capitalism and individual liberty. United by the view that there is something importantly right—though perhaps also much wrong—in Rand’s political philosophy, contributors reflect on her views with the hope of furthering our understandings of what sort of society is best and why. The volume provides a robust elaboration and defense of the foundation of Rand’s political philosophy in the principle that force paralyzes and negates the functioning of reason; it offers an in-depth scholarly discussion of Rand’s view on the nature of individual rights and the role of government in defending them; it deals extensively with the similarities and differences between Rand’s thought and the libertarian tradition (to which she is often assimilated) and objections to her positions arising from this tradition; it explores Rand’s relation to the classical liberal tradition, specifically with regard to her defense of freedom of the intellect; and it discusses her views on the free market, with special attention to the relation between these views and those of the Austrian school of economics.

Islamic Foundations of a Free Society

Islamic Foundations of a Free Society PDF

Author: Mustafa Acar

Publisher: London Publishing Partnership

Published: 2016-09-12

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 0255367295

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Islam is growing rapidly both in its traditional homelands and in the West. Some in the West view Islam with a mixture of fear and suspicion. However, it is also fair to say that there is widespread ignorance about Islam, and especially about its relationship to political systems and the economy. Is Islam compatible with a free society and a free economy? Is the fact that many Muslim-majority states do not have free economies or polities a result of an incompatibility between Islam and political and economic freedom, or does it result from an unfortunate series of historical events? What role has past colonialism played in encouraging Muslim extremism? Exactly what does Islam have to say about freedom in economic, political and religious life? This book, written by a range of Islamic scholars, sheds a great deal of light on these crucial questions. It is an important book for those in the West who need to understand Islam better. It is also important for those in Muslim countries who can influence the development of political systems and economic policy. The publication of this book could not be more timely.

The Commercial Society

The Commercial Society PDF

Author: Samuel Gregg

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2007-03-29

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 073915320X

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Once relatively confined to parts of Europe and North America, commercial societies are now found in many other cultures and continents. Yet despite the international spread and growth of commercial order, the moral, economic, and legal foundations of commercial society remain poorly understood, especially in those countries where it first took root. Guided by the thoughts of Alexis de Tocqueville, Samuel Gregg's The Commercial Society identifies and explores the key foundational elements that must exist within a society for commercial order to take root and flourish. Gregg studies the challenges that have consistently impeded and occasionally undermined commercial order, including the persistence of 'corporatist' values and political movements seeking to equalize social conditions. This book offers a historically-grounded analysis for modern audiences interested in philosophy or the history of economics.

Freedom's Right

Freedom's Right PDF

Author: Axel Honneth

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2014-03-11

Total Pages: 450

ISBN-13: 0745680062

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The theory of justice is one of the most intensely debated areas of contemporary philosophy. Most theories of justice, however, have only attained their high level of justification at great cost. By focusing on purely normative, abstract principles, they become detached from the sphere that constitutes their “field of application” - namely, social reality. Axel Honneth proposes a different approach. He seeks to derive the currently definitive criteria of social justice directly from the normative claims that have developed within Western liberal democratic societies. These criteria and these claims together make up what he terms “democratic ethical life”: a system of morally legitimate norms that are not only legally anchored, but also institutionally established. Honneth justifies this far-reaching endeavour by demonstrating that all essential spheres of action in Western societies share a single feature, as they all claim to realize a specific aspect of individual freedom. In the spirit of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right and guided by the theory of recognition, Honneth shows how principles of individual freedom are generated which constitute the standard of justice in various concrete social spheres: personal relationships, economic activity in the market, and the political public sphere. Honneth seeks thereby to realize a very ambitious aim: to renew the theory of justice as an analysis of society.

Capitalism and Commerce

Capitalism and Commerce PDF

Author: Edward Wayne Younkins

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 9780739103814

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In Capitalism and Commerce, Edward Younkins provides a clear and accessible introduction to the best moral and economic arguments for capitalism. Drawn from over a decade of business school teaching, Younkins's work offers the student of political economy and the educated layperson a clear, systematic treatment of the philosophical concepts that underpin the idea of capitalism and the business, legal, and political institutions that impact commercial enterprises. Divided into seven parts, the work discusses capitalism and morality; individuals, communities, and the role of the state; private and corporate ownership; entrepreneurship and technological progress; law, justice, and corporate governance; and the obstacles to a free market and limited government.

Foundations of a Free & Virtuous Society

Foundations of a Free & Virtuous Society PDF

Author: Dylan Pahman

Publisher:

Published: 2017-05-23

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 9781942503545

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"How we understand God, the human person, and human society, which includes philosophy, politics, economics, and civil society, will determine much of how we think about everything. This is the central thesis of this short book by Dylan Pahman. A corollary of that thesis is that a great deal of political, economic, and philosophical error and social disorder will result if we proceed on the basis of erroneous concepts of God and man."--Foreword.

Foundations of Political Economy

Foundations of Political Economy PDF

Author: Neal Wood

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2023-09-01

Total Pages: 330

ISBN-13: 0520913442

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Conventional wisdom claims that the seventeenth century gave birth to the material and ideological forces that culminated in the Industrial Revolution and the rise of capitalism. Not true, according to Neal Wood, who argues that much earlier reformers—Dudley, Starkey, Brinklow, Latimer, Crowley, Becon, Lever, and Thomas Smith, as well as the better-known More and Fortescue—laid the groundwork by fashioning an economic conception of the state in response to social, economic and political conditions of England. Wood's innovative study of these early Tudor thinkers, who upheld the status quo yet condemned widespread poverty and suffering, will interest historians, political scientists, and social and political theorists.