Liberty at Risk:
Tackling Today’s Political Problems
Peter Fenwick
Binding:
Paperback
Pages: 90 pages
Price: $19.95
ISBN: 9781925501162
Praise for
Liberty at Risk
“I love it – Liberty at Risk illustrates
so many important principles of libertarianism with reference to current
affairs and basic good common sense too. It is exactly the sort of book that
will reach out to people who unbeknown to themselves are instinctively
libertarians - people who understand that the good life comes from the lived
experience not subservience to government.
I was particularly taken by the line, "If we
wish to convince others that our ideology is superior, then firstly we must
understand its concepts and its roots, and secondly we must live its
truth". Magnificent. This book will go a long way to helping us understand
liberal roots and concepts.”
-- Sinclair Davidson,
Professor, Institutional Economics, RMIT University
Never has a book been more timely and welcomed
than Liberty at Risk: Tackling Today’s Political Problems. Australian
Peter Fenwick addresses some of the most important and vexing problems of today
in 23 short chapters. The answers rest on the foundations of Classical
Liberalism and Austrian free market economics and the reader will be reminded
of work of the great Henry Hazlitt. An excellent introduction for
the uninitiated."
-- Dr. Mark Thornton, Senior
Fellow, Ludwig von Mises Institute
“Peter Fenwick challenges our perception of
society’s status quo. He does not espouse a new age philosophy, but uses the
philosophies of the 18th and 19th century libertarians whose thinking
influenced our democracies in their infancy.
He questions the distortions of their ideals that
are now causing rifts and failures in our modern day world.
While our current politicians, bureaucrats and
business leaders maybe beyond change, these essays provide food for thought to
stimulate the next generation to change our world for a better future.
Topics such as the role and responsibilities of
government, the distortion of crony capitalism, the rights of lobby groups to
peddle self-interest, tolerance, entrepreneurs, caliphates, the role of the
family, accepting responsibility……the list goes on. But in itself it provides a
curriculum for any University, year 11 or year 12 current affairs or philosophy
program that all of us would love to join.”
-- Dr Hugh Seward, Chairman
of the Council of The Geelong College, Adjunct Senior Research
Fellow at Monash University
“Fenwick explores how the principles of
libertarianism have been undermined by the rise of the welfare state and the
increasingly interventionist governments of Western democracies. He writes of
crony capitalism; the decline in civil virtues; how governments repeatedly
attempt to solve social issues by regulation; and the rise of jihadist
Islamism.
If you like food for thought, then this book is a
feast! But it's not burgers and fries; rather it's a collection of small,
appetizing and healthy entrees that will whet your appetite for the main course
- Peter Fenwick's book The Fragility of Freedom - Why
Subsidiarity Matters.”
-- Graham Haines, Principal
Consultant, Plans to Reality
“Peter Fenwick writes what so many of us think -
he poses commonsense responses to even the most complex economic and political
issues. In essence, a free market, and the freedom of individuals to act
responsibly on their own behalf, should result in a better outcome for all.
Sadly, ego, pride and greed come into play, and
these forces cannot operate as they should. If only politicians and big
business could/would read Peter's work, examine history and learn from it, then
inevitably our world would be a better place.
We probably recognize that the moral goals of the
welfare state are not all wrong. It is the questions of what constitute our
inalienable rights, and the methods used to ensure those rights, which
distinguish libertarianism from socialist democracy.
What needs to be determined is to what extent the
goals of the welfare state in terms of ensuring shelter, basic income,
education, health (etc.) should constitute essential rights of the individual.
And further, having been so determined - they should be guaranteed as a
universal right to all, not selectively and inefficiently delivered by a
bloated bureaucracy.
At least, if each of us reads Peter’s work, and
seriously take responsibility for ourselves and our families, and deliberates
the notion of balance and fairness, then the notion of changing the world one
person (our self) at a time, may make it that better place for all of us.
-- Susan M. Renouf,
Executive Director, Renouf & Associates
“Peter Fenwick’s new book should be read by
everyone who is concerned with the current world’s problems. His insight in
selecting the problems and presenting alternatives in a simple manner is
extraordinary. The new format makes easy reading about difficult
problems.”
-- John Link, CEO, Link Pumps and Engineering
