In Defense of Freedom and Related Essays

by Frank S. Meyer

Overview

When it first appeared in 1962, In Defense of Freedom was hailed by Richard M. Weaver as “a brilliant defense of the primacy of the person” and an effective “indictment of statism and bureaucratism.” Meyer examines the tension between the freedom of the person and the power of social institutions. In his view, both the dominant Liberalism and the “New Conservatism” of the American tradition place undue emphasis on the claims of social order at the expense of the individual person and liberty.

Frank S. Meyer (1909–1972) was a senior editor of National Review.

William C. Dennis is a Senior Fellow, Atlas Economic Research Foundation, and a consultant in philanthropy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780865971400
Publisher:	Liberty Fund, Incorporated
Publication date:	06/30/1996
Pages:	261
Sales rank:	531,891
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

Foreword xi PART ONE
PRELUDE Collectivism Rebaptized (1955) 3
Freedom, Tradition, Conservatism (1960) 14 PART TWO
IN DEFENSE OF FREEDOM
A Conservative Credo (1962) Freedom and Conservatism 33
Clearing Ground 41
Why Freedom? 50
What Kind of Order? 77
Leviathan 89
The Locus of Virtue 128
Conclusion: The Shackling of Leviathan 149 PART THREE
RELATED ESSAYS Why Freedom (1962) 155
In Defense of John Stuart Mill (1956) 164
Conservatives in Pursuit of Truth (1956) 170
Conservatism and Crisis: A Reply to Father Parry (1963) 174
Libertarianism or Libertinism? (1969) 183
Conservatism (1967) 187 PART FOUR CODA Western Civilization: The Problem of Political Freedom (1968) 209
Bibliographical Essay 225
Index 231