An essential book on liberty.
Liberty is what libertarians advocate, both because of the inherent value of human liberty and the increasing wealth and welfare it brings to all. The aggressive coercion of the state is regarded by libertarians as the “enemy of liberty”. The solution: to roll back the state until there is little or no state left.
Libertarianism is a movement and philosophy that has been rapidly emerging since the 1970s, and yet it remains a largely misunderstood concept. You might find state enthusiasts disingenuously claiming to be libertarians, or state enthusiasts attacking libertarianism as being an extremist ideology. And very occasionally you'll come across a real libertarian explaining and defending their views.
J C Lester is a libertarian philosopher who has been writing about liberty politics for almost 30 years. Arguments for Liberty features a range of his shorter writings on the subject, ranging from the populist to the philosophical. Together they function as a miscellaneous introduction to libertarianism.
