Summer reading

Thinking about summer reading these have some interesting perspectives on the question of liberty and responsibility

The Ordeal of Thomas Hutchinson and The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution - Bernard Bailey

The case of Thomas Hutchinson sees to be worth thinking about, it seems that he was as committed to personal liberty as were the Sons of Liberty, yet he was so concerned about the impact of the chaos that might be associated with radical change.

In reading The Glorious Cause by Middlekauff I was struck by the violence with which the Sons of Liberty attacked dissent (both neutral and loyalist) and I have been reflecting on the differences between the American Revolution and the French Revolution.

Hayek contrasts liberalism that evolved in the UK and US with that on the continent, particularly France and I wonder to what extent the differences in this ideology shaped the differences in the respective revolutions.

This posting was prompted by a very provocative retrospective over at the Mises blog - from Rothdard's Egalitarianism As a Revolt Against Nature.

"The true test, then, of the radical spirit, is the button-pushing test: if we could push the button for instantaneous abolition of unjust invasions of liberty, would we do it? "

http://mises.org/story/2993