The Idea of America: What It Was and How It Was Lost

Dr. Ron Paul's Review of The Idea of America: What It Was and How It Was Lost

"This excellent collection of essays addresses the fundamental political question of our time or any time: Is the state servant or master? The ongoing experiment known as America began with the very radical notion that the state should indeed be restrained rather than sovereign. This happy development in human history is the grand idea explored here.

"I highly recommend The Idea of America to anyone interested in the animating spirit of America's origins. We hear from expected sources like Jefferson, Paine, and de Tocqueville, but also from modern radicals like Mencken, Rothbard, and Rose Wilder Lane. These excellent minds challenge the reader to rethink their attitudes about government, political economy, and human affairs generally. Statist complacency is no match for such rigorous thinking about the role and nature of government. After reading these essays, I think readers will find themselves both enlightened and angry about the state of our republic today."

Book Description from the Publisher

This is an anthology on America. Its selections have been chosen to convey what was, and hopefully still is, the idea of America.

When we look around America today, it seems clear that the idea of America has failed. Can we imagine that any of the classical authors of this anthology, or any of the Founders, would think that today's America is a free society in the strong sense of the word? It is certainly quite open, and less unfree than many other countries in the world. It may or may not be less unfree than other Western countries, depending on which area of human endeavor is considered. At any rate, contemporary America is far from the idea of America as we see it unfold in this book.

One thing is sure: if liberty and civilization have any future, the idea of America is the key. Will America be?