Roots of Freedom: A Primer on Modern Liberty

by John W. Danford

Book Overview

Roots of Freedom is a primer on the thinkers and ideas that have shaped the foundations of free societies. John Danford traces the development of indispensable concepts such as the rule of law,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1882926471
• ISBN13: 9781882926473
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Intercollegiate Studies Institute
• Length: 170 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Roots of Freedom

This is an excellent review of the philosophy of liberty and freedom. I highly recommend this book.

For anyone concerned with the defense of personal freedom

In Roots Of Freedom: A Primer On Modern Liberty, John Danford treats the reader to a comprehensive historical survey on the conception and evolution of the concept of political liberty. Beginning with its roots in ancient Greece and in Premodern Christianity, Danford continues with the emergence of Europe from feudalism, the Protestant Reformation, the contributions of science, political ambition and military conquest; Natural Rights and the Natural Condition; the relationship of property to liberty; commerce and liberty; the co-effected influences of wealth, cooperation, and liberty; prices and markets; American liberty; majority tyranny; free societies and the future. Roots Of Freedom is an enthusiastically recommended title for anyone concerned with the history, development, and defense of personal freedom and the political concept and economic consequences of liberty.

A Celebration of Freedom

This work is a celebration of the western philosophical tradition. It is a must read for all those interested in the foundations of democratic theory. Danford skillfully and effortlessly guides the reader through several thousand years of philosophy, in a flowing and truncated exegesis, in an effort to reveal the threads, which form the tapestry of western freedom. He begins by asking two questions: Why have there been so few democracies throughout history and why are they short lived? As one reads the text it becomes clear that he offers these questions as a warning. If we fail to recognize and cherish the roots of our American political tradition as they are expressed through a study of the Ancients, the Christian tradition, the Reformation, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hume and Adam Smith, we will lose sight of the dignity of the individual, the value of liberal education, the free market and limited government. Danford contends that although dangerous threats to our democratic tradition are already upon us, we can still preserve our democracy and the primacy of human dignity if we study the roots of our liberal tradition. The original question, however intriguing and important as it is, remains unanswered. Although Danford is optimistic that liberal education and a study of the classics will help to preserve democracy, the reader is left to wonder if this will be enough. Yes, the trend seems to lean toward democracy since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the demise of the Soviet menace, but communism is still viewed as a viable political system in China and North Korea and a possible collapse of the Russian economy could abruptly change the political climate. In an effort to celebrate our democratic tradition, Danford has not provided an adequate refutation of the alternatives. What this book does is stimulate reflection and inquiry into the richness of our western intellectual tradition. It asks that we become acquainted with our past so that we will value our future. Danford reminds us that to neglect the roots of freedom is to forget what made our nation great.