Todd Seavey - Libertarianism For Beginners

Todd Seavey has written one of the best introductions to libertarianism ever. It's clear, concise, compellingand fun!

Donald Boudreaux, economist at George Mason University and the Mercatus Center, blogger at Caf Hayek

Many a curious liberal, conservative, or apolitical moderate has walked away from a conversation with a libertarian more confused than edified. They need this book.

Libertarianism confuses non-libertariansbecause it's different in kind from other political philosophies, and because libertarians themselves spend so much breath on internecine warfare. Author Todd Seavey and cartoonist Nathan Smith have just the solution to that problem: a clear, concise exposition of libertarian thought that elucidates without proselytizing. They acknowledge and explain the internal rifts of libertarianism, without taking sides or getting sucked down rabbit holes.

If you want to understand libertarianism (and you should) start with this book.

Tim Carney, Washington Examiner senior political columnist and author of The Big Ripoff

Seavey provides a sober and sane introduction to, and defense of, a wild and radical philosophy whose relevance to the world, and popularity, gets more and more apparent by the year. Reducing a complicated body of thought in ways that are clearly understandable but never misleadingly simple, assessing both a body of thought and the often flawed humans who kept it alive, up to date on the tangled internal politics of the movement and timeless in showing how keeping your eye on the libertarian conception of property rights should guide your understanding of what libertarians think and why.

Brian Doherty, Reason magazine senior editor and author of Radicals for Capitalism

Libertarianism can be a difficult philosophy to understandheck, most libertarians don't even know what it actually is. From the basic concept of free will to abstract ones like the non-aggression principle, Libertarianism for Beginners provides a comprehensive guide to what drives the movement. And with such wit and clarity, it should serve as a guide for allneophytes or neoconson how to talk to and/or understand the libertarian in your life.

Andrew Kirell, Daily Beast senior editor

Libertarianism has gotten a bad name from all the gun nuts, crackpots and trailer-park hermits that have besmirched a noble tradition of proudly American anti-authoritarianism. As such, there is no one in the world whom I want to explain libertarianism to me more than the always exciting, always exhilarating, and never indulgent Todd Seavey, a thinking man's Plato.

Gersh Kuntzman, New York Daily News reporter

Seavey provides a thorough and easy to read explanation of libertarianism and its history. Full of examples and nuance, the book offers a balanced context for understanding this philosophy.

Ann Lee, NYU Stern School of Business professor and author of What the U.S. Can Learn from China

The briefest introduction to libertarianism is also one of the richestSeavey brilliantly captures a many-sided movement.

Daniel McCarthy, editor of American Conservative magazine

Libertarian is a word too often used as a cheap punch-line or a put-down by those unwilling, or perhaps afraid, to understand what it really means. In this fantastic bookone both learned and lightheartedTodd Seavey rescues libertarianism from the finger-pointers and makes a lucid, convincing case for its relevance as a serious and necessary political philosophy. Everyone, not just beginners, will benefit from reading it. I most certainly didand I'm not even a libertarian.

Alexander Rose, author of Washington's Spies

If you've ever suspected your political views could boil down to something as simple as leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone, Todd Seavey's wonderfully clarifying book is a must for you. In level-headed, precise, simple, and jargon-free language, Seavey lays out how rejecting the impulse to control others' bodies and property can be the basis of a coherent system of thinking towards a more rational and happier society.

Kyle Smith, New York Post columnist

America may or not be living through its latest libertarian moment but Americansand not just Americanswill have a much clearer understanding of what this might mean if they read Todd Seavey's Libertarianism for Beginners, a brisk, smart, and sympathetic field guide to libertarianism, its tribes, its thinkers, and ten, not commandments of course, but dilemmas. Feel free to buy this book.

Andrew Stuttaford, National Review contributing editor

This is a wonderfully crisp and elegant introduction to libertarianismand it's so smart that it's not just for beginners. It's a concise, evenhanded guide to one of the most influential intellectual movements today. No matter what your ideology, this masterful survey of history and philosophy will give you a new perspective on politics and governmentand keep you entertained while you learn.

John Tierney, columnist and co-author of Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength

For Beginners LLC

155 Main Street, Suite 211

Danbury, CT 06810 USA

www.forbeginnersbooks.com

Text: 2016 Todd Seavey

Illustrations: 2016 Nathan Smith

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

A For Beginners Documentary Comic Book

Copyright 2016

Cataloging-in-Publication information is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN-13: 978-1-939994-66-0

Manufactured in the United States of America

For Beginners and Beginners Documentary Comic Books are published by For Beginners LLC.

First Edition

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by John Stossel

Teaching people libertarian ideas is tough. I try to do it on television, in books, and in videos for high school teachers. I worry sometimes about whether it gets through.

I have mostly worked for news organizations, so that means looking for recent events that illustrate larger points. Just as there are trade-offs at the heart of economics, there are trade-offs in picking which stories to tell.

Television needs to be, well, visual. Television requires energy and good talkers and catchy examples people may talk about the next day. It's easier to put those pieces together when the topic is something concrete and easy to understandlike the disasters, crimes, and wars that dominate news coverage. When the topic is something abstract, like laws of supply and demand or the tendency of constitutional freedoms to erode in times of crisis, it gets tougher.

Critics accuse me of oversimplifying. Of course I oversimplify; I work in television. Someone who wants deeper knowledge should read the original sourcesbooks by libertarian economists like Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek. But most won't.

So read the book you hold in your hands. It falls somewhere in between the simplicity of TV and the thoroughness of Ludwig von Mises'