|
"In politics, it is not enough to know what's right. To succeed, your command of a subject must be so secure that you can persuade people you are right. And then you must activate them. "You should have such a mastery of the issues that you can frame your arguments to anticipate and render ineffective your opponent's arguments. You should know all you can learn about what works and what doesn't work. How do you accomplish this? Schooling alone will not suffice. All knowledgeable people are largely self-taught." – Morton C. Blackwell, Founder and President of the Leadership Institute 
The Law
 By Frederic Bastiat
In The Law, Bastiat states that "each of us has a natural right - from God - to defend his person, his liberty, and his property." The State is a "substitution of a common force for individual forces" to defend this right. The law becomes perverted when it punishes one's right to self-defense in favor of another's acquired right to plunder. Bastiat defines two forms of plunder: "stupid greed and false philanthropy." Stupid greed is "protective tariffs, subsidies, and guaranteed profits" while false philanthropy is "guaranteed jobs, relief and welfare schemes, public education, progressive taxation, free credit, and public works." Monopolism and socialism are legalized plunder which Bastiat emphasizes is legal, but not legitimate.
God and Man at Yale
 By William F. Buckley, Jr.
In 1951, a twenty-five year old Yale graduate published his first book, which exposed the extraordinarily irresponsible educational attitude that prevailed at his alma mater. This book rocked the academic world and catapulted its young author, William F. Buckley, Jr. into the public spotlight. God and Man at Yale received mixed reviews when it was first published. Many American academics and pundits underestimated the ultimate impact the book and Buckley would have on American society, thinking that it would fade quickly into the background. Quite the opposite happened, as Buckley used it as a sort of launching pad into the public eye.
Witness
 By Whittaker Chambers
First pubished in 1952, Witness was at once a literary effort, a philosophical treatise, and a bestseller. Whitakker Chambers had just participated in in America's trial of the century in which Chambers claimed that Alger Hiss, a full-standing memeber of the political establishment, was a spy for the Soviet Union. This poetic autobiography recounts the famous case, but reveals much more. Chambers' worldview ultimately went on to help make political conservatism and national force.
Letters to a Young Conservative
 By Dinesh D'Souza
A young foot soldier of the "Reagan Revolution," bestselling author Dinesh D'Souza provides students of the next generation with a basic understanding of modern conservatism and its fundamental precepts. Addressing a fictional student by the name of "Chris," D'Souza outlines the major distinctions between liberalism, conservatism, and libertarianism. He goes on to explain how conservatism debunks an array of issues, such as affirmative action, feminism, postmodernism, and some lesser known sins such as the "self esteem hoax." D'Souza will no doubt succeed in inspiring young conservatives to go out in the world and fight for what they believe in.
Capitalism and Freedom
 By Milton Friedman
In this classic bestseller, Capitalism and Freedom, Milton Friedman presents his view of the proper role of competitive capitalism--the organization of economic activity through private enterprise operating in a free market--as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom. Beginning with a discussion of principles of a liberal society, Friedman applies them to such constantly pressing problems as monetary policy, discrimination, education, income distribution, welfare, and poverty.
Liberal Fascism
 By Jonah Goldberg
In this provocative and well-researched book, Jonah Goldberg probes modern liberalism's spooky origins in the early 20th-century fascist politics. With chapter titles such as "Adolf Hitler: Man of the Left" and "Brave New Village: Hillary Clinton and the Meaning of Liberal Fascism," Goldberg argues that fascism has always been a phenomenon of the left. His study of the conceptual overlap between fascism and ideas emerging from the environmental movement, Hollywood, the Democratic Party, and what he calls other left-wing organs is shocking. The controversial arc Goldberg draws from Mussolini to The Matrix is well-researched, seriously argued, and funny.
The Conscience of a Conservative
 By Barry Goldwater
In 1960, Barry Goldwater set forth his brief manifestor in The Conscience of a Conservative. Written at the height of the Cold War and in the wake of America's greatest experiment, the New Deal, Goldwater's message was not only remarkable, but radical. He argued for the value and importance of conservative principles, with freedom being the foremost among them, in contemporary political life. Using the principles he espoused in this concise but powerful book, Goldwater fundamentally altered the political landscape of his day--and ours.
The Road to Serfdom
 By F.A. Hayek
A classic work in political philsophy, intellectual and cultural history, and economics, The Road to Serfdom has inspired and infuriated politicians, scholars, and general readers for half a century. Originally published in England in the spring of 1944 when Eleanor Roosevelt supported the efforts of Stalin, and Albert Einstein subscribed lock, stock, and barrel to the socialist program, The Road to Serfdom was seen as heretical for its passionate warning against the dangers of state control over the means of production. For F.A. Hayek, the collectivist idea of empowering government with increasing economic control would inevitably lead not to a utopia, but to the horrors of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy.
Economics in One Lesson
 By Henry Hazlitt
If everybody learned economics from Hazlitt, it would not be called a dismal science. In this masterpiece of concision, Hazlitt elegantly and clearly presents the case for economic liberty. Friedrich Hayek said of this book: "I know of no other modern book from which the intelligent layman can learn so much about the basic truths of economics in so short a time."
Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto
 By Mark Levin
In Liberty and Tyranny, radio talk show host Mark Levin sets out to define "conservatism" and discusses many modern perspectives that attempt to claim the title of true conservative principles. Levin reportedly spent sixteen months researching and reflecting on this topic to present what he believes should define conservatism. The book also includes discussions of a variety of issues that, according to Levin, need to be addressed by the United States in order to return the country to its values and principles laid out by the Founding Fathers that have ultimately made the US a leader and beacon of freedom and liberty to the rest of the world.
Atlas Shrugged
 By Ayn Rand
This book has been described as a ery long essay in the guise of a very long novel. It is one of the most devastating critiques ever written of big government and the liberal media. Rand's moral indignation is contagious; after reading her, most readers are forever immune to the enticements of socialism.
|
