'The Communist Manifesto': What is our equivalent?

[NewUser]

Hi all, I'm on break right now so I want to spend as much time as I can trying to gain a strong philosophical grounding in the ideals of libertarianism, liberty and small government as espoused by Ron Paul and Peter Schiff. Is there an equivalent to the Communist Manifesto? Is there a book or a work that serves as our 'Bible'?

I'm currently reading 'Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom' by Ron Paul and this seems to be a 'general' book that addresses different questions, but Ron Paul says in the beginning that this book is not supposed to serve as a guide on how he'd setup a society. Is there a book where he explains how he'd setup his ideal society and the reasons for why he'd set it up in that particular way? I'm also reading Peter Schiff's 'The Crash' as Schiff served as Ron Paul's economic adviser on his campaign and it's a good book.

What are some universally recognised books that serve as the ideology behind Ron Paul Peter Schiff?


Thank you for any help!

[erowe1]

We're not as monolithic as you might think.

For some of us it's the Bible.

For a lot of others it's Rothbard's, For a New Liberty.

Atlas Shrugged is probably up there for some people, but there don't seem to be as many of those around any more.

[kcchiefs6465]

The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul is a good book on the basics. It covers a lot of area considering how short it is.

[georgiaboy]

the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution would be a nice start.

[Wolfgang Bohringer]

...For a lot of others it's Rothbard's, For a New Liberty...


Also:

Bastiat's "The Law"

Spooner's "A Letter to Grover Cleveland, on His False Inaugural Address, The Usurpations and Crimes of Lawmakers and Judges, and the Consequent Poverty, Ignorance, and Servitude of the People"

Spooner's "No Treason--The Constitution of No Authority"

Nock's "Our Enemy the State"

[Acala]

The Law by Bastiat
A Liberty Primer by Burris
Economics for Real People by Callahan

[Seraphim]

The Bill of Right is far better.

The Constitution is government structure that also includes abilities to change said structure.

The Bill of Rights is an enumeration of what makes the individual Sovereign.


the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution would be a nice start.

[BuddyRey]

Also:

Bastiat's "The Law"

Spooner's "A Letter to Grover Cleveland, on His False Inaugural Address, The Usurpations and Crimes of Lawmakers and Judges, and the Consequent Poverty, Ignorance, and Servitude of the People"

Spooner's "No Treason--The Constitution of No Authority"

Nock's "Our Enemy the State"

I second all of these...especially "No Treason"

[Matthew5]

Libertarians come in 32 flavors...each will have their go-to books, but there's no manifesto per say. There's no unified vision of how a society should look.

[pcosmar]

For simple, easy to grasp concepts, there are the videos on Individualism v Collectivism.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMYicq_SN1E

[heavenlyboy34]

Don't have a link handy, but The Voluntaryist Manifesto is a good read.

[heavenlyboy34]

The Bill of Right is far better.

The Constitution is government structure that also includes abilities to change said structure.

The Bill of Rights is an enumeration of what makes the individual Sovereign.
Yup. But even the BoR isn't a manifesto per se. The Declaration Of Independence is the closest thing to it in classical American thought AFAIK.

[erowe1]

Yup. But even the BoR isn't a manifesto per se. The Declaration Of Independence is the closest thing to it in classical American thought AFAIK.

Or Common Sense.

[cjm]

Human Action

[heavenlyboy34]

Or Common Sense.
Ah, yes. That's a good one too.

[navy-vet]

the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution would be a nice start.
Yep! I totally agree and was going to say the same thing. :)

[erowe1]

the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution would be a nice start.

Would it be trollish if I nitpicked and said it couldn't be both, since they propound two mutually exclusive views of government?

[idiom]

The Law,
Common Sense,
The road to Serfdom
The declaration of independence
John Galts speech in Atlas Shrugged.

[georgiaboy]

Would it be trollish if I nitpicked and said it couldn't be both, since they propound two mutually exclusive views of government?

Not at all. Exactly the kind of nitpicking I expect here, along with the posts pulling the BoR out of the constitution. :)

[Acala]

The Declaration of Independence is all you need IF you take "government by consent of the governed" to mean what it says.

[Shane Harris]

Also:

Bastiat's "The Law"

Spooner's "A Letter to Grover Cleveland, on His False Inaugural Address, The Usurpations and Crimes of Lawmakers and Judges, and the Consequent Poverty, Ignorance, and Servitude of the People"

Spooner's "No Treason--The Constitution of No Authority"

Nock's "Our Enemy the State"

exactly this

plus Ethics of Liberty by Rothbard, Anatomy of The State by Rothbard is a good start as well, also lots of Mises, Hoppe, and Social Statics by Herbert Spencer (considered by Rothbard to be "the greatest single work of libertarian political philosophy ever written" and whose brand of anarchism formed the political views of Jorge Luis Borge)

[Antischism]

Benjamin Tucker - Liberty/Instead of a Book (http://www.scribd.com/doc/36310810/Benjamin-Tucker-Instead-Of-A-Book-By-A-Man-Too-Busy-To-Write-One)
Lysander Spooner - No Treason (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CCoQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freedomforallseasons.org%2FTa xFreedomEmail%2FLysanderSpoonerNoTreason.pdf&ei=ANluUpnPGpfG4APjpoCABA&usg=AFQjCNFCJwMt5F7H4nVzOqy1HlJgr9ig5Q&sig2=DphiwS-BV7Ea3gDj6yvgDQ)
Max Stirner - The Ego and Its Own (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCoQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.df.lth.se%2F~triad%2Fstirner% 2Ftheego%2Ftheego.pdf&ei=SNluUsrpD6_K4AOc_YG4Ag&usg=AFQjCNGNF1FD19rqYH9hyQOTdm5ELpDO-Q&sig2=ilKYrNrV_pIAqaIhpRhcXg)

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

Well, Rothbard's For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto, is in the title..., but there is just so much libertarian literature out there that you can't really point to one. I mean, The Discovery of Freedom by Rose Wilder Lane is one of the best 20th Century works, but hardly no one knows about it anymore. There's just too much to say: this is it.

[Cleaner44]

I like using this video because it covers much in a quick and easy way to understand:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muHg86Mys7I

[heavenlyboy34]

Would it be trollish if I nitpicked and said it couldn't be both, since they propound two mutually exclusive views of government?
:D Well played, my friend, well played. :cool:

[NewUser]

The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul is a good book on the basics. It covers a lot of area considering how short it is.

Alright, thanks. I'll be sure to check this out.

[Occam's Banana]

For a New Liberty is to Man, Economy and State (both by Murray Rothbard) as The Communist Manifesto is to Das Kapital (both by Karl Marx).

[DamianTV]

The US Govt does have its own Communist Manifesto. Its called: redacted / classified

[Anti-Neocon]

The Bill of Rights is great but it lacks any explanation of the philosophy behind why we need it.

I think it is good that we don't have one "manifesto" because it shows that we aren't a cult. We have mainly observed our surroundings and our conclusions lead us to the same place. That is not to say that there is not a lot of good reading you can do.

[juvanya]

I havent read it, but Rothbards New Libertarian Manifesto I think is supposed to serve the purpose.

I think the first thing I read was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agorism

If I had to recommend, maybe Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt. but You also need some philosophy...