Socialists have never been shy of sketching out their dreams of a better world, but that better world has never materialised in socialist countries. The first part of Towards a Liberal Utopia? outlines the dreams of liberal economists and political scientists. These are not the dreams of people who wish to achieve their plans through central direction, rather our liberal thinkers sketch out frameworks for policy, which, in increasing the domain for individual action, will give rise to beneficial results that cannot be foreseen in detail. This will not lead to Utopia, but the authors are confident that greater freedom will lead to better society.

The second part of the book shows how an earlier generation of liberal economists turned ideas into action. Led by Ralph Harris and Arthur Seldon, the authors writing for the Institute of Economic Affairs helped to turn back the tide of collectivism by undermining its intellectual foundations.

Towards a Liberal Utopia? is essential reading for all those who are curious to know how the liberal economic agenda will develop over the coming generation.

“The golden thread that runs through the collection is a commitment to liberal values and individual freedom. As timely a contribution to contemporary discourse as can be imagined in an era that is marked by a progressive erosion of public confidence in politics and politicians” The Journal of the Commonwealth Lawyers, December 2006

2006, Published by Continuum Publishing, ISBN 0 8264 9231 2, 232pp, HB

Recently republished by Continuum Publishing, this new hardback edition of this popular book contains the same text as the IEA’s paperback edition and was produced to allow its message to reach a wider audience.

See Also:

Towards A Liberal Utopia – the full text of the IEA edition of this book. Free to download