Description

John Schwarz says that free-market conservatives have distorted the true meaning of American freedom by overemphasizing individual, personal liberty in a "looking out for Number 1" world. Instead, he argues that the true meaning of American freedom, one which the founders enshrined in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, proposes that individual liberty depends on the liberty of all--that a citizen enjoys freedom to the extent that all other citizens can enjoy freedom and that they have a fair chance to exercise that freedom. Schwarz points out, however, that the conditions under which freedom can be realized today have changed, such that a disproportionate number of Americans have limited access to that freedom. In Freedom Reclaimed, Schwarz outlines a program whereby freedom can once again be freedom for all, especially in access to a decent living, personal security, and education. This book challenges the prevailing conservative, free market climate that America finds itself in today.