Review 2: Classical Liberalism and Civil Society by Charles K. Rowley (1998)
Reviewed by:
S.D. Jacobitti, emeritus,
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville,
Choice, (October 1998)
"This is a collection of four somewhat related essays that emerged from a 1993 Liberty Fund conference on ethics, liberty and markets. An introduction by the editor defends the minimal state, fears the US no longer is a "civil" (civilized) society, and warns of a new dark age. The essays are less pessimistic. Douglas Rasmussen and Douglas Uyl give a thoughtful philosophical defense of political liberalism (classical and welfare state versions), which they link persuasively to an individualistic version of Aristotelian ethics. The remaining essays break no new theoretical ground but offer readable, practical advice to emerging democracies, grounded in public choice theory and Madisonian wisdom. Peter Ordeshook offers "lessons for citizens" of former communist countries for designing institutions that promote limited government. Mwangi Kimenyi recommends decentralization and federal systems to prevent the exploitation of ethnic conflicts by strong central governments in sub-Saharan Africa. Paul Rubin addresses the problem of ensuring the performance of contract in East Europe and especially Russia, where institutional instability and lack of a market-preserving legal system make noncompliance attractive. All levels.."
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