On Freedom
The instant New York Times bestseller
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- 209,00 kr
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** THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ** A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR **
'Visionary ... buy or borrow this book, read it, take it to heart' OBSERVER
‘Everyone who cares about freedom should read this book’ ANNE APPLEBAUM
‘Passionate, intimate, compelling – a clarion call’ PHILIPPE SANDS
A brilliant exploration of freedom – what it is, how it’s been misunderstood, and why it’s our only chance for survival from the acclaimed, bestselling author of On Tyranny
Freedom is our great commitment, but we have lost sight of what it means – leading us into crisis. Too many of us look at freedom as the absence of state power: we think we’re free if we can do and say as we please. But true freedom isn’t so much freedom from, as freedom to – the freedom to thrive, to take risks for futures we choose by working together. Freedom is the value that makes all other values possible.
Drawing on the work of philosophers and political dissidents, conversations with contemporary thinkers and his own experiences, Snyder identifies the practices and attitudes that will allow us to design a government in which we and future generations can flourish. Intimate yet ambitious, this book forges a new consensus rooted in a politics of abundance, generosity and grace.
On Tyranny inspired millions around the world to fight for freedom; On Freedom helps us see exactly what we’re fighting for. It is a thrilling intellectual journey and a tour de force of political philosophy.
‘In these hard times for liberty, On Freedom makes the case that freedom, once explored and understood, is the way forward’ PRESIDENT ZELENSKY
*New York Times bestseller list, 6 Oct 24*.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Yale historian Snyder follows up On Tyranny, his grim but heady look at the ways freedom can get chipped away, with a more soporific rumination on how freedom can be maintained. Snyder contends that in today's world freedom is wrongly conceived as a "freedom from" negative outcomes, rather than a "freedom to" make choices and flourish. The latter kind of "positive freedom," in Snyder's view, comprises an intriguing range of personal freedoms involving both political and bodily autonomy—from freedom of expression and freedom of speech to free healthcare and the right to eight hours of sleep per night. While this sounds lefty, Snyder sets himself up as arguing with the left, who he sees as having ill-advisedly abandoned the notion of freedom as too individualistic. Indeed, the purpose of the book's many forays into 20th-century history is partly to prove how important the idea of personal freedom has been to leftist triumphs like the defeat of Nazism and the American civil rights movement. Snyder makes many salient points, especially when he notes how fear-powered "negative freedom" leads to social atomization. But the all-encompassing scope of his argument ventures into too tidy territory . The many kernels of insight don't outweigh the cumbersomeness of some of the connections made here.
