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Most political debate is superficial. Just turn on cable news. Philosophy is for people who want to understand the deep questions. The goal of political philosophy is to determine the standards by which we judge different institutions good or bad, just or unjust. Some people might think they don't have much need of political philosophy: "e;Who cares about wishy-washy obtuse notions of justice? I'm a pragmatist. I just want to know what works."e; But this isn't a way of avoiding political philosophy; it's a way of being dogmatic about it. Before we can just do "e;what works,"e; we have to know what counts as working. This book serves as an introduction to some of the major theories of justice, to the arguments philosophers have made for and against these theories, and, ultimately, to how to be more thoughtful and rigorous in your own thinking.

Liberty and Power takes readers through a documentary tour of the timeless and fundamental social conflict between individuals seeking liberty from external control and those seeking power over others.

Liberal democracies such as the United States face an acute dilemma in the conduct of foreign relations. Many states around the world are repressive or corrupt to varying degrees. Unfortunately, American national interests require cooperation with such regimes from time to time. To defeat Nazi Germany during World War II, the United States even allied with the Soviet Union, despite the barbarity of Josef Stalin's regime.But such partnerships have the inherent danger of compromising, or even making a mockery of, America's values of democratic governance, civil liberties, and free markets. Close working relationships with autocratic regimes, therefore, should not be undertaken lightly. U.S. officials have had a less than stellar record of grappling with that ethical dilemma. Especially during the Cold War, policymakers were casual about sacrificing important values for less-than-compelling strategic rationales. Since the 9-11 attacks, similar ethical compromises have taken place, although policymakers now seem more selective than their Cold War-era counterparts.In Perilous Partners, authors Ted Galen Carpenter and Malou Innocent provide a strategy for resolving the ethical dilemmas between interests and values faced by Washington. They propose maintaining an "e;arm's length relationship"e; with authoritarian regimes, emphasizing that the United States must not operate internationally in ways that routinely pollute American values. The degree of appropriate cooperation with an authoritarian regime should vary depending on the severity of the security threat the United States faces in each situation, how valuable a given ally is in meeting that threat, how odious is the ally's domestic conduct, and whether there are reasonable alternatives for achieving U.S. strategic objectives. It is a strategy based on ethical pragmatism, which is the best way to reconcile America's strategic interests and its fundamental values.

Our growing national debt has dropped out of the headlines recently - but that doesn't mean that the problem has gone away. The truth is that there is no way to address America's debt problem without reforming entitlements. This book provides a critical analysis of these entitlement programs and lays out much needed solutions for real reform.

Individualism: A Reader is the first in a series from Libertarianism.org that will provide readers an introduction to the major ideas and thinkers in the libertarian tradition.