From the Publisher
"The voices are familiar but fresh. And the topics they explore are handled with a deftness and texture richer than one might expect from a cohesive battle cry....There is a subtle (or not so subtle) prophecy that underlies these essays - the prophecy that such a turn of events is not only possible but probable if liberty is not defended now. Is this truly the fate of things to come? If we don't stand up and 'fight for liberty,' the text suggests, our greatest fears may be realized. The good news is these authors, and many of their devotees, will not go quietly into that good night."—Martha's Vineyard Times
"Fight for Liberty should be required reading for every college student-indeed, for every American and, regardless of their nationality, every person capable of reading and understanding the 1776 Declaration of Independence and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To comprehend the threats confronting our world and consider what to do about them, reading and re-reading this book's essays will be worthwhile."—Walter Clemens, New York Journal of Books
"The strongest point of this useful collection is the depth and breadth of its opposition to our current illiberal atmosphere...A valuable addition to the literature of democratic resistance."—Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
2018-07-30
Essays by contributors allied with the Renew Democracy Initiative on the necessity of defending democratic institutions in an anti-democratic era.
The strongest point of this useful collection is the depth and breadth of its opposition to our current illiberal atmosphere. Conservative historian Max Boot, libertarian-inclined economist Tyler Cowen, and liberal author Richard North Patterson are among those who set aside their differences and join forces against the "resurgence of political authoritarianism and extremism" following the 2016 election. As many contributors note, Donald Trump is a symptom and not a direct cause for the breakdown of democratic institutions; he did not create the sharp divisions in society, but he certainly exploits them to his own advantage. Conversely, writes the RDI's board—chaired by chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, no stranger to dissidence—by way of an introduction to a work that its members characterize as a modern Federalist Papers, the initiative aims to work around division to emphasize "how much we have in common: a belief in the fundamental ideas that for generations have made so much of the world free, prosperous, and safe." The return to first principles and catholicity of the approach are admirable, and if some of the pieces are rather aridly academic, others have a populist urgency to them. For example, journalist and historian Anne Applebaum dissects the reasons behind Vladimir Putin's embrace of authoritarians in the West—namely, to discredit democracy itself and the ideals that inform it, for which he "needs to undermine the institutions that promote them, to create chaos and discord in the democratic processes of the West and above all in Western institutions." (One such institution, she adds, is the European Union, which Trump has so regularly reviled.) Perhaps the best piece in the collection is by journalist John Avlon, who observes with considerable understatement that "America is living through a stark departure from its best political traditions." Other contributors include Ted Koppel, Bret Stephens, and Nancy Gertner.
A valuable addition to the literature of democratic resistance.
