Books like The Problem of Political Authority by Michael Huemer

Robert Nozick’s 1974 classic argues for a minimal state limited to protecting citizens from force, theft, fraud, and enforcing contracts, contending that any expansion beyond this harms individual rights.

The City of God, Augustine’s seminal 5‑volume work, defends Christianity against the Sack of Rome and presents a profound synthesis of Platonism and Christian thought, shaping medieval intellectual and ecclesiastical discourse.

Eric A. Posner challenges conventional views on markets, arguing that radical expansion of competition, public ownership of property, and new voting mechanisms can reduce inequality and strengthen democracy.

America's most subversive conservative, O'Rourke describes government as a devil's bargain between power, freedom, and responsibility, and goes on to hilariously skewer the politicians who have bargained with us to consolidate power, and the many mini-bargains and evasions that citizens have made with the consequences of their choice.

Overview: Historically, Americans have seen libertarians as far outside the mainstream, but with the rise of the Tea Party movement, libertarian principles have risen to the forefront of Republican politics. But libertarianism is more than the philosophy of individual freedom and unfettered markets that Republicans have embraced. Indeed, as Jason Brennan points out, libertarianism is a quite different--and far richer--system of thought than most of us suspect. In this timely new entry in Oxford's acclaimed series What Everyone Needs to Know, Brennan offers a nuanced portrait of libertarianism, proceeding through a series of questions to illuminate the essential elements of libertarianism and the problems the philosophy addresses, including such topics as the Value of Liberty, Human Nature and Ethics, Economic Liberty, Civil Rights, Social Justice and the Poor, Government and Democracy, and Contemporary Politics. Brennan asks the most fundamental and challenging questions: What do Libertarians think liberty is? Do libertarians think everyone should be selfish? Are libertarians just out to protect the interests of big business? What do libertarians think we should do about racial injustice? What would libertarians do about pollution? Are Tea Party activists true libertarians? As he sheds light on libertarian beliefs, Brennan overturns numerous misconceptions. Libertarianism is not about simple-minded paranoia about government, he writes. Rather, it celebrates the ideal of peaceful cooperation among free and equal people. Libertarians believe that the rich always capture political power; they want to minimize the power available to them in order to protect the weak. Brennan argues that libertarians are, in fact, animated by benevolence and a deep concern for the poor. Clear, concise, and incisively written, this volume explains a vitally important philosophy in American history--and a potent force in contemporary politics.

![alt text][1] Against the State: An Anarcho-Capitalist Manifesto diagnoses what is wrong with the American political system, and tells us in no uncertain terms what is required to stop leviathan. Rockwell's prescription is radical, calling for the wholesale realignment of society away from the state and toward voluntary order. As the book incontrovertibly shows, the overwhelming problems that confront us today are no accident. They stem from the nature of government itself. Only peaceful cooperation grounded in individuals, families, civil society, and markets can rescue us from our present plight. Against the State applies Murray Rothbard’s unique combination of individualist anarchism and Austrian economics to contemporary America. Fueled by an out-of-control banking system, the American Über-State has become in essence fascist. We cannot escape our predicament through limited government or traditional political means: government is incapable of controlling itself. Only a purely private social order can save us, and Rockwell succinctly sets out how an anarcho-capitalist society would work. In 190 short pages, Rockwell has created nothing less than the modern manifesto for today's anarcho-capitalist movement. This is the must-read book of 2014 for libertarians interested in real arguments for creating a peaceful, voluntary, free-market society. [1]: http://s16.postimg.org/aau4whenp/state507jif.gif