Libertarianism emerged in the mid-nineteenth century with an unwavering commitment to progressive causes, from women’s rights and the fight against slavery to anti-colonialism and Irish emancipation. Today, this movement founded on the principle of individual liberty finds itself divided by both progressive and reactionary elements vying to claim it as their own. The Individualists is the untold story of a political doctrine continually reshaped by fierce internal tensions, bold and eccentric personalities, and shifting political circumstances.
Matt Zwolinski and John Tomasi trace the history of libertarianism from its origins as a radical progressive ideology in the 1850s to its crisis of identity today. They examine the doctrine’s evolution through six defining themes: private property, skepticism of authority, free markets, individualism, spontaneous order, and individual liberty. They show how the movement took a turn toward conservativism during the Cold War, when the dangers of communism at home and abroad came to dominate libertarian thinking. Zwolinski and Tomasi reveal a history that is wider, more diverse, and more contentious than many of us realize.
A groundbreaking work of scholarship, The Individualists uncovers the neglected roots of a movement that has championed the poor and marginalized since its founding, but whose talk of equal liberty has often been bent to serve the interests of the rich and powerful.
Awards and Recognition
- A Marginal Revolution Best Non-Fiction Book
"The Individualists is a superb work of intellectual history. Anyone wishing to understand a modern political denomination encompassing such diverse creatures as the anarchist Albert Jay Nock, the priestess of capitalism Ayn Rand, the politician Rand Paul and the billionaire philanthropist Charles Koch ought to have a copy on his shelf."—Barton Swaim, Wall Street Journal
"One of the best guides you’ll find to the libertarian universe."—Jesse Walker, Reason
"Zwolinski and Tomasi’s historical survey of the libertarian movement, warts and all, is uncommonly honest and comprehensive. Purely as exegesis, the book is without peer, and anyone who wants to know what libertarianism is should run, not walk, to pick it up."—Matt McManus, Jacobin
"[Zwolinski and Tomasi] are both committed libertarians who are appalled at the movement’s turn toward a harder-edged conservatism. . . . As they see it, libertarianism once had a left-of-center valence—and could still reclaim it."—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker
"If there is one lesson to take away from The Individualists, it’s that the meaning of libertarianism has always been contested and in flux, a movement more capacious than it is often given credit for. . . . [It] doesn’t shy away from the ugly parts of libertarianism, but it highlights much more that libertarians can take pride in."—Jacob Grier, Washington Examiner
"Some books become good friends. They not only stimulate our minds, but they also speak to our very souls. The Individualists . . . is such a book. . . excellent, wisely written, and beautifully crafted.”"—Bradley J. Birzer, Law & Liberty
"This represents the key division running through the delightful new book The Individualists, a fabulous intellectual history from Matt Zwolinksi and John Tomasi, two sympathetic biographers of the ideology who nonetheless acknowledge that their co-ideologists can be a bit impractical, even zany. . . . The Individualists is a clarifying work that both explains and demonstrates how libertarianism operates as a coherent philosophy and how it differs from other members of its philosophical family. Its authors write with a palpable love of ideas and even of the sometimes-goofy, often-curmudgeonly characters who propagated them—and who find the idea of a driver’s license a license to totalitarianism."—Tal Fortgang, Commentary
"A much-needed intellectual history of the movement, at a moment when libertarianism could use some rethinking. . . . You really must read it for yourself."—Randy E. Barnett, Claremont Review of Books
“The Individualists is the definitive intellectual history of a movement that is the unacknowledged motive force behind much of postwar American politics and culture. Zwolinski and Tomasi provide an indispensable guide to libertarian ideas and an invaluable map to where the movement—and thus the country, if not the globe—is likely to head over the next generation.”—Nick Gillespie, editor at large, Reason magazine
“This important book has a long historical sweep while being urgent and timely. Zwolinski and Tomasi reclaim the radical and humane core of libertarianism at its best while honestly examining why it has so often failed to realize its promise. Libertarian thought and politics are at a moment of decision: continued alignment with an increasingly authoritarian and populist right or fulfillment of the liberal individualist vision of freedom. This is a book about that decision, and about choosing well.”—Jacob T. Levy, McGill University
“Zwolinski and Tomasi have written the definitive book about libertarian ideas reaching up to the present day. They show that libertarianism remains a vital and fascinating source of ideological energy and influence.”—Tyler Cowen, coauthor of Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners around the World
“This is a fine piece of work: erudite, but at just the right level of detail for the general reader; tightly organized and engagingly written. Over a range of issues, it traces libertarian thought from its nineteenth-century roots to its contemporary manifestations.”—Andrew Koppelman, author of Burning Down the House: How Libertarian Philosophy Was Corrupted by Delusion and Greed
