Product Description

Fear of terrorism, crime, social chaos - factors which have put our ideal of individual liberty very much into retreat. Particularly in light of the debate surrounding 42-day detention, it is important to remind ourselves of just how complex the battle to achieve these rights has been. However, the question remains; how can we resist the growth of intrusive authoritarianism without exposing ourselves to crime, terrorism and other risks? History provides a guide to answering this question. "What Price Liberty?" takes us through four centuries of British, American and European history, elaborating not just how civil liberties were constructed in the past, but how they were continually rethought - and re-fought - in response to modernity, and puts into context the controversies of the past decade or so. If liberty is to survive now, it must again adapt to new circumstances, but it is up to us all to agree upon the value we place on it. An essential and utterly enlightening discussion, "What Price Liberty?" provides the material and arguments with which we can make sense of our times.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17827 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-04
• Original language: German
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

About the Author
Ben Wilson was born in 1980 and studied history at Pembroke College, Cambridge - both as an undergraduate and postgraduate. His first book, The Laughter Of Triumph: William Hone and the Fight For The Free Press, was published by Faber in 2005 to universal acclaim. This was followed in 2007 by Decency and Disorder: The Age of Cant 1789-1837.

Customer Reviews

Liberty and power - finding an equilibrium
Liberty is not an easy concept to come to terms with. Like happiness, we pursue it, it exists only in a transitory state, compromise is the best we can achieve and it is often appreciated only when lost. This book is "about the value in history [essentially British history] in explaining and defining liberty." Wilson says this on page 365; clearly he takes a long time to get to the point.

Chapters 1 to 15 present a chronological evolution of liberty. If you are an A level student, an undergraduate or general reader wanting to appreciate the development of British political thought, then this is useful background. It will send you off to Wikipedia or the bookshop to add depth.

Wilson then discusses the rise of the new authoritarianism from the 1980s. This is openly contemptuous of civil liberties; in part a reaction against the excessive liberalism (personal and sexual morality, the politics of race and multiculturalism). He implies we are a society ill at ease, afraid and under attack from extremists. I take issue with his analyses - for me he is misguided but each reader will form their own conclusions. Certainly he needs to retreat from generalities, address specifics and insert tabulation. List the legislation and assess its' application. That would expose the British paradox, tyrannical powers have always been present but their application has been benign even in extremis.

Wilson does not acknowledge governments are now subject to the scrutiny of the Internet and satellite based news dissemination. There have also been significant advances in freedom of information and human rights, which inconveniently for the government are supranational. It could even be argued we are entering a golden age of liberty. Consider this, could Hitler have emerged today? Late into the 1930s he was very timid of, and pliant to, international opinion with his intentions made transparent opposition could have thwarted him and dennied appeasment. That aside it is always a question of balance, every day each of us will demand the government, some agency with power, act to serve our specific interests. It is reflex politics without thinking it through, powers given are often rights taken and finding an equilibrium is about what we stand for as much as what we are against.

While "all we should fear is fear itself" there are dangers. We live in an age of low calibre politicians; so many have never known another life (few could actually find employment outside it). The demise of ideology means they tend to be incompetent micro managers rather than standard bearers of big ideas. They lack the ability to find support by reason, resorting to "inflated threats" to induce support and make themselves important. Technology, surveillance and control are increasingly sophisticated, invasive and open to abuse. Wilson does not get to grips with - arguably - the greatest danger to liberty: the passivity of the educated middle class. Compared to past generations they (yes, "we") have become apathetic, gullible and easily manipulated. If liberty is in danger, it is in danger of being lost rather than taken. Ben Wilson has brought many of the issues into focus, but other "lenses" can be selected to give a different picture.

Use it or loose it!
I have to admit that I found the first three or four sections of this book fairly hard going. It starts out as an academic history of the development of the concept of 'liberty'. Starting with Charles I, through King William, the French and American Revolutions up to the First World War, Wilson traces the development of this rather elusive concept.

However, from the First World War, things become rather more concrete and the final two sections from 1951 up to the present provide a powerful polemic on the dangers to our historically established rights of liberty.

Liberty has always been a rather nebulous concept in Britain, but that has been both its strength and weakness - it has relied on people 'doing the right thing' rather than any written down Bill of Rights. What it actually depends upon is highly debatable - Wilson cites both Hayek and Isaiah Berlin, contrasting economic freedom and totalitarianism, negative and positive freedom. At times, he echoes the themes explored by Adam Curtis. He also both contrasts and shows the continuities between Thatcher and Blair.

The final section is the most fascinating, bringing the debate right up-to-date, talking about multiculturalism - permissive and liberal societies faced with other cultures who do not reciprocate this acceptance but seem to take advantage of it. Here, the discussion broadens out to cover not only the UK (the fatwah on Salman Rushdie) but also the Netherlands (Theo van Gogh) and Denmark (the notorious cartoons). It also considers the double-edged sword of the new technologies, the development of huge databases which help both to provide tailored services to individuals and to track those same individuals in more and finer detail.

Wilson points out that we are slowly but surely relinquishing our liberties in favour of the three pillars of modern obsession: Health, Safety and Security. In his epilogue, Wilson writes a powerful call to arms:

"Liberty is a product of the courage to retain principles of justice in the face of danger and the confidence that it is an ideology which will always prevail over seductive alternatives". It is not easy, it is elusive but all the more precious for that.

This is an important book. If we're not careful, we won't know what we have until it's gone.

A difficult but rewarding read
I didn't study history at school beyond age 14 and as such much of the background in this book was new to me. Although the information content is very good, the writing style leaves you feeling as if you are wading through treacle. Despite that I persevered and I'm glad I did. I learned much about where our laws with respect to liberty have come from, and how they were framed. I got to understand why the Cavaliers and Roundheads fought, why Charles I lost his head and how the foundations of our current democracy were established.

Fast forward to the 21st century. Our liberties are being eroded under the guise of protecting us from a greater evil, frequently by trying to instill fear and implying that the state knows best. However, the sacrifice we are making, inch by inch, is not always obvious - the national DNA database, all-pervasive CCTV, Identity cards - or in proportion to the actual threat. Ben Wilson is undoubtably a valuable author of our time in drawing attention to the issues. The erosion of our liberties is subtle and yet has the momentum of an iceberg.

For example: you can't photograph or video a policeman, even if he is breaking the law, without breaking the law yourself. If we can't document the behaviour of our guardians on film, how can we as citizens report corruption, heavy handedness or discrimination by the people who we pay to protect ourselves and our society? Although, if you go to Buckingham Palace, you will find at least one policeman happy to pose for photographs with visitors. And the difference is?

I'd like to give this book five stars, being somebody who cherishes their privacy whilst supporting proportionate security measures, and once I'd ploughed through the denser areas of this book I did appreciate the author's effort. Unfortunately the message contained within is beyond many who might decide to pick it up; it is just too heavyweight. The underlying message is an essential one for any libertarian but I fear it is too hard to get to. An academic book in a popularist cover.