As the United States works toward an era that rejects racial discrimination while recognizing people as individuals, the history of the civil rights movement is receiving a deserved amount of additional attention. Perhaps, however, the very content of this history is in need of review. While the modern progressive canon gives prominence to important figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesse Jackson, and Malcolm X, a number of other significant contributors are regularly overlooked. The cause? Distracting partisan politics, special interest groups, and a divisive red state/blue state mentality.
In his forthcoming book
Race and Liberty in America: The Essential Reader, Independent Institute Research Fellow
Jonathan Bean strives to fill in the gaps. He presents an anthology of texts and historical documents chosen not by partisan affiliation, but by their relation to the classical liberal principles of individual freedom, the Constitution, colorblindness, Christian teachings, and free-market capitalism.
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America's financial troubles have triggered a wave of multi-billion dollar bailouts and new government regulations. Washingtons growing involvement in the banking and auto industries throws spotlight on the worldwide political debate over whether free markets or government planning allocate scarce resources more efficiently.
In
Housing America: Building Out of a Crisis, available in July, Editors
Randall G. Holcombe and
Benjamin Powell present a compelling case for the former. Holcombe, Powell, and twelve other distinguished economists examine the state of the U.S. housing market in thirteen well-written chapters, showing that most of todays problems are caused, not solved, by government policies; and that regulation of the housing sector, like many other sectors, is best left to market mechanisms.
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