This week's ekon talk is part of the library of economics and liberty. Our guest is political scientist and author, patrick denin. He says liberalism means lots of different things to different people in different parts of the world. Denin argues that what we have is a debate over the means to the end of the liberation of the individual.
Political Scientist and author Patrick Deneen of the University of Notre Dame talks about his book Why Liberalism Failed with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. By liberalism, Deneen means the modern enterprise--the push for self-actualization free of the constraints of tradition, family, and religion that typifies modern culture. He argues that both the left and the right have empowered the state and reduced liberty. He argues for a smaller, more local, more artisanal economy and a return to the virtues of self-control and self-mastery.