Book Reviews

A REVIEWER'S NOTEBOOK JOHN CHAMBERLAIN Liberalism Proper and Proper Liberalism GOTTFRIEDDIETZE, who teaches po litical science at Johns Hopkins Uni versity, enjoys playing semantic games. A good bit of juggling is re quired to explain the exact conno tations of the title of his latest book, Liberalism Proper and Proper Lib eralism (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 282 pp., $27.50). In the first place, it must be under stood that Dietze is not talking about what passes for liberalism in con temporary America, where the word has become a synonym for socialism and State interventionism. But be yond that there is the quibble in volved in the placement of the qual ifying word "proper." When Dietze uses the adjective "proper" after the noun "liberalism," he does it with out any ethical or moral implication. He is talking about liberty without restriction. Libertarianism would be a better word for it. But when he shifts the placement of his adjective, putting it ahead of the noun, he brings standards of good moral be havior into the picture.

This is his roundabout way of in troducing a book about the political thought of four eighteenth-century classical liberals, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, Kant and Jefferson. These four seminal thinkers, whose Iives spanned the period from the Glorious Revolution in England in 1689 (the year of Montesquieu's birth) to 1826 (the date of Jefferson's death), talked about freedom and lib erty as grand abstractions. But not one of them would have been able to pass a test of consistency adminis tered by a modern libertarian. They all believed in the existence of a 699 700 THE FREEMAN November moral law, and saw no quarrel with liberalism if such law were to be made the basis of legislation putting restrictions on the private individ ual. In other words, they were for limited government. They were, all of them, republi cans, not democrats. Dietze confuses the issue in a later chapter when he speaks of "democracy' proper" and "proper democracy." "Democracy proper" means a majority rule, whether for good or for evil. "Proper democracy" means a democracy that acts in accordance with the kind of proper liberalism espoused by Mon tesquieu, Smith, Kant and Jeffer son. It would have been simpler if Dietze had used older definitions of limited versus unlimited govern ment, or of democracy versus republicanism.

Montesquieu Montesquieu, though an aristo crat, had had his fill of a tyrannical monarchy ("L'etat, c'est moi"). As "a man of measure" he sought a way of turning government over to the peo ple without running the risk of a tyr anny of the majority. The English Constitution, which was a conglom eration, appealed to him. English rights had been won over the cen turies and were embodied in the sep arate documents of Magna Carta, the Petition of Right and the Bill of Rights. There were also the court de cisions based on Anglo-Saxon common law. The late Willmoore Ken dall always insisted that the Lockean Glorious Revolution of 1689 had merely substituted the absolut ism of Parliament for the absolutism of the Stuart kings. But Montes quieu would not have understood Kendall. He saw England as the land of governmental checks and bal ances. Parliament could pass laws, but only after the give-and-take of argument in two legislative houses.

The lords could always veto the com moners, and the monarch had his in fluence and his executive discretion. Montesquieu doesn't speak much of the third power of the judges, but they were there as a check on the abuse of power whenever elected or appointed officials ignored the limits imposed by parliamentary mandate or the common law. Restrictions on government did not mean that Montesquieu favored a weak state. He went along with the English animus against military forts and land forces. But as a nation possessing a great commerce, En gland was justified in maintaining a navy (an armee de mer) to guarantee protection against invasions. Dietze says that Montesquieu assigned an important role to taxation for the money needed for security mea sures. Though he wanted the range of public affairs to be supervised by liberal republicans, Montesquieu "still saw a need for a vigorous gov ernment that is able to defend a 1985 LIBERALISM PROPER AND PROPER LIBERALISM 701 large nation against foreign enemies and domestic dangers and thought that management of population growth and of the economic admin istration of relief for the poor, and other such projects, are included in the task of providing security."

Adam Smith Montesquieu's interest in the pro tection of commercial freedoms ex ercised in a context of morality pointed the way for Adam Smith. Dietze pays special attention to Smith's first book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, in presenting the Smith theories of society and gov ernment. In The Theory of Moral Sentiments the "great end" is "the order ofthe world, and the perfection and happiness of human nature." The "order of the world" is composed of smaller orders, such as the state, and smaller "orders and societies into which the state is divided." The individual's liberty is restricted not only by ethical and moral consider ations, by divine and natural law, but also by norms set by men. Lib erty had to be under enforcible law ifjustice were to prevail among men. This is far from the stereotype that makes Smith the patron saint of "anything goes." He talked a lot about the moral value of benevo lence in the Moral Sentiments. But justice came first. And the mercan tilist laws of England in 1776 seemed manifestly unjust.

Dietze takes Smith in his natural setting of the Scotland of his time. Smith owed as much to his teacher, Francis Hutcheson, as he did to Da vid Hume. He "tempered Hume's doctrine of self-interest by a Hutch esonian humanity." He was "a man of measure." Immanuel Kant, like Montesquieu and Smith, made freedom a touch stone. But he stressed, more than Montesquieu and Smith, the "moral imperative restricting our freedom." The moral law, said Kant, obligates men to put duty before the pursuit of happiness. Jefferson, the product of a different ethos, put more faith than Kant in the capacity of the com mon man to combine morality with the pursuit of happiness. They were both "men of measure" nevertheless. @) HAYEK: HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC THOUGHT OF OUR TIME by Eamonn Butler (Universe Books, 381 Park Ave. S., New York, NY 10016), 1985 168 pages _ $7.95 paper; $15.00 cloth Reviewed by Kenneth L. Marcus WHAT has given socialism so strong a grip on the minds of successive generations is that it was developed, by Karl Marx, into so systematic and inspiring a body of ideas that it could 702 THE FREEMAN NovembeJ withstand the refutation of numer ous of its tenets. The ideology offree dom, if it is to reclaim the confidence and imagination of our brightest minds, must be developed into a body of ideas equally comprehensive and exciting.

This has been the achievement of Professor Friedrich A. von Hayek, one of the most illustrious figures ac tive in the social sciences today and one of the most prestigious names associated with the freedom move ment. During many of his most pro ductive years, his work was too far ahead of its time to be given the at tention it so richly deserves. As aca demia has begun to catch up, how ever, Dr. Hayek has come into his own, as witness the outpouring of lit erature inspired by his seminal works, and the numerous honors which he has achieved (most con spicuous of which is the 1974 Nobel Prize for Economics, which he shared with Dr. Gunnar Myrdal). One of the most notable contribu tions to the constantly expanding Hayek literature, is Eamonn But ler's slim introductory volume, only recently released in the United States. Although other works, such as philosopher John Gray's latest book, delve far more deeply into Hayek's work and contain more pro found and original insights, Butler's contribution may become the defin itive first source and introduction to Hayek's system.

It is in one sense difficult to rec ommend any introduction to Ha yek's work, since the primary source material is itself beautifully written and presented with a simplicity wholly disproportionate to the depth of insight contained. The Road to Serfdom, for instance, was written for a popular audience and may be read without introduction or clari fication. And even more detailed and advanced works, such as The Con stitution of Liberty and Law, Legis lation and Liberty, are written with clarity and legibility. The value of a concise introduc tion, such as Mr. Butler's, is that it presents, in one volume, the whole range of Hayek's thought, conveying a sense of its scope and comprehen siveness, but emphasizing the inter connectedness of works produced over a long span of years and the consistency of the system by which they are united. As Hayek has re marked, "a student of complex phe nomena may long himself remain unaware of how his views of differ ent problems hang together and per haps never fully succeed in clearly stating the guiding ideas which led him in the treatment of particulars."

This fear is surely less well founded for him than for most social scientists, and one is clearly im pressed, by his work, with the sug gestion that he is profoundly aware of the "guiding ideas" which lead him. Nevertheless, room is left, 1985 OTHER BOOKS 703 Reviewed by John K. Williams which Butler fills, for a concise, non technical synopsis. Here we have, telescoped and simplified for the new reader, both the guiding ideas and the particulars of Hayek's system atic attempt to relay the intellectual foundations of the free society. @ MURDER AT THE MARGIN by Marshall Jevons 168 pages _ $6.95 paperback DEATH ON DEMAND by K. Hill and O. Dale (Thomas Horton and Daughters, 26662 South New Town Drive, Sun Lakes, Arizona 85224), 1978 and 1985 168 pages. $10.00 cloth deeds, tantalizing clues, assorted suspects, and "much-smarter-than the-police" detectives. Detectives, however, with a differ ence. Not for them the traditional tools of the detecting trade, let alone the contemporary wonders of the fo rensic scientist. Rather, Professor Henry Spearman and Professor Karl Teasdale, the respective heroes of Murder at the Margin and Death on Demand, bring the insights of economics to the solving of crime, thereby suggesting that Police Aca demies send their trainees to a sem inar at FEE!

It must be conceded that neither volume displays the ingenuity of an Agatha Christie novel. Yet learning the identity of the murderer is but part of the charm of each book. Quite painlessly, the ordinary reader can learn of opportunity cost, property rights, the law of demand ("the most ECONOMICS, we are frequently in-firmly entrenched principle in the formed, is the dismal science. Many whole fabric of economics") and even economists, however, are anything the fallacies spawned by Lord but dismal people. Professors Wil-Keynes (an avid follower of whom, Ham Breit and Kenneth Elzinga, Professor Joe Birnoff, comes off sec wri ting under the pseudonym of ond best in exchanges with the de "Marshall Jevons," and the author tecting hero of Death on Demand) or authors of Death on Demand (the while relaxing with a good, old-fash conjunction of "Hill and Dale" being •ioned "yarn." too enchanting to be believed!), have The literary purist might dismiss not let their knowledge of economics the volumes' characters as flat and dampen their delight in the classical describe much of the dialogue as con "whodunit." Both Murder at the trived. The devotee ofromal}1ic tales Margin and Death on Demand pre-might fervently hope that "Marshall sent the reader with murderous' Jevons" does not attempt to pen a 704 THE FREEMAN torrid tale exploring the lot of two or more people having Hinterdepen dent utility functions" (which, Pro fessor Henry Spearman assures his wife, is what "economists mean by love.") Economists grimly deter mined to maintain the view that eco nomics is a "dismal science" might sneer at the simple exposition of key economic concepts informing both volumes.

Well, so be it! People who take themselves too seriously blea,ch life of its color. The two volumes are fun to read, and the economic asides are amusing as well as informative. Take time off to rea,d the books-and enjoy! @ New! GOVERNMENT AND LEGAL PLUNDER BastiatSloughtUp to Date Dean Russell Frederic Bastiat saw a century and a half ago that the law becomes legal plunder when it goes beyond simple defense of individual rights. In Government and Legal Plunder, Dean Russell uses Bastiat prin~ ciples as a starting point for his book, and provides contemporary ex amples of issues that we personally face every day. He shows that we must limit government's role in society and in the economy, to en courage individual initiative and human freedom. 120 pages $4.95 paperback (Postage paid on prepaid orders; otherwise $2.00 per order for billing.) Order from: The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc.

Irvington-on-Hudson, NY 10533 the Freeman VOL. 35, NO. 12 • DECEMBER 1985 Production Is a Team EffortrA Page on Freedom, No. 26 Bettina Bien Greaves 707 Production depends on cooperation, not on class warfare. Getting There! John K. Williams 708 The need for more accessible and exciting works on liberty. On the Bishops and the Market Charles W. Baird 718 On the serious flaws of the Bishops' Pastoral and a more promising solution. Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy William S. Kern 728 A Hayekian critique that suggests an alternative moral code. The International Debt Problem: The Case of Argentina Michael Adamson 732 The problem can only be solved by recourse to the free market. John Witherspoon: "Animated Son,of Liberty" Robert A. Peterson 737 Another great debt we owe to one of the Founding Fathers. Growing Pains Hopeful signs in our struggle with adversity. Environmental Problems and Private Property Conservation needs a free-market setting.