Books – Page 2 – Chris Berg

In Defence of Freedom of Speech: From Ancient Greece to Andrew Bolt

Institute of Public Affairs and Mannkal Economic Education Foundation 2012

Freedom of speech is at the heart of individual liberty and democracy. Yet, in Australia and around the Western world, it is under attack on all sides: from regulations to force ‘balance’ on the press, to new human rights like the right not to be offended.

In this important new book, Chris Berg offers a bold reinterpretation of why freedom of speech matters. Only by understanding how the right to free expression and freedom of conscience arose can we understand the magnitude of the threats we now face.

The liberty to express our thoughts and opinions is one of the central foundations of Western Civilisation. When governments threaten that freedom of speech, they threaten the foundations of liberty and the democratic system.

Available at the Institute of Public Affairs and Amazon.com

100 Great Books of Liberty: The Essential Guide to the Greatest Idea of Western Civilisation

Edited with John Roskam and Andrew Kemp, Connor Court Publishing, 2010

100 Great Books of Liberty is a comprehensive and accessible guide to the books which made liberty the most important idea of Western Civilisation. From Plato’s The Republic and The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, to Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, these 100 books have laid the foundation for the modern world.

Covering history, biography, philosophy, politics, and fiction, 100 Great Books of Liberty is the indispensible guide to the foundations of Western Civilisation.

100 Great Books of Liberty is a joint project of the Institute of Public Affairs and Mannkal Economic Education Foundation.

100 Great Books of Liberty is the essential guide to: The Republic, Two Treatises on Government, The Wealth of Nations, The Western Canon Reflections on the Revolution in France, The Rights of Man, On Liberty, Leaves of Grass, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion Democracy in America, The Federalist Papers, The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy, Animal Farm, Witness, Capitalism and Freedom, The Tyranny of Distance, The End of History, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Darkness at Noon, The Fountainhead … and eighty other great books of liberty.

Available at Amazon.com

The National Curriculum: A critique

Editor, Institute of Public Affairs, 2008

The legacy of Western Civilisation is rich, complex and essential – the foundations on which Australia’s society and political system, and large
swathes of our culture and history, have been built.

So why are the basics of Western Civilisation absent from the national curriculum?

The Growth Of Australia’s Regulatory State: Ideology, Accountability And The Mega-Regulators

Institute of Public Affairs, 2008

Regulation is a political activity. It sets the framework for the market economy by defining the boundaries between private action and government action. Yet those boundaries are not fixed. Australian governments are growing the body of regulation — and the resources dedicated to regulating — at an ever increasing pace.

As Chris Berg argues, this growth in regulation has more than just economic consequences. It has significant political implications, as regulatory agencies are increasing their power and influence. Furthermore, those agencies are animated by a new regulatory ideology which favours interventionism and ‘arm-twisting’, adding to the powers of regulatory agencies.

Available in PDF here.