We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.
Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
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A big, big book I am glad to see that the august publishing house, the Oxford University Press, has recently published a monster-length encyclopaedia of the Enlightenment. For those who can stump up more than three hundred pounds, this would be a most impressive addition to any library. From David Hume to Diderot, the book is a treasure trove of facts and articles about the folk who helped shape our world and mostly for the better.
Let’s hope university libraries stock this book as essential item since it is bound to be beyond the financial means of most undergraduates. And perhaps the OEP could make a gesture of sending a few copies to the nascent academies I trust will be springing up in post-Saddam Iraq.
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Who Are We? The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling.
We are also a varied group made up of social individualists, classical liberals, whigs, libertarians, extropians, futurists, ‘Porcupines’, Karl Popper fetishists, recovering neo-conservatives, crazed Ayn Rand worshipers, over-caffeinated Virginia Postrel devotees, witty Frédéric Bastiat wannabes, cypherpunks, minarchists, kritarchists and wild-eyed anarcho-capitalists from Britain, North America, Australia and Europe.
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The hell with Iraq: I want one. Any idea when it would be available in the U.S.?
OUP’s site lets the reader know that the ‘Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment’ is “inclusive of new theoretical and methodological approaches, including feminist and various post-modernist reassessments alongside more traditional perspectives.”
In other words, it presumably also contains quite a large proportion of squeaky-clean politically correct deconstructionist verbiage — beautifully footnoted, no doubt. But I’d be surprised if it really constitutes a contribution to knowledge. It’s not the first book on the subject.
For the moment, I’ll stick to Peter Gay’s acclaimed two-volume classic on ‘The Science of Freedom’ — available for a mere £10.81 at amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/ref=sr_sp_go_as/202-4363405-8286247
Far more bang for your buck, I reckon, than the £395 charged by OUP.
I know, I know, I’m a natural born begrudger ….
What´s up with today´s topic? It´s not interesting at all…okay, so maybe it is a little interesting, but there are tons of other books on the subject, believe me, i care more for the date of the next Harry Potter book, and I´m not kidding.
Gah. 500$ for a BOOK?
It better come with a case of Brandy.
Xander and others – I don’t know how “interesting” the book will be, but given that this is a liberty-loving weblog, I thought it entirely right to flag up a major publication on the subject.
Peter Gay’s two-volume study of the Enlightenment is indeed a great work. I have read it and can strongly recommend it. I think it is still in print.
Xander – Harry Potter? Sheesh, give me a break!
And it’s available in the US, too.