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Anthony de Jasay, one of the most independent thinkers and influential libertarian political philosophers of our time, challenges the reigning paradigms justifying modern democratic government. The articles collected in Political Philosophy, Clearly delve deeply into the realm of political thought and philosophical criticism. A reader who is interested in a philosophical, yet clear, jargon-free account of such fundamental topics as the relationship between liberty and justice, the viability of limiting government, the role of property, and the possibilities of the private provision of public goods as well as the private enforcement of public rules will find reading this book rewarding. Most of the articles have been published before in a wide arrray of publications and are presented here for the first time in one volume.

The discussions in this work exhibit the antistatist line of thought that Jasay consistently pursues in all his writings. For Jasay, the provision of collective goods, including the most central one of social order itself, is much less dependent on the application of fundamental coercive power by centralized authorities than generally assumed. This idea echoes arguments he develops in detail in Social Contract, Free Ride.

“Social coexistence may be chaotic or rule-bound. Here I am seeking to deal only with the latter. Rule systems can be fruitfully divided into two types, conventional rules and rules by and for government."

Anthony de Jasay

Anthony de Jasay was born at Aba, Hungary in 1925. (The original Hungarian spelling of his name is Jaszay). He was educated at Szekesfehervar and Budapest, taking a degree in Agriculture. In 1947-48 he worked as a free-lance journalist, his activity forcing him to flee from the country in 1948. After two years in Austria, he emigrated to Australia in 1950 and took a part-time course in Economics at the University of Western Australia. Winning a Hackett Studentship, he went to Oxford in 1955 and was elected a research fellow of Nuffield College where he stayed till 1962, publishing papers in the Economic Journal, the Journal of Political Economy and other learned journals.

In 1962 he moved to Paris and worked there as a banker, first in an executive capacity and then on his own account, till 1979, doing investment business in several European countries and the United States. In 1979, he retired to the Normandy coast where he still lives. He has a wife and three children.

While his initial interest and training were in economics, he has later turned to political philosophy, and his writings draw on both. He has published five books, several of which have been translated into a total of six languages, as well as numerous articles, mainly in English but also in French and German. He is widely considered as one of the foremost liberal philosophers.

Личен сайт: http://www.dejasay.org/default.asp