Burning Down the House: How Libertarian Philosophy Was Corrupted by Delusion and Greed

A lively history of American libertarianism and its decay into dangerous fantasy.

In 2010 in South Fulton, Tennessee, each household paid the local fire department a yearly fee of $75.00. That year, Gene Cranick's house accidentally caught fire. But the fire department refused to come because Cranick had forgotten to pay his yearly fee, leaving his home in ashes. Observers across the political spectrum agreed—some with horror and some with enthusiasm—that this revealed the true face of liber...