The Reading Room

Reflections on the Revolution in France, a Reading Room essay

On Reflections on the Revolution in France

Michael Fowler

Edmund Burke is the founder of modern conservatism, and the strange thing about him is that he defended the American Revolution and condemned the French one, and thought he was...

On Reflections on the Revolution in France

Michael Fowler

Edmund Burke is the founder of modern conservatism, and the strange thing about him is that he defended the American Revolution and condemned the French one, and thought he was...

Areopagitica, a Reading Room essay

On Areopagitica

Michael Fowler

Before there was a First Amendment, before there was a United States, there was Areopagitica.

On Areopagitica

Michael Fowler

Before there was a First Amendment, before there was a United States, there was Areopagitica.

The Wealth of Nations, a Reading Room essay

On The Wealth of Nations

Michael Fowler

The Wealth of Nations is the most cited and least read book in economics, and the gap between the two has produced a caricature that would have startled its author.

On The Wealth of Nations

Michael Fowler

The Wealth of Nations is the most cited and least read book in economics, and the gap between the two has produced a caricature that would have startled its author.

The Communist Manifesto, a Reading Room essay

On The Communist Manifesto

Michael Fowler

The Communist Manifesto is the most consequential pamphlet of the modern era after Common Sense, and it belongs on any honest shelf about the political idea, whatever you make of...

On The Communist Manifesto

Michael Fowler

The Communist Manifesto is the most consequential pamphlet of the modern era after Common Sense, and it belongs on any honest shelf about the political idea, whatever you make of...

Two Concepts of Liberty, a Reading Room essay

On Two Concepts of Liberty

Michael Fowler

Isaiah Berlin drew a single distinction that organizes the whole modern argument about freedom, and once you have it, you hear it everywhere.

On Two Concepts of Liberty

Michael Fowler

Isaiah Berlin drew a single distinction that organizes the whole modern argument about freedom, and once you have it, you hear it everywhere.

The Road to Serfdom, a Reading Room essay

On The Road to Serfdom

Michael Fowler

Friedrich Hayek wrote The Road to Serfdom during the Second World War, and his argument was unwelcome to almost everyone who read it: that central economic planning, however well intended,...

On The Road to Serfdom

Michael Fowler

Friedrich Hayek wrote The Road to Serfdom during the Second World War, and his argument was unwelcome to almost everyone who read it: that central economic planning, however well intended,...