| Revision as of 02:35, 7 March 2024 editTim Smith (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users1,323 edits more about relation to Discovery of Freedom← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 03:25, 8 March 2024 edit undoTim Smith (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users1,323 edits removed dubious section about religion that was lacking in secondary sources; we need sources discussing The Mainspring of Human Progress specifically, not The Discovery of Freedom (which deserves its own article) | ||
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| In ]'s readers poll of the 100 best nonfiction books (conducted 4/29/1999 through 9/30/1999), ''The Mainspring of Human Progress'' was ranked #48 and ''The Discovery of Freedom'' was #67.<ref name="Modern Library"></ref> | In ]'s readers poll of the 100 best nonfiction books (conducted 4/29/1999 through 9/30/1999), ''The Mainspring of Human Progress'' was ranked #48 and ''The Discovery of Freedom'' was #67.<ref name="Modern Library"></ref> | ||
| ==On libertarianism and religion== | |||
| Weaver, like Lane and ], saw libertarianism as being derived from Christian faith. This put them at odds with objectivists such as ] and ], who declared libertarianism to be incompatible with religion. (Ayn Rand was opposed to the Libertarian Movement.)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=education_campus_libertarians |title=Ayn Rand's Q & A on Libertarianism - the Ayn Rand Institute |access-date=2011-01-28 |archive-date=2014-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107232919/http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=education_campus_libertarians |url-status=dead }}</ref> Quotations from Weaver's book illustrate this view: | |||
| <blockquote>Pagan worship is based on the idea that human destiny is controlled by the overall will-of-the tribe, rather than by the initiative and free will of the individual persons who make up the tribe....it is in this concept that we find the origin of human sacrifice to the pagan gods. page 31)</blockquote> | |||
| <blockquote> spoke of the God of Abraham, the God of Truth, the God of Rightness – the God who does not control any man, but who judges the acts of every man. (page 79)</blockquote> | |||
| <blockquote>All of these advantages are the natural, normal outgrowth of a political structure which unleashed the creative energies of millions of men and women by leaving them free to work out their own affairs – not under the lash of coercive authority, but through voluntary cooperation based on ] and moral responsibility. (page 251)</blockquote> | |||
| <blockquote>There has never been but one revolution. It is the revolution against pagan fatalism – the revolution for human freedom. (page 68)</blockquote> | |||
| Although Weaver's own denomination was ], the book (in common with ''The Discovery of Freedom'') is very positive towards ]. He sees ]'s teaching consistent with libertarian ideals and his sympathy is on the side of the Moslems during the ]. | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Latest revision as of 03:25, 8 March 2024
Book by Henry Grady Weaver
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The Mainspring of Human Progress, by Henry Grady Weaver, is a libertarian history book published in 1947 by Talbot Books. In 1953, the Foundation for Economic Education printed a revised edition and has done all subsequent printings. The book is an adaptation of the 1943 Rose Wilder Lane book The Discovery of Freedom, rewritten by Weaver.
Relation to The Discovery of Freedom
Rose Wilder Lane's book The Discovery of Freedom: Man's Struggle Against Authority was printed in 1943. It received good reviews, notably from Albert Jay Nock, but Lane was dissatisfied with it and would not give permission to reprint it. Only one thousand copies were printed in her lifetime. The continuing interest in her book prompted Weaver to produce his adaptation.
Weaver felt that "certain important, but lesser known books, deserved to be rewritten, brought up-to-date and published in streamlined editions for people who don't have much time to read." He characterized his work as both a "condensation" and an "amplification" of Lane's, writing: "I've tried to retell her story in my own way, making liberal use of her material—plus ideas growing out of personal experiences and gathered from various sources."
In The Modern Library's readers poll of the 100 best nonfiction books (conducted 4/29/1999 through 9/30/1999), The Mainspring of Human Progress was ranked #48 and The Discovery of Freedom was #67.
References
- "Laissez-Faire Books: The Discovery of Freedom". Archived from the original on October 4, 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ The Mainspring of Human Progress, 1947 Talbot edition, p. 230.
- The Modern Library 100 best non-fiction