On Freedom

De: Timothy Snyder

Narrado por: Timothy Snyder

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the acclaimed, bestselling author of On Tyranny comes a brilliant exploration of freedom – what it is, how it’s been misunderstood, and why it’s our only chance for survival.

Freedom is our great commitment, but we have lost sight of what it means – leading us into crisis. Too many of us look at freedom as the absence of state power: we think we’re free if we can do and say as we please. But true freedom isn’t so much freedom from, as freedom to – the freedom to thrive, to take risks for futures we choose by working together. Freedom is the value that makes all other values possible.

Drawing on the work of philosophers and political dissidents, conversations with contemporary thinkers and his own experiences, Snyder identifies the practices and attitudes that will allow us to design a government in which we and future generations can flourish. Intimate yet ambitious, this book forges a new consensus rooted in a politics of abundance, generosity and grace.

On Tyranny inspired millions around the world to fight for freedom; On Freedom helps us see exactly what we’re fighting for. It is a thrilling intellectual journey and a tour de force of political philosophy.

‘In these hard times for liberty, On Freedom makes the case that freedom, once explored and understood, is the way forward’ PRESIDENT ZELENSKY

‘Everyone who cares about freedom should read this book’ ANNE APPLEBAUM

‘Passionate, intimate, compelling – a clarion call’ PHILIPPE SANDS

©2024 Timothy Snyder (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Disappointing.

In this book, the author tackles a question of critical importance. Although I disagree with the framing of freedom as inherently "positive," many of the ideas presented hold significant merit. My main issue lies with the potential risks and side effects these ideas may have when understood as elements of freedom. Despite this, the book could have been great, as all five concepts discussed are crucial to human flourishing. The real question is: how do we achieve them?

Unfortunately, the book doesn't delve into that. Instead, the author offers limited discussion, seeming to already know the answers: more government intervention, recognizing inherent racism, expanding the welfare state, and addressing social inequities. The solutions repeat a cycle—government, racism, and welfare—interspersed with proposals like childcare, free meals, closing prisons, taxing the rich, and hoping for nuclear fusion before climate change destroys us by 2040.

While I respect the author as a distinguished historian of Eastern Europe with several excellent works, this book was an unbearable stream of amateurish nonsense. Thomas Sowell’s phrase comes to mind: for some intellectuals, venturing outside their area of expertise is like stepping off a cliff.