On FreedomOn Freedom

"Freedom is the great American commitment, but as Snyder argues, we have lost sight of what it meansand this is 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, and protect ourselves from government overreach. But true freedom isnt so much freedom from as freedom tothe freedom to thrive, to take risks for futures we choose by working together. Freedom is the value that makes all other values possible. On Freedom takes us on a thrilling intellectual journey. Drawing on the work of philosophers and political dissidents, conversations with contemporary thinkers, and his own experiences coming of age in a time of American exceptionalism, Snyder identifies the practices and attitudesthe habits of mindthat will allow us to design a government in which we and future generations can flourish." -- Dust jacket.