On Ordered Liberty: A Treatise on the Free Society

Perhaps no issue is more divisive among philosophers, jurists and theologians than the nature of human liberty. Liberty is central to the claims of the Christian Gospel, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the American Revolution. But discussions about the nature of freedom have been characterised by profound disagreement and unsettling questions. What does it mean to be free? Is freedom worth more than human lives? Why should we be free? What, if any, legitimate responsibilities accompany freedom? These subjects are at the heart of Samuel Gregg’s book. Beginning with the insights of Alexis de Tocqueville and some natural law theorists, Gregg suggests that something which he terms integral law must be distinguished from most contemporary visions of freedom. He argues that this new arrangement requires a complete repudiation of utilitarian ideas on the grounds that they are incompatible with human nature. he also recommends a new and more rigorous focus on the basic but often neglected question: what is human?