The Disease of Liberty

A continually stimulating and comprehensive study of Jefferson's political thought in light of his conception of history and the proper writing of history. Holowchak has a philosophic eye as well as a masterful grasp of the primary and secondary sources.

Donald Livingston

Retired Prof. of Philosophy, Emory University

and past fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Edinburgh

What makes this intelligently written volume important for anyone interested in Jefferson or in our Western culture in general is that modern democracy and human rights did not fall from the heavens. They were both man-made and began their slow evolution into the current liberty-centered notion of an individual because of Jefferson and other American founders. As Holowchak succinctly states, ‘There is no blueprint’ for a Jeffersonian republic, ‘because there is no precedent.’ This is why the American Revolution, Shays’ Rebellion, and the Revolution of 1800 are still worth studying for genuine understanding of ourselves. What is meant by liberty is a question worth asking again in our age of all kinds of neoliberalist ideologies, fundamentalisms, communitarianisms, conspiracy theories, wokeisms, and the like.

Ari Helo

University of Helsinki, Finland

author of 'Thomas Jefferson’s Ethics'