Healing Our World: In an Age of Aggression Paperback – January 1, 2003

This is the best book I've ever seen for providing a clear, easy-to-understand introduction and overview of what the libertarian philosophy truly is.If you like a lot of what conservatives / the "Tea Party" / etc. talk about but never seem to implement in terms of smaller government, read this book. You'll immediately buy copies for friends and they will thank you.I loaned the book to my 79-year-old stepdad, a stauch conservative and WW-II vet who is retired US Air Force. He gave it back, apologizing that he had underlined and highlighted many passages throughout the book -- and when I told him to please, keep that copy as a gift and I'd get myself a new one, he was so grateful that I was truly astounded (in a good way).This book reaches anyone from teens to retired war veterans, as it describes things in layperson's terminology. It's audience is the "regular" citizen / voter rather than being aimed at politicos.Can't recommend this highly enough for anyone who wants to learn what libertarian philosophies truly are.

Dr. Ruwart's book is an amazing introduction to the principles of the libertarian philosophy. Throughout the book, she covers many of today's hottest issues, from environmental conservation, poverty, health care and foreign policy. Her approach centers around honoring our neighbor's choices and eschewing the violence of a coercive state.Her book offers a rare yet hard-hitting glimpse of libertarian from the often-ignored "left" side of the spectrum. As many libertarian books are written from the "conservative" side, Mary Ruwart's book addresses it from the social and human side, showing real world examples of how the free market can solve problems much more effectively than government can. This would be a great primer for a liberal friend or family member who desperately needs a dose of liberty and freedom!

Nice!!! I have a signed copy so bonus

This is by far the best introduction to Libertarianism I have ever read. People that are put off by the Economics-based approach of other writers will find this interesting. This book is all about practical applications and is very compassionate. But the simple theoretical underpinning is sound Libertarian thinking: No one may initiate aggression. From this everything else follows. Dr. Ruwart is suprising because her approach seems very hippy-dippy-trippy but her arguments are quite cogent. I wish everyone could read this book.

I got this book to see if it would enlighten me on the intellectual basis for libertarianism. Well, er... no. Painfully naive and irritating in its treatment of the reader as a simpleton. Many/most of the problems she identifies are real enough, but the solutions she poses pretty much boil down to "mind your own business and everything will be fine." Unfortunately the book does not come with a sack of pixie dust.

This book is one of the best statements of and arguments for libertarianism that I have ever seen. It is also very logical: everything follows from the "Good Neighbor Policy", which, in a nutshell is: 1) refrain from first strike use of force, fraud or theft, and 2) repairing any damage done from violating 1).I don't agree with everything she suggests, but this book should open your eyes to solutions never proposed by the left or the right.

Usually, when you think of "aggression" you think of invading armies. Or maybe you think of schoolyard bullies. But if you haven't read this book you probably never thought about aggression the way Mary Ruwart does, and it's hard to imagine anyone reading her book without having his or her traditional ways of thinking about many things deeply challenged.I won't give the book away because I think you should read it. I dare you!

Anyone interested in the ideas of liberty should read this book. It is full of different topics and include alternatives to many of the services that are now held by government monopoly.

A came across this author after hearing an interview on the Tom Woods show.I've been in favour of anarcho-capitalism since reading 'for an new liberty' by Murray Rothbard. Trying to explain the libertertarian non-aggression principle and property rights to interested parties is difficult at the best of times. Most books-even the best- tend to give a very hard edge to anarcho-capitalism which can come across as aggressive or plain crazy to those who believe Government is the solution to everything and democracy is real freedom of choice.Francis shows how anarcho-capitalism is the solution we have been searching for in order to have real peace in the world. This doesn't mean some idealistic Nirvana where everything is perfect. Instead it reveals how having Government is worse than no government at all. In effect we are choosing to curtail the liberty of others by granting power to a Government to use violence to enforce our individual wishes and beliefs. Of course that means we suffer predation on our own liberties by our neighbours who equally wish to have their own wishes granted.Each chapter of the book gives examples of how well the world can work when we stop aggressing against our neighbours and allow them to live their lives peacefully and in cooperation. That we cannot have peace until we, ourselves give up the violence we engage in through the proxy of government and the sham of democracy. There are inspirational quotes on every page from intelligent visionaries throughout history who understood that having government was a very dangerous policy and that to get rid of it would prove far more difficult because it is supported by the vested interests of greed and jealousy.Its an easy to follow book and very clear. It can be read through completely or dipped into at any point without losing the overall comprehension. Where Murray Rothbards book appealed to the slower pace and intellectualism of the 20th century I think Francis book fits far more easily into the 21st where people want more compact information due to the higher speed of life.I heartily recommend it and hope that one day it might become part of an educational syllabus for young adults who can carry the flag of true liberty and peace to its conclusion.

Good message but I didn't like the delivery. Almost seems made for kids, which I personally didn't like. Read Hayek instead for good, thorough and thoughtful descriptions and defenses of limited government and the dangers of too much state intervention.