Technology and the End of Authority

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

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2. Introduction: The March of God in the World

   • Jason Kuznicki

   Pages 1-6

3. A Too-Brief History of Political Theory

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 7-7

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   2. The Ancient State and the Myth of Marathon

      • Jason Kuznicki

      Pages 9-30

   3. The Ancient Dissenters

      • Jason Kuznicki

      Pages 31-38

   4. Christianity and the City of Man: From Retreat to Reform

      • Jason Kuznicki

      Pages 39-57

   5. The March of the State in the Early Modern World

      • Jason Kuznicki

      Pages 59-86

   6. The Social Contractarians: Can an Agreement Specify What Government Is For?

      • Jason Kuznicki

      Pages 87-146

   7. The Modern Omnipotent State

      • Jason Kuznicki

      Pages 147-183

4. Toward a New Theory of the State

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 185-185

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   2. The Structures of Political Theory

      • Jason Kuznicki

      Pages 187-198

   3. The State Is a Bundle

      • Jason Kuznicki

      Pages 199-208

   4. Some Objections to the Theory

      • Jason Kuznicki

      Pages 209-220

   5. The Falsification of State Action

      • Jason Kuznicki

      Pages 221-237

   6. Advancing Technology Demands Intellectual Modesty

      • Jason Kuznicki

      Pages 239-252

   7. On Trade as a Central Feature of Society

      • Jason Kuznicki

      Pages 253-265

5. Back Matter

   Pages 267-285

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This book provides a critical survey of Western political philosophy from a classical liberal perspective, paying particular attention to knowledge problems and the problem of political authority. Its central argument is that the state is a tool for solving a historically changing set of problems, and that, as a tool, the state is frequently deficient on both moral and practical grounds. Government action can be considered as a response to a set of problems, all of which may conceivably be solved in some other manner as well. The book examines in particular the relationship between the state and technology over time. Technological developments may make the state more or less necessary over time, which is a consideration that is relatively new in the history of political philosophy, but increasingly important. The book is organized chronologically and concludes with an essay on trends in the history of political philosophy, as well as its surprisingly bright prospects for future development.

• intellectual history
• political philosophy
• agnarchism
• unrequited transfer
• deontological libertarianism
• libertarian
• anarchism
• government

• Cato Institute, Washington, USA

  Jason Kuznicki

Jason Kuznicki is Research Fellow at the Cato Institute, USA, and editor of Cato Unbound. He obtained his PhD in intellectual history from Johns Hopkins University, USA.

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