#1. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand’s most famous best-selling novel is a classic libertarian manifesto. The values and virtues of reason, independence, self-interest, and pride in productive achievement are embodied by her lead characters — entrepreneurs who are struggling to free themselves from government regulations.
Rand’s dystopian masterpiece gave a moral defense of capitalism and completes her philosophy of objectivism and belief in individualism as the driving force behind all progress and prosperity.
The free man’s mind was what was under attack by society in Rand’s view as she was witnessing the twentieth-century culture of collectivism that was allowing totalitarian dictators to rise to power. Atlas Shrugged was her warning to America; a plea for the end of its socialist-lite policies.
#2. 1984 by George Orwell
George Orwell’s dystopian science fiction novel continues to be a best-seller, especially in light of the recent NSA revelations. Forever haunting us with its depiction of the ultimate totalitarian state, 1984 continues to be in the back of our minds when confronted with ultimatum of “security” or liberty.
Orwell put the government on defense by challenging its institutional brainwashing and authoritarian surveillance in the name of security.
When libertarians give warnings about the intelligence complex, we recall “Big Brother,” “the Thought Police” and “doublespeak” to warn people of the dangerous path of state surveillance.
#3. Homeland by Cory Doctorow
The Libertarian Futurist Society gave 2014’s Prometheus Award for best novel of the year to Cory Doctorow’s sequel to his 2009 Prometheus winner Little Brother. It also won the Copper Cylinder Award for best Canadian young adult science fiction novel.
Homeland continues the adventures of a rebellious young leader and a group of tech-savvy hackers who possess damning Wikileaks-style evidence of massive government abuse and corruption.
This story of a young generation’s struggle against an invasive national-security state seems to be a favorite of Edward Snowden. Doctorow proudly posted a clip of Citzenfour on his website where Snowden’s copy of the book is seen on a hotel table as he’s packing to leave.
#4. Alongside Night by J. Neil Schulman
Alongside Night is Schulman’s award-winning novel from 1979, endorsed by Milton Friedman, Anthony Burgess and Dr. Ron Paul. This action and suspense science fiction novel is thought of in libertarian circles as being in the same league as Ayn Rand and Robert A. Heinlein’s works.
A future America experiences hyperinflation, an unpaid military, and massive arrests and imprisonment of political enemies. Among the missing are Elliot Vreeland’s family. Setting out to find his family, Elliot is joined by the Revolutionary Agorist Cadre and followed by federal agents.
On a mission to promote liberty, Schulman successfully warns against an all-powerful government in this thrilling novel full of action, adventure, and romance.
Shulman brought his novel into cinema in 2014, starring Kevin Sorbo.
#5. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
This 1966 novel about lunar colonies’ inhabiting “criminals” and political dissidents revolting against the government of Earth received the Hugo Award for best novel, the Nebula Award for best novel, the Locus Poll Award for All-Time Top 10 novels, and the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award.
Known for popularizing the acronym slogan TANSTAAFL (“There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch”), The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress depicts the leader of the revolution as a “rational anarchist.” This revolutionary, Professor Bernardo de la Paz, spoke of “the most basic human right, the right to bargain in a free marketplace.”
Paz questioned the legitimacy of the institution of government and wondered: “Under what circumstances is it moral for a group to do that which is not moral a member of the group to do alone?”
Jeff Rigenbach examined Heinlein’s work in a piece for The Mises Institute.
#6. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
Winner of a Hugo Award, Heinlein’s best known and controversial novel Starship Troopers opened the door for modern war science fiction.
In the late 1950’s and caught up in the Cold War, Heinlein was determined to encourage younger generations to confront the expansion of communism with strong military defense.
Or was he critiquing the military-industrial complex and the reactionary violence and fascism of American Cold War foreign policy?
Now you see the controversy. . .
#7. In the Shadow of Ares by Thomas L. James and Carl C. Carlsson
A Prometheus Award 2012 finalist, In the Shadow of Ares depicts a Mars-born female teen in 2051 living under the rule of an increasingly centralized authority. Settlers are constrained by the great regulatory power of the Mars Development Authority that causes corruption and conflict.
A plug for free market economics, this young adult science fiction Kindle novel is sure to make a libertarian’s blood boil when reading about the bureaucrats of the MDA interfering with the lives of the producing members of society.