Publishing classical liberal books that make a difference

Why are our taxes so high, not only in Sweden but in most of the world? Given all that money, why are, at the same time, education, healthcare, pensions most everywhere in permanent crisis? Why are 684,000 people waiting for housing in Stockholm? Why are so many unemployed while there are so many jobs available?

And why do our democratic systems, pardon the expression, suck?

We can do much, much better than today. We can combine much more freedom, much lower taxes, much lower social benefits, with caring for each other much better, with treating the old with much more dignity, with better schools for all. We could become much wealthier, but not only for ourselves. If we are richer, invent more, create more, we can also more effectively help those who need help, here and abroad.

Unfortunately, not many understand classical liberalism, and those who do often write books that are much too complicated. The books I write will instead both be easy to read and go quite a bit further than most.

Classical liberalism is not an ideology "for the rich". It is actually not much of an ideology. First and foremost, it seeks to explain how the world actually works so that we do not go out and do stupid things, like rent control and make people wait for 20 years for a flat.

I seek support to be able to focus on this more or less full time. I have an American publishing contract for four new books as well as another contract for a second edition of my book Education Unchained. Unfortunately, I must disclose that the contract for the four books seems quite shaky at the moment and that they may be published with others instead.

Around October of 2020 I will also self-publish a book in Swedish, Representativ demokrati – Vad det är, varför Sveriges brister, och hur den kan förbättras that is available for preorder.

My goal is SEK 160,000 (about $16,700). If I reach my goal, this will allow me to work on this until at least the end of 2021. The initial goal was 2020, but I have been able to continue writing by tightening my belt. This will likely give me time to publish four of the books, and make a good start on the remaining two. A stretch goal is 250,000 to get more time for seeing Swedish translations through the press.

In total, what I set out to do will likely take three more years. Included will be the translation of at least two of the books in English into Swedish.

The books are Evolution and Social Order, a second edition of Education Unchained, True Liberalism (an introduction in a novel way to classical liberalism), The Way Sweden Doesn't Work (working title, see below), and a book on political culture and how they differ in Sweden, the United States, France, Britain and some other countries

About the books

Apart from Representativ demokrati, five other books are planned.

The first of these, Evolution and Social Order, was supposed to appear as a college textbook in the United States in the fall of 2019. It is a book that combines classical liberalism, evolutionary thinking, free-market economics, history and the history of ideas. Please see the preliminary cover. The book has unfortunately been delayed.

Second, there is a second edition of Education Unchained - What it takes to restore schools and learning (2015). I have made some small changes to the current content and then extended it to also treat higher education. The second edition is planned for the autumn of 2020. You can read about the first edition on the US Amazon page https://www.amazon.com/Education-Unchained-Restore....

Third is a book on classical liberalism called True Liberalism. This is intended to be the first book you would read to understand classical liberalism. It is a bare-bones, chiseled out, accessible and yet a complete introduction. Estimated 250 pages. I am currently polishing the manuscript.

Fourth is a book on Sweden, with the working title The Way Sweden Doesn't Work, or possibly, if Gripenstedt had been left in charge, (Johan August Gripenstedt was the minister of finance that brought classical liberal reforms to Sweden and who, more than anyone else, caused the rapid economic development that began around 1870 and that continued until around 1970. This book will focus on the political, economic and social history of the past 150 years. It brings a classical liberal perspective to what was done, and also what would have happened in a range of areas if Sweden had remained a small-government country.

A small-government Sweden would have been a very different, and many times more prosperous place. The lessons from Sweden are highly applicable to the United States and other countries as well. This book is only sketched out and requires a bit more preparatory studies at this stage.

Fifth and last, is a book that will seek to explain Swedish political culture and how and why it differs from American, French, British and possibly a few other cultures. It will be a book much inspired by Alexis de Tocqueville. This book is also only in a draft stage and will build, in part, on the lessons from the forth book.

Reward tiers

To show at least some of my gratitude, I have come up with the following reward tiers: Anyone who donates 500 kronor ($52) will be able to buy a signed copy of each of my books at 20 percent off the list price. If you donate at least 1000 kronor ($104), you will also be able to buy one signed book at 40 percent off. If you donate 5000 kronor, I will be happy to come and give a presentation and eat dinner with you at a public or private venue, either in Stockholm, Gothenburg or Malmö. If you donate 10,000 kronor or more, you are welcome to come and stay at my cottage at your convenience for a mutually agreed period of time, where you can enjoy fishing, boating and hiking in the Kiruna and Jukkasjärvi surroundings, see picture.