Freedom in Chains - The Rise of the State and the Demise of the Citizen (Hardcover, 1st ed)

Governments are bigger and more powerful than ever, while a citizen's ability to control his or her own life has never been less effective. Freedom in Chains is James Bovard's guided tour through the development of the State from its humble beginnings to its present behemoth form. It shows how the State threatens to destroy the individual in order to preserve the belief that any government is superior to the citizen. Bovard asks how we got to this point and answers with a thoughtful look at the history of governmental control from ancient times to the present, peppered throughout with observations on our present day, out-of-control governmental regulatory commissions and an all-confiscating IRS. It's must reading for everyone who took Bovard's Lost Rights to heart as a wake up call for people everywhere.