Design For Liberty

Following a vast expansion in the twentieth century, government is beginning to creak at the joints under its enormous weight. The signs are clear: a bloated civil service, low approval ratings for Congress and the President, increasing federal-state conflict, rampant distrust of politicians and government officials, record state deficits, and major unrest among public employees. In this compact, clearly written book, the noted legal scholar Richard Epstein advocates a much smaller federal government, arguing that our over-regulated state allows too much discretion on the part of regulators, which results in arbitrary, unfair decisions, rent-seeking, and other abuses. Epstein bases his classical liberalism on the twin pillars of the rule of law and of private contracts and property rights—an overarching structure that allows private property to keep its form regardless of changes in population, tastes, technology, and wealth. This structure also makes possible a restrained public administration to implement limited objectives. Government continues to play a key role as night-watchman, but with the added flexibility in revenues and expenditures to attend to national defense and infrastructure formation. Although no legal system can eliminate the need for discretion in the management of both private and public affairs, predictable laws can cabin the zone of discretion and permit arbitrary decisions to be challenged. Joining a set of strong property rights with sound but limited public administration could strengthen the rule of law, with its virtues of neutrality, generality, clarity, consistency, and forward-lookingness, and reverse the contempt and cynicism that have overcome us.

"During the frugal 1950s Liberty Co. rather cautiously dipped its toes in the waters of modem design, choosing to promote avant garde items alongside its more traditional products, so as not to scare away longstanding customers. Then came the cultural and fashion revolution and, almost overnight, the emporium of traditional style found itself not just at one of the best spots in London, but at the very epicentre of the world of fashion: Carnaby Street in the '60s! Liberty's was once again at the cutting edge, leading several fashion trends, such as the revivals of Art Nouveau, Orientalism and Art Deco, and the Liberty textile design studio was used extensively by such high-profile fashion names as Jean Muir, Biba and Yves Saint Laurent." "Packed full with illustrations from the Liberty archive and contemporary fashion photography, this gem of a book provides a real insight into this legendary emporium at a significant point in Liberty's history - a time of great change and renewal."--BOOK JACKET.

“If good design tells the truth,” writes Robert Grudin in this path-breaking book on esthetics and authority, “poor design tells a lie, a lie usually related . . . to the getting or abusing of power.” From the ornate cathedrals of Renaissance Europe to the much-maligned Ford Edsel of the late 1950s, all products of human design communicate much more than their mere intended functions. Design holds both psychological and moral power over us, and these forces may be manipulated, however subtly, to surprising effect. In an argument that touches upon subjects as seemingly unrelated as the Japanese tea ceremony, Italian mannerist painting, and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello plantation, Grudin turns his attention to the role of design in our daily lives, focusing especially on how political and economic powers impress themselves on us through the built environment. Although architects and designers will find valuable insights here, Grudin’s intended audience is not exclusively the trained expert but all those who use designs and live within them every day.

J.H. Cline's completely revised edition includes the history of the design of the Standing Liberty quarter series and the sculptor/artist who created it. Find the most current information on mintages, rarity and relative values, and new findings.

First published in 1975, Liberty’s is the biography of a shop and its various owners in London. Responding to the social pressures, class patterns, and governmental policies, the developments in the shop mimic the social changes taking place in London. It is affected by war and depressions, by trade booms and enemy bombs, by changes in fashions and taste. Liberty’s not only reflected these changes but also contributed to the artistic movements and the development of fashionable taste. This book will be of interest to students of history, fashion and sociology.