Preface to Second Edition  

     The importance of the Free Society grew significantly, in my mind, between the first and second editions. It became clear to me that the human race’s singular achievement was the Free Society. It was from the freedom of inquiry that science and the Scientific Revolution became possible. Likewise, the Industrial Revolution only could develop when private property rights were protected, and people were free to innovate and prosper. Regrettably, this realization is not generally known. It is much more common to mistake one aspect of liberty as the sole source of the modern world. Scientists are likely to see reason and the Scientific Revolution as the basis for modern progress. While economists might attribute this same progress to the free market, the Industrial Revolution, or Capitalism. Both views are wrong, or at most, only partially correct. 

     In a similar way, I began to better appreciate the key role America played in making the Free Society a reality. America was the first Free Society to be historically significant. It should come as no surprise Europeans saw fit to send America the Statue of Liberty. America is proof that democracy can work and thrive. She is an example to follow, an inspiration to those desperate for freedom in foreign lands. With her sacrifice and leadership, Free Societies can now be found in places all around the globe, a circumstance unique in world history, another fact not generally appreciated.

    The second edition of The Accidental Free Society emphasizes these two points, and makes it clear, the current scientific and industrial age is a time fraught with danger. History shows how dictatorship is mankind’s natural form of government. It is therefore an open question whether the Free Society will be around a few centuries hence. This necessitated a change in the subtitle of the book. The principles of this book explain the internal and external conflicts the Free Societies, and in particular America face today. The defenders of freedom need to know what they are up against.

    The Accidental Free Society is still divided into three sections, each representing a key thesis of the book. Lord Acton’s famous insight that “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” is well represented in the many kings, emperors, and military tyrants covered in the first section. Rewrites in the second section show how a peculiar set of unique circumstances helped the Free Society grow in Europe and eventually America, including accidents of timing and geography. The final third section is a terrifying omen of things to come, if we do not heed the book’s warnings. The natural human love of security over freedom and dictatorship over democracy will inundate the Free Societies of today. Totalitarianism will return. People must recognize how unusual it is to have the large number of Free Societies all around the world and how it will never be like this again, unless we act. A new epilogue pulls it all together identifying specific threats to America and freedom everywhere.