Richard Pipes Harvard scholar and historian of the Russian Revolution bringshis remarkable erudition to an exploration of a wide range of national andpolitical ... » 

Richard Pipes Harvard scholar and historian of the Russian Revolution bringshis remarkable erudition to an exploration of a wide range of national andpolitical systems to demonstrate persuasively that private ownership has servedover the centuries to limit the power of the state and enable democraticinstitutions to evolve and thrive in the Western world.Beginning with Greece and Rome where the concept of private property as weunderstand it first developed Pipes then shows us how in the late medievalperiod the idea matured with the expansion of commerce and the rise of cities.He contrasts England a country where property rights and parliamentarygovernment advanced handinhand with Russia where restrictions on ownershiphave for centuries consistently abetted authoritarian regimes finally heprovides reflections on current and future trends in the United States.Property and Freedom is a brilliant contribution to political thought and anessential work on a subject of vital importance. «