The Issue is Freedom: The liberty our founders gave us, or an increasingly intrusive government. If we give up our freedom, what will that do to our lives and our economy? At 390 pages plus an extensive index, this book presents what is undoubtedly the most comprehensive case for freedom and against statism available today. Every citizen should read it. Statism is the belief that government should control our lives. It is manifest in socialism, communism, dictatorship, and simple unlimited government. It is the opposite of freedom. Statism assumes that our leaders will be wise and moral enough to do what is best. In practice, those leaders are neither wiser nor more moral than the average citizen. Statism assumes that the central planner can decide more wisely than can the person on the scene. In practice, one-size-fits-all regulations really fit nowhere. Statism assumes that government functionaries can effectively manage the entire economy. In practice, that economy is so complex that effective central management is impossible. Statism constructs wonderful theories and applies them to the people, be those people in agreement or not. In practice, those theories make shipwreck on the rocks of reality - but statists ignore that and insist that their theories are still good. This book is a manual for supporting liberty and fighting creeping statism.