Plato to NATO

Just finished reading the book, From Plato to NATO: The Idea of the West and its Opponents, and I certainly would recommend it.

Its author, David Gress, traces the evolution of democracy, capitalism and individual freedom -- all uniquely Western ideals -- from Ancient Greece to the modern day.

And it's not all just philosophy, there is some great political jabs in it too, as Gress dissects the faulty notions of fascism, Marxism and the welfare state.

One section of the book even looks at how the environmentalist movement threatens our freedoms.

Gress argues the Al Gores of the world are pushing the vision of a "Stone Age Soviet Union run by moralistic enforcers who have a monopoly of the means of coercion and propaganda; the very denial of liberalism and economic development, the only historically tested and reliable means of cleaner environment."

What's really great about this book, however, is the way it pieces together the wondrous story of Western civilization.

As Virgil said, "Happy he who comes to understand the cause of things."