Selling the Free Market: The Rhetoric of Economic Correctness

While accusations of "political correctness" are frequently raised against liberals, there has been surprisingly little discussion of how conservatives foment the use of their own "economically correct" language. In this engaging book, James Arnt Aune examines how the rhetoric of the free market has become the everyday language of American political debate. Outlining the key ideas of free-market economics, Aune shows how they have permeated political decisions around such issues as labor unions, farm subsidies, and the minimum wage. He also illuminates the paradoxes and irrationalities of these ideas, using rhetorical theory as an analytical tool. The book reveals the inherent contradictions between economic libertarianism, nationalist principles, and social conservatism in the positions of such influential right-wing politicians as Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, and Patrick Buchanan. It also provides lively and critical readings of important free-market and libertarian writings by Ayn Rand, Robert Nozick, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Murray.