The Free Market Existentialist: Capitalism without Consumerism

In this incisive and engaging book, William Irwin defends three controversial views: that Sartre s existentialism is a better fit with capitalism than with Marxism, that we need to go beyond the final delusion of objective morality, and that libertarian political theory should be put into practice. The result is a new synthesis: free market existentialism. With insights from Nietzsche, Sartre, Nozick, and Hayek, Irwin challenges many common assumptions about morality, natural rights, the role of government, the free market, economic inequality, and fairness. Not ending a debate but aiming to start one, Irwin proposes free market existentialism as a new competitor in the marketplace of ideas. With clear and accessible language that will resonate with students, scholars, and armchair philosophers alike, The Free Market Existentialist begins an essential philosophical conversation for the 21st century.

William Irwin is Herve A. LeBlanc Distinguished Service Professor and Chair of Philosophy at King s College in Pennsylvania. He is the author of Intentionalist Interpretation and scholarly articles on Sartre, Nietzsche, and Heidegger. Irwin originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books with Seinfeld and Philosophy in 1999 and is currently the General Editor of The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series.