Review
'A wake-up call for the Dr Faust in all of us' --Rory Bremner
'Liberty has never felt so threatened. Read this book if you want to know just how much is at stake' --Misha Glenny
'A stimulating, provocative and important book' --John Humphrys
`Kampfner's book is original, persuasive and disquieting, and fills a gap in our understanding of the post-cold-war world' --Sunday Times
'A pungent thesis, argued with verve and an abundance of telling detail . . . posed with a clarity that makes you wince'
--Observer
'Kampfner traces how economic prosperity has bribed populations around the world . . . engrossing'
--Metro
'A timely and penetrating audit of authoritarianism around the world' --Andrew Rawnsley, Observer Books of the Year
'Impressive . . . The bargain accepted by increasing numbers of people around the world is reminiscent of the deal Mephistopheles put before Faust'
--Michael Burleigh, Evening Standard Books of the Year
'Liberty has never felt so threatened. Read this book if you want to know just how much is at stake' --Misha Glenny
'A stimulating, provocative and important book' --John Humphrys
`Kampfner's book is original, persuasive and disquieting, and fills a gap in our understanding of the post-cold-war world' --Sunday Times
'A pungent thesis, argued with verve and an abundance of telling detail . . . posed with a clarity that makes you wince'
--Observer
'Kampfner traces how economic prosperity has bribed populations around the world . . . engrossing'
--Metro
'A timely and penetrating audit of authoritarianism around the world' --Andrew Rawnsley, Observer Books of the Year
'Impressive . . . The bargain accepted by increasing numbers of people around the world is reminiscent of the deal Mephistopheles put before Faust'
--Michael Burleigh, Evening Standard Books of the Year
Review
'Liberty has never felt so threatened. This is the big question which Kampfner rightly identifies and dissects with the precision of a master surgeon. Read this book if you want to know just how much is at stake'
Review
'In this timely book John Kampfner challenges the easy assumption that freedom and democracy inevitably go hand in hand with security and prosperity. This is a stimulating, provocative and important book'
Product Description
Why is it that so many people around the world appear willing to give up freedoms in return for either security or prosperity? For the past 60 years it had been assumed that capitalism was intertwined with liberal democracy, that the two not just thrived together but needed each other to survive. But what happens when both are undermined? Governments around the world -- whether they fall into the authoritarian or the democratic camp -- have drawn up a new pact with their peoples. These are its terms: repression is selective, confined to those who openly challenge the status quo, who publicly go out of their way to 'cause trouble'. The number of people who fall into that category is actually very few. The rest of the population can enjoy freedom to travel, to live more or less as they wish, and to make and spend their money. This is the difference between public freedoms and private freedoms. We choose different freedoms we are prepared to cede. We all do it. Freedom for Sale will set a new agenda. Mixing narrative from different countries around the world, it breaks new ground in revealing the extent to which the old assumptions and securities have died. It will crucially ask why so many intelligent and ambitious citizens around the world, particularly among the young, seemed prepared to sacrifice freedom of the press and freedom of speech in their quest for wealth. A new world order may well be upon us, and in this gripping and devastating book John Kampfner reveals how it may just be too late to stop it.
From the Publisher
Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize 2010
About the Author
John Kampfner is the author of three previous books including a biography of Robin Cook and the acclaimed BLAIR'S WARS, a devastating survey of the Prime Minister's foreign policy. He lives in London.
