Today a new kind of freedom fighter has emerged in our midst: liberal and open-minded, these individuals champion liberty and resent the imposition of more and more rules and exhortations that constrain their freedom. They are angry, disgruntled, offended. Why should they have to wear a face mask, get vaccinated or follow new rules on diversity and equality? They should be free to choose. They do not long for a glorified past or the strong arm of the state but argue instead for individual freedoms at all costs - including the freedom from social constraints, the freedom from having to consider others- feelings and the freedom from social solidarity. In this major new work, Carolin Amlinger and Oliver Nachtwey argue that this new freedom fighter is symptomatic of the rise of a new political current in western societies - what they call -libertarian authoritarianism-. The rise of libertarian authoritarianism is a consequence of the promise of freedom in late modernity: the individual is
