New Anthology Features Barry Lynn’s Call to Defend Democracy by Reclaiming the Radical Roots of Liberty
In Out of Many, One, a new anthology from American Futures spotlighting the thinkers shaping tomorrow’s democracy, Barry C. Lynn, executive director of the Open Markets Institute, traces today’s crisis of democratic freedom back to its spiritual and ideological origins. Titled “From Universal Light to Individual Liberty,” Lynn’s essay offers a deeply historical and philosophical argument: the battle against monopoly and autocracy is not just economic or political—it is also moral and even spiritual.
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Reflecting on his decades-long journey from journalist to leading anti-monopoly advocate, Lynn urges Americans to rediscover the foundational ideas of liberty that animated the English Revolution, the American founding, and generations of freedom-seekers across centuries.
“What liberty makes possible,” Lynn writes, “is, well, everything.”
From early Puritan debates in 17th-century England to the revolutionary sermons that helped ignite democratic uprisings, Lynn explores how spiritual equality and freedom of conscience laid the groundwork for political freedom and the rejection of concentrated power. He shows how today’s monopolists—through control of markets, media, and minds—pose a direct threat to those same ideals of liberty, equality, and self-rule.
Lynn’s chapter calls on readers to recover the language and purpose of anti-monopoly thought, to not only expose what monopoly takes from us but to recommit to what democracy makes possible: a society in which every person—regardless of status—is free to shape their future, speak their mind, and live with dignity.
This essay comes at a pivotal moment in American politics, as Lynn draws striking parallels between the concentration of power under 21st-century oligarchs and the failed ambitions of 17th-century monarchs. It is both a sobering warning and an inspiring call to arms.
“To protect democracy for the world today—and the worlds to come—we must break every effort to impose monopoly control over our pocketbooks, jobs, political beliefs, imaginations, and souls.”
About the Author: Barry C. Lynn is the executive director of the Open Markets Institute and the author of Liberty from All Masters, Cornered, and End of the Line. He is one of the nation’s leading voices challenging monopoly power and defending the democratic institutions that make freedom possible. He has written several articles about the importance of centering the ideas and language of liberty in our politics today, including most recently in “Resurrecting the Rebel Alliance,” pushed by The Washington Monthly this June.
About the Anthology: Out of Many, One: Writings on American Universalism, is a new anthology collection from American Futures about reclaiming the mantle of unapologetic patriotism grounded in the universal values — universal freedom, universal rights, and universal opportunity — that have animated America’s best moments. It’s writers are visionary thinkers charting bold, practical ideas for building a more democratic, just, and inclusive America.