The Lonely Libertarian

“Ron Manners is one of those unique people that you meet once in a lifetime. His spirit and courage is inspiring, and his latest book ‘The Lonely Libertarian’ is a testament to that. His is a typical David v Goliath story, and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to learn how they too can make a difference.”

Naomi Brockwell

“This is more than just a book; this is a rallying point for future generations!”

The Mannwest family business, continuously operating since 1895, has the been the launch-pad for many of Ron’s ‘heroic misadventures’ that have taken him on numerous adventures and through many ‘booms and busts’. These experiences have given him an understanding of money and its usefulness. “Money is a real friend if you can put it to work usefully”.

From the Foreword

To travel is to grow…

It is a long way in distance, culture and perspective from the wide, parched expanse of Australia’s ‘outback’ Kalgoorlie, to the narrow winding paths up the Peak in humid Hong Kong. It takes special insight to love both cities and explain the reasons why that sense has a common cause.

Ron once observed that neither Kalgoorlie nor Hong Kong was a “cry baby city”. He elaborated that both were subject to world prices for their goods, be it gold, nickel, elaborate manufactures or human talents. When prices change, these cities have no choice but to adapt, seek new horizons and thereby transform themselves. They don’t have the luxury of standing still. They discover and assemble what is needed for success with new prices in a different world.

That unusual transcendence of their economic base comes from values of self-reliance. Survival, dramatic change and progress for both cities don’t come from benevolent government, but from adaptation by individuals and their enterprises, despite the impediments of governments and the self-proclaimed wisdom of misguided intellectuals.

The personal escapades of Ron Manners exemplify these city’s tales of success against the odds. As Don Boudreaux wrote in the introduction to Heroic Misadventures, Ron is a “searcher”, but more than that he has been an assembler of the skills, connections and resources internationally that he has needed for a personal mission exemplified by Leonard Read’s phrase “education for one’s own sake”.

Those who cherish liberty and self-education will find this work an invaluable resource as they seek to adapt to a changing world where the right for individuals to pursue “anything that’s peaceful” seems ever more under threat.

Bill Stacey
Inaugural Chairman, Lion Rock Institute, Hong Kong, August 2019