Lex Libertas Book Club: The books we will cover in 2026

The Lex Libertas Book Club provides a space for self-development, serious thought, honest conversation and the deepening of ideas about freedom, tradition, community and the future of the communities of South Africa.

The goal is to bring together people who realize that sustainable change does not begin with slogans or policies, but with thinking that is honed, tested and strategically applied.

That is why the Lex Libertas book club was launched - to deepen our thinking in the battle of ideas, to engage in dialogue with each other about these ideas, to develop a better understanding of where we come from, where we are going, and also of the realities we are confronted with in this time.

Against this backdrop, the team at Lex Libertas, in consultation with our contributors, has compiled a list of twelve books for 2026. Content will be published on each of the twelve books, which may include articles, reviews, videos and podcast interviews. Four of the twelve books will serve as ‘core books’. These are books for which we will not only publish content, but for which we will also arrange, present and facilitate discussions by experts on the book, author or subject in question. There is some overlap between the twelve books and the core books, which provides the opportunity to also refer to some of the other books during core book discussions.

For example: 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley both fall under the category of dystopian fiction. These books are often compared to each other. So when we discuss Brave New World (a core book), we will compare it to 1984 (which is one of the twelve books, but not a core book).

The books are compiled to cover a variety of themes, including:

• Freedom and abuse of power
• Civilization and tradition
• The principles of constitutionalism and the law
• The principles of economics
• Leadership and meaning
• Afrikanerhood and our Western heritage

For each core books, the following is planned:

• an introductory conversation will be held at the beginning of the reading phase, and
• a final discussion at the end of the quarter.

This means we will cover one core book per quarter and offer two discussion sessions per core book.

The first discussion will take place on Thursday, January 22. During this session, an introduction to Brave New World (Aldous Huxley) will be offered, with reference to 1984 (George Orwell).

The list of books

The following books will serve as core books:

1. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
2. The Odysseus – Homer
3. There Is No Supreme Constitution – Koos Malan
4. Economics in One Lesson – Henry Hazlitt

The following books will be included as additional books for those who want to read twelve books in 2026.

1. 1984 – George Orwell
2. The Screwtape Letters – C.S. Lewis
3. The Aeneid (Aeneid) – Virgil
4. Alexander Hamilton – Ron Chernow
5. The Law – Frédéric Bastiat
6. Start With Why – Simon Sinek
7. Economic Facts and Fallacies – Thomas Sowell
8. Raka – N.P. van Wyk Louw

Who can participate and how will it work?

The book club is an opportunity for Lex Libertas contributors. Any person who makes a contribution to Lex Libertas (in the amount of their own choice) is considered a contributor.

Practical and logistical details (times, platforms, reading guides and discussion links) will be communicated directly with contributors who have opted into the book club.

Conversations will take place mainly in Afrikaans, but English content will be included. Reading material will mostly be available in both languages. Sessions will (especially in the beginning) be presented mainly in Pretoria. Members of the book club will have the opportunity to connect digitally. As the Lex Libertas club expands, sessions will also be presented in other parts of the country.

How to connect

Further information will be distributed to members of the book club. You can join by filling out the form below.

Click here to fill in your details.