Humboldt's On Language stands as one of the main sources to fully understand the key ideas exposed by Chomsky in his generative paradigm. Throughout this book, not only does Humboldt resort to a great erudition on Malayan languages, but also he exposes his own theory of language development. This theory is very close to Chomsky's generative view of language creation. To sum up, Humboldt's On Language is a great introduction to those who want to know more about how we, human beings, use and create language.

In "The Limits of State Action" Enlightenment thinker Wilhelm von Humboldt describes the leading principle of his thought as being the essential importance of human development in its richest diversity - a principle that is not only undermined by the narrow search for efficiency through division of labour, but by wage labour itself.

Humboldt espouses the libertarian view that whatever labour "does not spring from a man's free choice, or is only the result of instruction and guidance, does not enter into his very nature; he does not perform it with truly human energies, but merely with mechanical exactness"; when the labourer works under external control, "we may admire what he does, but we despise what he is."

Essentially anticapitalist in its nature,"The Limits of State Action" provides insight into the philosophy of libertarian socialism, anarchy and educational reform. Fascinating reading.