Book Description
Selected by the Times Literary Supplement as one of the "hundred most influential books since the war"
How can we benefit from the promise of government while avoiding the threat it poses to individual freedom? In this classic book, Milton Friedman provides the definitive statement of his immensely influential economic philosophy—one in which competitive capitalism serves as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom. The result is an accessible text that has sold well over half a million copies in English, has been translated into eighteen languages, and shows every sign of becoming more and more influential as time goes on.
Customer Reviews:
The Godfather of the Libertarian Movement.......2007-09-17
An absolute classic work in the areas of Laissez Faire economics and libertarianism. While not everyone in the libertarian movement idolizes Dr. Friedman, his work was written in such a clear and accessible way that it introduced classical liberalism to a generation of people in the 1960's, who were big government Keynesians. Friedman fought for individual liberty, and while he wasn't an anarcho-capitalist by any means and sometimes uses government to solve problems, he is still the godfather of the libertarian movement and the libertarian movement would not be where it is today without Dr. Friedman.
The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-14
I hate to be so outspoken on a review of a book. But I find this gentleman elemental, childish and silly. On top of all of that I do not believe that he is entirely sincere. This man was a statistician and "accountant" not a theoretician. He actually won the Nobel Prize. This I find very hard to believe. I have not given up on him though. But I have yet to find anything that he has written that I can get past the introduction. The more I read of what he has to say the worse it gets.
More Capitalist Rhetoric.......2007-08-07
Clearly he overlooks the basic concepts of political economy in an effort to advocate for capitalist societies. Moreover, he fails to confront the basic questions of inequality which is characteristic in capitalist societies.
Friedman asserts that communism and socialism are mere tools of totalitarian regimes as if he's even attempted to study marx. This book is extremely lopsided and narrow in its praise for a system that has accounted for much pain in the world.
If your looking for a balanced intellectual perspective, look else where. However, I will recommend this book after gaining a true foundation on the study of political economy; try Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Locke, James Mill, Keynes, Proudhon, Ricardo, Owen, Engels, etc.
Like him or not - important to know.......2007-07-26
Overview / Review: Milton Friedman, like him or hate him, is an essential economic theorist to tackle if one is interested in that field or in theories of economic justice. Having a progressive bias, I disagree strongly with many Friedman's theories. Having said that, for anyone interested in getting the essentials of his "liberal" (used in the older, more classic sense) economic views would do well to read this book. Friedman is opposed to state intervention in individual freedom, so many see Friedman as a modern counterpart to Adam Smith. Friedman advocates a free-market economy, with minimal taxation and government interference, because he believes the free market approach assures the greatest measure of freedom, justice, and overall affluence. Many modern conservatives have echoed the arguments he makes herein.
Friedman is actually convincing in his review on a few counts - the abuse of licensure, the problems of tax loopholes, and the fact that there are frequent shortcomings of the well-intended social welfare state. Having said that, however, Friedman does seem unduly biased in favor of a society so individualistic it is therefore almost atomistic, with little to no social cohesion. Some of his arguments are more assertions and claims than full-blown arguments, and one wishes he had addressed major issues in more detail (perhaps he does elsewhere). The book's virtue is that it is brief, but its weakness is also that its arguments are often too brief, and too compact. Karl Marx for example, has many faults in his theory that can be found, but Friedman too casually blows off Marx in about one page of analysis (Chapter 10, p. 167-8). Friedman's argument for a very limited government, and against socialism/communism, would have been more convincing if he had devoted a full chapter to Marx for one, and more attention to other matters of social justice, inequality, and oppression.
In a nutshell: this book encapsulates Friedman's "liberal" or laissez-faire approach to a wide range of issues on economics, government, and capitalism. The free individual is given utmost importance, and government that governs best is that which governs (or interferes) least in his Friedman's view. Not convincing from the standpoint of those interested in progressive social justice (Niebuhr's views on selfishness and power are more cogent), but essential to read and analyze if one is interested in economics and ethics.
Brilliant.......2007-07-05
Friedman was America's preeminent economists that explained the connection between Political and Economic freedom without the signature econo-techno-babble that is the vernacular of lesser economists. This book should be REQUIRED reading for all high school, or at the very least, college students. I enjoyed it immensely and will be wary of "too many dollars chasing too few goods"!
Book Description
Many books have been written about the success of the West, analyzing why Europe was able to pull ahead of the rest of the world by the end of the Middle Ages. The most common explanations cite the West’s superior geography, commerce, and technology. Completely overlooked is the fact that faith in reason, rooted in Christianity’s commitment to rational theology, made all these developments possible. Simply put, the conventional wisdom that Western success depended upon overcoming religious barriers to progress is utter nonsense.
In
The Victory of Reason, Rodney Stark advances a revolutionary, controversial, and long overdue idea: that Christianity and its related institutions are, in fact, directly responsible for the most significant intellectual, political, scientific, and economic breakthroughs of the past millennium.
In Stark’s view, what has propelled the West is not the tension between secular and nonsecular society, nor the pitting of science and the humanities against religious belief. Christian theology, Stark asserts, is the very font of reason: While the world’s other great belief systems emphasized mystery, obedience, or introspection, Christianity alone embraced logic and reason as the path toward enlightenment, freedom, and progress. That is what made all the difference.
In explaining the West’s dominance, Stark convincingly debunks long-accepted “truths.” For instance, by contending that capitalism thrived centuries before there was a Protestant work ethic–or even Protestants–he counters the notion that the Protestant work ethic was responsible for kicking capitalism into overdrive. In the fifth century, Stark notes, Saint Augustine celebrated theological and material progress and the institution of “exuberant invention.” By contrast, long before Augustine, Aristotle had condemned commercial trade as “inconsistent with human virtue”–which helps further underscore that Augustine’s times were not the Dark Ages but the incubator for the West’s future glories.
This is a sweeping, multifaceted survey that takes readers from the Old World to the New, from the past to the present, overturning along the way not only centuries of prejudiced scholarship but the antireligious bias of our own time.
The Victory of Reason proves that what we most admire about our world–scientific progress, democratic rule, free commerce–is largely due to Christianity, through which we are all inheritors of this grand tradition.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Reason?.......2007-10-03
"Professor Stark is still a lonely voice in the academic wilderness, calling for us to embrace reason ... and honor the faith that has supported it for 2000 years." - reviewer
The tenets of Christian faith are antithetical to reason. The Bible as THE word of God, a fall from perfection in Eden that necessitated the death of a divine savior centuries in the future, the virgin birth, vicarious atonement by a divine savior resulting in the redemption of sinners from punishment required by the commission of original sin, resurrection from death of both savior and believers, and ascension into heaven of a living being are not the products of reason, but of melting-pot traditions of ancient tribal worldviews. The embrace of reason is a terrific idea; such tenets, however, aren't the products of reason, so it's difficult to see how belief in them as the basis for Christian faith could have led to a triumph of reason in the world at large---except through creative minds leaving them behind, and/or personally reinterpreting them in modernist ways while institutional creeds are left intact. As for the triumph of capitalism, its ultimate accomplishment may well prove to be the destruction of the planet.
Defense of Western Civilization.......2007-09-30
In an era of post-modernism and cultural relativism, Rodney Stark's thesis that because Christianity accepted reason and logic, commerce and freedom were able to take root and flourish in Western Europe.
The Christian God was not like Zeus sitting on Mt. Olympus ruling the world based on a whim. He is immutable or unchanging. Because the Christian God was immutable, its adherents saw coherency and consistency in their world. Think of it this way. The world's other great belief systems emphasized mystery, obedience, or introspection. Their world view did not include a perfect, unchanging God. The world could change on a whim. Science can not take root in a universe without coherence and consistency. That's the difference with the Christian God. As a result, the people of the Middle Ages began to become forward-thinking and predicative. Science was able to discover immutable laws that control the physical universe such as the Laws of Thermodynamics. The world was rational.
This rationality and reason also fostered the development of democracy and capitalism. Stark correctly points out that St. Augustine approved of commerce. In this world of rationality, the recognition of natural rights such as life, liberty and property occurred. This formed the basis of Western Civilization. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson essentially borrowed from John Locke's Second Treatise on Government (1690)--the rights accorded by "Nature and Nature's God." In the Declaration, these are described as "unalienable" rights. Western Civilization's sense of individualism would not exist without Christianity.
While post-modern, secularists will decry Christianity and all the evils they contend it portends, the reason they can is because of it. Stark makes the case eloquently and logically shattering myths along the way.
Outstanding description of the role of rational theology.......2007-08-02
Professor Stark, a Baylor University social sciences professor, has written a book that should complement recent works by men like Jared Diamond or Victor Davis Hanson, in explaining why the West, and especially why particular forms of Christianity have led to unique successes for its adherents around the present world. Stark has written to especially critique ideas in the famous book, the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Instead he argues that Christianity in general has led to forms of government and capitalism that have met with rounds of worldwide success.
Stark backs up his thesis with example and statistical analysis to show why western Christianity's core beliefs, that man knows God by further investigation and expanision of knowledge and that diversification of ideas and roles led to spin off ideas among industry, the family and government throughout Europe.
Reason for Stark is a direct child of Christianity. Greek philosophy may have had a lot to say about reason, and with the rise of Islam, much of Greek thought may have been preserved, but it was the special combination of Christian faith using reason, which led to things unforeseen in the world. In actuality, Irish monks had more access to ancient writings, often by a ration of 8:1 than did Islamic scholars. And what the Middle and Far East may have had in raw knowledge, they were able to do less with more because there was not application for reason in their faith, unlike western Christianity.
Two areas of history receive excellent examination by Stark: the middle ages, which according to his analysis, proved to be more rational and better equipped to handle the world than the later Renaissance, was the creator of international finance, multiple practical technological inventions and free institutions which later faded away as the high middle ages embraced reason without faith.
Finally, Stark compares and contrasts British North America with Latin America to attempt to show why these two regions are so different in wealth, general freedom and technological innovation. Probably the book uses statistics at its best with its comparison between feudal Latin America and capitalistic Anglo America. Because Christianity was separated from the state, the church flourished in ways it never did in the south, in active members and in influence on society. Stark attirbutes the economic output of Anglo America largely to the embrace of rational theology that began centuries ago, that ran through northern Italy, the low countries, Britain and later America and the rest of the Anglo nations.
Stark does not cheer lead for any particular side, but is very effective to show through his research that reason, Christianity, democratic reforms and capitalism are usually inseparable from each other. The author closes by asking if capitalism needs Christianity in today's world, and whether globilization has made capitalism's reliance on rational theology relevant. The conclusion is that they are forever linked, as evidenced by the explosion in the growth of the Christian faith and rational theology as the same time as globilization has spread the blessings of capitalism and freedom.
Great book that places many opinions in one package........2007-07-29
The book has few original ideas or beliefs, but it takes many opinions of many authors and places them in a book that appeals to people in today's society.
I would recommend it to anybody that wishes to educate themselves. The book takes common misconceptions to Western dominance of the modern world and reveals the true roots of western dominance.
It is a great tool useful in understanding how the economic and religious history of the Western world were and are related.
The Bright Ages.......2007-06-10
In the Acknowledgments, Rodney Stark says he intends this book for the general reader. If he means the casual reader, I'd say not quite. It's a bit too textbooky. I found myself engrossed by his thesis, and then kept reading to find evidence of it, of which there is plenty. Once he actually got into the nuts and bolts of Capitalism, and the history thereof, I got somewhat bogged down.
What I mainly learned from this book, to quote a Firesign Theatre record title, is that everything I know is wrong. I'm one of the few who learned the wrong things almost from their original sources, having read them in classes at college. These wrong things are generally believed, but most people never actually read these sources. One of them is that Capitalism arose from the Protestant work ethic after the Reformation. The other is the sustaining myth of the modern world, the Enlightenment (who named it that?) invention of the Dark Ages. What else didn't I know? That slavery was virtually wiped out of Europe by the end of the tenth century, and that when it returned in the New World, the pope excommunicated anyone who trafficked in slaves. The Enlightenment writers didn't mention that fact, since they were slave owners.
For me, the word "Capitalism" summons up the sort of abuses that Chesterton was always arguing against. But Stark, in very lengthy passages, explains its theory so that even this reader, with zero economic prowess, can grasp it. He shows that it can only flourish in a relatively free society, hence the "Western Success" of the subtitle. He also considers the paradox of "religious economies", concluding that state- established churches stagnate, while religious belief thrives in an environment of freedom and pluralism. The common core underlying that belief in the West is that the Creator has made a reasonable world that can be discovered by reason, a radically liberating idea that led to "Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success" in the Bright Ages.
Customer Reviews:
(RAW Rating: 4.5) - What is happening to black men?.......2007-08-04
Demico Boothe has explored the reasons so many black men are indeed in prison in, WHY ARE SO MANY BLACK MEN IN PRISON? He begins with his own story of a shaky upbringing and his subsequent dabbling in drug dealing. He was caught with a few grams of crack cocaine but because it was the dreaded crack, he was given 10 years in prison. When he left prison after serving his time, he was actually railroaded back into prison by a crooked justice system. He delves deeply into our justice system and the motives behind all the new prisons that are being built. He gives succinct and reasonable views of exactly what is happening now in the United States and how the past has played a role in the present. He uses persuasive statistics regarding the number of black men in prison as compared to the number of white men who are incarcerated.
Demico Boothe has done an excellent job of researching his subject and it is a plus, if unfortunate for him, that he has actually experienced first hand what he's talking about. I knew I was hearing the real story rather than just statistics from an intellectual who had no real idea of what the prison system is really like. I would have liked for Boothe to search a little deeper into the Haiti, Aristide and USA question, maybe even reading Randall Robinson's take on the situation, and then he might see it a bit differently. Otherwise, it is a good book and one every one in America should read. We indeed, have a crisis going on.
Reviewed by Alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Why Are So Many Black Men In Prison? A Comprehensive Account Of How And Why The Prison Industry Has Become A Predatory Entity In.......2007-06-09
The book was very interesting. I learned soooo much about the government and the prison industry. I did some searching independantly to check on the things reported in the book and they are very true. Great Read!! Buy the book.
A Must Read.......2007-05-25
Mr. Demico's book is a must-read for anyone concerned about young African American men. Although I did not agree with every conclusion he reached, Demico's main premises are convincing. As a white woman who teaches mainly students of color, I am always impressed, and often in awe, of those young men who reach college with so much going against them. Demico's books lays bare not only the horrible inequalities of our society, but also the racist attitudes of our political system - - Democrats, Republicans, and most everyone in between.
Why are so many Black Men in Prison?.......2007-05-13
I is a well put together book. He really goes into a lot of detail of how our society is really set up.
Why are so many blacks in prison?.......2007-05-12
I found this book very interesting. As a white devil myself, I had no idea that I was responsible for forcing blacks into committing crimes and then subsequently clogging up the whole "Prison Industrial Complex"(tm). I will try to stop causing this, as I am sure it is creating a LOT of trouble for everyone! Sorry!
It is probably also my fault that young black men dressed in XXXXL clothes overtly threaten me and my family members routinely. Can anyone tell me what I should do to make this not happen?
I imagine it's also my fault that black on white violent crime is WAY higher than white on black violent crime, even though blacks constitute about 12.5% of the population, and whites are about 70%. But since it is impossible for a black to commit a hate crime according to our criminal justice system (since blacks are not under any circumstances racist), statistically, there are more white on black hate crimes. Boothe notes a statistic regarding hate crimes, but he skips the one about interracial violence in general.
In sum, Boothe notes that just about everything blacks do is actually MY fault, because my skin is white. Boothe, I've got a word for you.
Introspection.
Book Description
Bestselling author Francis Fukuyama brings together esteemed academics, political analysts, and practitioners to reflect on the U.S. experience with nation-building, from its historical underpinnings to its modern-day consequences. The United States has sought on repeated occasions to reconstruct states damaged by conflict, from Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War to Japan and Germany after World War II, to the ongoing rebuilding of Iraq. Despite this rich experience, there has been remarkably little systematic effort to learn lessons on how outside powers can assist in the building of strong and self-sufficient states in post-conflict situations.
The contributors dissect mistakes, false starts, and lessons learned from the cases of Afghanistan and Iraq within the broader context of reconstruction efforts in other parts of the world, including Latin America, Japan, and the Balkans. Examining the contrasting models in Afghanistan and Iraq, they highlight the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq as a cautionary example of inadequate planning.
The need for post-conflict reconstruction will not cease with the end of the Afghanistan and Iraq missions. This timely volume offers the critical reflection and evaluation necessary to avoid repeating costly mistakes in the future.
Contributors: Larry Diamond, Hoover Institution and Stanford University; James Dobbins, RAND; David Ekbladh, American University; Michèle A. Flournoy, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Francis Fukuyama, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; Larry P. Goodson, U.S. Army War College; Johanna Mendelson Forman, UN Foundation; Minxin Pei, Samia Amin, and Seth Garz, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; S. Frederick Starr, Central Asia--Caucacus Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; F. X. Sutton, Ford Foundation Emeritus; Marvin G. Weinbaum, University of Illinois at Urbana--Champaign
Customer Reviews:
Welcome addition to the literature on nation-building.......2007-09-15
This is an excellent edited volume. The well known conservative theorist, Francis Fukuyama, has pulled together a well integrated set of essays in nation-building, featuring detailed analyses of Iraq and Afghanistan. One positive aspect of this volume is the outstanding quality of contributors, including such well-known experts as Larry Diamond, James Dobbins, and Marvin Weinbaum, as well as, of course, Fukuyama himself. The editor has written two earlier works related to nation-building. This builds upon that previous work.
Fukuyama's introductory chapter lays out key concepts as well as the purpose of this volume. As in earlier works, he explains the slipperiness of the concept of "nation-building." He goes on to distinguish two aspects of this phenomenon, "reconstruction" (". . .the restoration of war-torn or damaged societies to their preconflict situation" [Page 5]) and "development" (". . .the creation of new institutions and the promotion of sustained economic growth. . . ." [page 5]). He laments the loss of American institutional memory on nation-building, noting that the Bush Administration essentially ignored the lessons from history as to how to carry out "nation-building." At the heart of this volume is a comparative case study of Iraq versus Afghanistan, and Fukuyama takes some time to distinguish these two interventions.
The first full section of the book examines the historical experience of and lessons from nation-building. The various authors consider post World War-II nation-building, the Ford Foundation's experience of the 1950s and 1960s, the American track record in the 20th century. Part II focuses on the Afghan experience of the United States. Starr's chapter suggests some potential "happy ending," as a result of the U. S. changing course in 2003 and 2004. He concludes that (page 124): "As of this writing, there is extensive evidence that the new approach is contributing directly and powerfully to nation-building in that long-suffering land." Weinbaum suggests that Afghanistan may actually be more likely to be a success story than Iraq, and indicates why. Goodson contends that the facts "on the ground" in Afghanistan may work out--but that the facts on the ground in Washington, D. C. undercut efforts in Afghanistan Iraq? Part II features essays exploring matters there. Larry Diamond's assessment is consistent with many others'--the US blew the nation-building after the successful military invasion, even though there is still the hope that matters will work out. Forman notes simply that (page 211): ". . .the mistakes made in the occupation of Iraq have made. . .the postconflict reconstruction program more difficult."
Fukuyama concludes the volume with suggested guidelines for future nation-building ventures.
In the final analysis, this is an important contribution to the relevant literature. One may not agree with all of the contributors or with various themes raised throughout the volume. But it is a thoughtful effort to address what is at stake in successful nation-building.
contributions to a vastly urgent subject.......2006-08-15
After watching events in Afghanistan and Iraq unfold over the past several years, you can't help but wonder exactly what the U.S. government was thinking. How could so many mistakes have been made? If you find yourself asking these questions, then Nation-Building should be the next book you read.
Fukuyama has put together a very good collection of articles that will help the reader put current nation-building projects in perspective by including a section at the beginning of the book that talks about nation-building in general. This section discusses what the U.S. has learned from its past foreign adventures, and unfortunately what it hasn't learned, and also what the Bush administration actively unlearned. This first section has a lot to offer in the way of historical analysis and explains how the U.S. got to where it is now, and all four of the articles contributed important perspectives.
The second section deals with Afghanistan. The imbalance of coverage between Iraq and Afghanistan in a more general sense is almost criminal, so any literature on the latter should be welcome. The first article by S. Frederick Starr is fantastic and will probably tell you more about Afghanistan than a year of reading the newspapers or watching relevent news shows. The other two articles on Afghanistan are not nearly as good as Starr's though. The content in these articles are important, but I felt Starr dealt approached them with more care and precision.
The final section about Iraq is also quite good. The chapters by Diamond and Dobbins are fantastic, but the Forman article did not compare. All three dealt with specific mistakes the U.S. has made in Iraq and how these mistakes could have been avoided. I believe Forman's weakness comes from the fact that she appears to be more of a Latin American specialist, rather than someone with experience in Iraq. That doesn't mean her comments aren't relevant, but when you're only going to put three articles about Iraq in a book called Nation-Building, I think a chapter by someone like Noah Feldman that had spent time as a CPA advisor would have been a much more appropriate choice.
Aside from these few minor weaknesses, this is a fantastic book. The more people that read this book the better. While not necessarily a book for beginners, it would be entirely appropriate for grad students, and an absolute necessity for any scholar that deals with the Middle East and/or nation-building in general.
A sober testimony and very highly recommended.......2006-03-03
Nation-Building: Beyond Afghanistan And Iraq is an anthology of essays by highly esteemed academics, political analysts, and skilled practitioners regarding the American experience with nation-building, from historical roots to modern-day issues. Examining the present cases of building Afghanistan and Iraq into nations in the context of reconstruction efforts in other areas of the world, including Japan, Latin America, and the Balkans, these writings particularly question the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq as an example of poor planning. A valuable resource filled with critical reflection and evaluation and offering valuable suggestions to reduce future mistakes and costs in human lives, Nation-Building is a sober testimony and very highly recommended.
Customer Reviews:
"Bread Machine" an Excellent Point of Departure.......2006-05-22
A simply written summary of Libertarian economics. Therefore, a must read for the economics student. But that doesn't mean it's right.
The books' most fundamental statement reads,
"If we agree that man has a right to live, we must agree that man may use the mental and physical faculties to procure those means. Since the means (food, clothing, shelter, and the like) do not usually lie readily at hand, he must find or grow the food, manufacture the clothing and build the shelter. In short, he must produce." (at 140)
Amen. However, the book's premise is that government lacks the capacity to do anything to improve on the wealth creation and distribution process and can only get in the way. It thus seems to me blind to the most fundamental fact of all, that it is government that provides us with the protection from enemies to make it possible for us to fashion and enforce the laws which we believe will be the most conducive to the satisfaction of these needs. And it is only when entrepreneurs feel certain that such protections are in place that they are willing to undertake long-term projects.
Each generation is blessed with the advances of all previous generations, and so, the individual in reality owns nothing that has not been provided him by long-standing governments protecting the rights of generations to work on the effort.
Freedom Works!.......2004-12-16
Why is it, in the whole history of mankind, he has lived a life of bare sustenance and then, almost over night, a few peoples suddenly found themsleves amidst vast riches never before dreamed of? The answer: Freedom! This book demonstrates, more clearly than most, the only path to material well-being is Free and Open Markets, Private Property rights, and the Rule of Law.
After reading this book, I kept asking myself: How is it so many men of supposed learning (college professors, news reporters, and entertainers) still believe the true path to wealth and human happiness runs through government? The only two answers I can come up with are: ignorance and/or stupidity!
Free men, acting by their own lights, have proved time and again they can produce the goods and services society demands. And, conversely, government continues to prove that it can only stand in the way of man's productive efforts! These facts have been made painfully clear each time some utopian, such as Stalin or Hitler tries to mold the perfect society, and in the process of molding that perfect society they have to slaughter millions of their countrymen! Yet professors still preach about the so-called "common good" and "economic justice" (whatever that means!) and the media pundits still "gobble it up" - the evidence notwithstanding. What are we to believe of the intelectual capabilities of these men? Well, I know what I believe - these are "easily winded champions!"
Why would anyone risk their intelectual, financial, or physical capital if tehre were no chance of a return commensurate with the risk incurred? The simple answer is: THEY WOULDN'T! and therein lies the ultimate reason why the Free Market/Private Property nations, while amounting to only a small share of the earth's population and resources, nevertheless, produces the lion's share of the earth's wealth!
Bottom line: a great, must read book, if you wish to gain an understanding of why some things are as they are and how they can be changed. I highly recommend the read!
Dr. Zuess meets Ayn Rand.......2003-05-30
The vast majority of people, since time immemorial, favor insurance and dislike risk (and risk taking). That's how Warren Buffet got rich, and why the US leads the world in buying insurance. That's why people have centralized since the days of the Chinese emperors and Egyptian pharoahs. Economies of scale and lack of risk = Roosevelt style Big Brother government. It's what the people want--that's democracy. Wasn't it Mechken that said "Democracy is giving the people what they want--good and hard?"
Insofar as the poem goes, it's fun, "Dr. Zuess meets Ayn Rand" as somebody said. Not sure it's worth the price listed though.
A Classic, One of the Most Exciting Books on Capitalism.......2003-03-19
The original version of this book was privately published back in 1966 and the two-part poem in the back pages of that edition -- the most complete version and also my favorite version of Richard Grant's provocative poem -- was copyrighted January of 1964! Commercial publishers wouldn't touch Grant's controversial manuscript back then -- but (luckily for us all) Grant's friend Richard Bray got it into print and available as an inexpensive grey softcover, complete with etensive footnotes and index. It sold by the thousands almost entirely on word of mouth. I am very glad for the current generation of libertarians and conservatives and Objectivists that Fox & Wilkes has made it available once more, as updated by the original author himself, in this edition. While I am not sure this new, revised edition actually surpasses the original IBM classic, that may be partly nostalgia on my part. But it is near enough to the original, with more modern examples to illustrate the timeless principles discussed, that it remains one of the all-time classics on liberty, private property rights, and free-market capitalism.
This book discusses some of the misconceptions about capitalism, such as the "robber barons" and the Great Depression and goes on to challenge prevailing assumptions about the need for government intervention in the private affairs and voluntary (market) relationships of peaceful people. It identifies the three basic principles of a free society, applying them to contemporary issues including education, the environment, Michael Milken, Bill Gates, altruism, the dangerous intellectual, "compassion" in government, and much more. The book includes excellent distillations of some of the best insights and ideas from such key figures and writers of the modern pro-freedom cause as F. A. Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Ayn Rand, Andrew J. Galambos, Murray N. Rothbard, and Henry Grady Weaver. It is a "must read" for anyone who wants a good, lucid introduction to the case for individual freedom in a social context and a policy of laissez faire imposed on government. Although it is hard to identify one single book that I could recommend to anyone (such as a high school or college student) as a "first book" on the freedom perspective, this would probably be that book.
A simple primer on freedom and capitalism and why it works.......2001-05-17
My copy of this book dates back to the '70's. It pops to mind often when the more Liberal of our politicians try to solve economic discomfort through law.
The joke that was the 'deregulation' of utilities in California, and the laughable solutions to higher oil prices offered by Democrats today make this book must reading.
The problem is that since this book was written our children have received less and less education in economics, Americans actually believe left wing politicians who say they can manipulate the laws of supply and demand to the peoples' advantage.
Chuck out the heavy reading of Adam Smith and Von Mises, this simple and concise book should be required reading in all High Schools. It may be the clearest and most easily understandable case for free markets in print.
Average customer rating:
- A most disappointing text
- Tackles the hard question.
- A true classic
- Brilliancy in the line of Mises and Rothbard
- Why Buffalo-pucky Rises to the Top, and what to do about it!
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The Machinery of Freedom: A Guide to Radical Capitalism
David D. Friedman
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ASIN: 0812690699 |
Book Description
This book argues the case for a society organized by private property, individual rights, and voluntary co-operation, with little or no government. David Friedman's standpoint, known as 'anarcho-capitalism', has attracted a growing following as a desirable social ideal since the first edition of The Machinery of Freedom appeared in 1971. This new edition is thoroughly revised and includes much new material, exploring fresh applications of the author's libertarian principles.
Among topics covered: how the U.S. would benefit from unrestricted immigration; why prohibition of drugs is inconsistent with a free society; why the welfare state mainly takes from the poor to help the not-so-poor; how police protection, law courts, and new laws could all be provided privately; what life was really like under the anarchist legal system of medieval Iceland; why non-intervention is the best foreign policy; why no simple moral rules can generate acceptable social policies -- and why these policies must be derived in part from the new discipline of economic analysis of law.
Customer Reviews:
A most disappointing text.......2007-10-05
Before reading the book, I did not know what a libertarian was beyond a vague idea that he was some kind of extreme right winger. After reading The Machinery of Freedom I still don't know what a libertarian is except for the fact that it is someone whose ideas are a terrific muddle: an anarchist who believes in institutions; an altruist who does not realize that he is an altruist (utilitarian); an anarchist who wants to organize a political party to end all political parties and the list goes on. Apparently a libertarian does not realize that all rights stem from the use of force or the threat of use of force -- if all else fails.
Why Friedman has such a hard time understanding the ownership of land is also a muddle. Land, by itself, is valueless. Value is created by the use and exploitation of the land. The value is created by the work done to it and on it. I believe the legal term for it in English is "improvement" (bienhechuría in Spanish). Once you have made an improvement to the land, the land and the improvement become inseparable and that is how the improver acquires ownership of the land. Imagine an artist walking down a deserted beach in search of driftwood or shells or pebbles with which to create a work of art. How does he acquire ownership of these items? Simply by picking them up because no one else is claiming them. If there were more that one scavenger on the beach, they would have to agree on how to divide up the loot. Hernando de Soto describes in "The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else" how this was achieved in early America. David, read that book and discover how you become owner of virgin land.
The discussion of money with a basket of commodities to back it is also a terrific muddle. Again, money is something quite simple that even the simple minds understand. It is only learned people who have such a hard time understanding money. Money is a contract often breached but usually honored. Another book recommendation for David is "Money: Whence It Came, Where It Went" by John Kenneth Galbraith.
Anarchy has been tried before, by socialists in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was an utter failure, the Communists gained the upper hand. I'm an anarchist at heart (a right wing anarchist) but my brain tells me it does not work. A third book suggestion for David: "No Gods No Masters" by Daniel Guerin, a anthology of anarchism.
In summary, The Machinery of Freedom is a most disappointing text.
Tackles the hard question........2007-07-02
This work spends a little time on the basic points of limited government and policies of libertarianism and anarchism. However, most of the work is spent trying to explain the hard questions of national defense and police protection in a stateless society.
David Friedman is successful is laying out the viewpoint of the anarcho-capitalist. The reader may or may not be convinced of the feasibility of his proposals(I wasn't and I bet most people likewise will find his proposals unlikely to succeed.) Nevertheless, the book is well worth the read for the clear and concise way it lays out this difficult political viewpoint.
The book is quick to the point and a quick read. The reader is not inundated with frivolous facts but is given the philosophy in a nutshell, take it or leave it fashion. The author recognizes the shortcomings and instead of dodging the questions meets them head on. For this, he should be commended. The book is a quick read and accessible to anyone and is well worth the read.
A true classic.......2007-06-21
Whether you agree or not with David Friedman, you will learn a lot from reading this book. David doesn't duck any of the hard questions, and even on the most difficult issues, such as eliminating government defense, he will make you think. In the end, even those who oppose what Friedman has written will have a much better understanding of their own positions in the end.
Brilliancy in the line of Mises and Rothbard.......2007-06-08
Dare I say it? Is he not only the heir of those esteemed gentle men, but in fact having not squandered the family millions, he has expanded the business? Yes, he has. I just love the book. Without the all-too-easy examples that all opposing camps would make, but well though-out cases and situations, he strongly makes the case for the market in general, and Capitalism in particular.
Why Buffalo-pucky Rises to the Top, and what to do about it!.......2007-01-25
Friedman's rather utilitarian approach to the issue of public goods shows how government and monopoly work to produce bad law as a public good, saying "It is no more than a slightly exuberant exaggeration to say that a government functions properly only if it is inhabited exclusively by devils"(p 217). He shows how under the monopoly conditions of government, the "worst get on top".
Friedman shows that under the system of corporate statism we all suffer under today, just law is a public good and bad law is really special interest law and can therefore be viewed as a private good. Friedman says that folks spend more time acquiring private goods than they do public goods because the benefit of a private good is whole whereas the benefit of a public good is divided amongst others. As a result, government overproduces bad law and underproduces good law.
Friedman's solution is to bring about conditions where law is bought and sold under market conditions. In that way, the bad law becomes a public good while the good law become a private good. For the reason given in the previous paragraph, Friedman postulates that good law will be overproduced and bad law underproduced.
In this imagined scenario, of course, there are no corporations. Corporations are creations of the state and these artificial persons have no place in a free market.
Book Description
In this new book, Ulrich Beck and the journalist Johannes Willms engage in a series of accessible conversations that reveal and explore the key elements in Beckrsquo;s thought. Ulrich Beck is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential contemporary social thinkers. His work on risk society and his more recent writings on globalization and individualization have put him at the forefront of contemporary debates. These conversations succeed in shedding new light on these major themes as well as providing an insight into some of the commitments and beliefs that underlie them. This new book presents Beckrsquo;s ideas in an extremely clear and lucid manner, and is thus ideal for anyone seeking to come to grips with Beckrsquo;s work.
Book Description
"Myth America" exposes the lag of major American institutions behind the demands of the 21st century and the reinforcement of this lag by the media and schools that miseducate the public. The author shows how the priorities of these institutions are undermining rather than achieving ecological sustainability and social justice.
Corporate power is driving public policy and Americans are propagandized in the name of education to believe that capitalism is the basis for a democratic society. Foreign policy then projects self-righteous myths to justify world dominance and threatens the future of humanity. The search for strategies to gain public control of these dangerous currents is interwoven throughout the book.
Customer Reviews:
The god that failed...........2006-05-30
Anti-capitalist mantras that have been spouted long before (and often more eloquently) than Boyer.
In response to previous reviewers: "State-capitalism" is an oxymoron. Capitalism, politically, is the seperation of State and economy. If it involves the State, it's not capitalism--the term you're groping for is "corporatism", which capitalists reject whole-heartedly. So check your premises before coming down on others for misusing terms.
To equate economic power (the power of persuasion) and political power (the power of the gun) is to understand neither.
Next, two points: 1)Democracy is the god that failed (in L. Rockwell's words). Democracy is tyranny of the majority--a system wherein the rules are determined by whichever group manages to muster up the majority of voters. It is the legalized persecution of the minority. 2) Chomsky's abysmal scholarship actual makes Boyer easier to stomach than Chomsky (though, by no means, more right).
Lastly, I agree with the "kid's review". This book is riddled with almost every textbook logical fallacy out there: appeal to authority, red herring, appeal to pity, ad hominem, strawman--it just goes on and on.
So, save your money unless your looking for a study in how to fail in offering a logically consistent defense of poorly thought-out ideas.
To "the Kid" and others who misuse terms..........2006-05-30
This book offers nothing new, and what it does say has been said better, for instance, by Michael Albert.. Particularly in his new book, "Realizing Hope." But for those who want a simple overview of the inherent problems of capitalism, this book will do.
Several vital points: Corporate capitalism is indeed a problem, but it is not the same thing as "state capitalism." State capitalism is capitalism controlled, regulated, or organized by the state, but today's corporate capitalism is under various corporations' control with the state "backing it" because cooperation's are more powerful than any government!
It should be made clear that capitalism has built into it a hierarchal power structure that whether controlled or wielded about by Exxon-Mobil or Washington, it is the direct opposite of democracy.
Also, state socialism is not the same thing as state capitalism either. The post-Stalin USSR and modern China were/are state capitalisms under the facade of Marxism. BUT, the USSR and China, under Stalin and Mao, were indeed state socialist nations - Even though those nations got rid of capitalism under those two leaders, they failed because they were still highly centralized - which led to dictatorship styled governments.
Michael Albert, and others like Noam Chomsky, rightly argue that the best way to attain real democracy is to do away with state socialism/communism AND all capitalism.
Not educational material........2006-03-13
If you are doing an essay on logical fallacies, this book is your one-stop-shop for example after example. You will find appeal to pity, appeal to authority, appeal to the masses--anything but the straight scoop with the relevant information necessary to form rational conclusions. After you have done your homework, you will find that Boyer's complaints against "capitalism" are actually the problems caused by our gradual movement toward "state capitalism" (a subset of socialism), which are the results of the inevitable mismanagement by government of any economic system.
If you enjoy listening to old men telling war stories and ranting about things far above their intellectual levels of competence, then this book is mildly entertaining. Therefore, I give it two stars instead of just one.
Excellent Summary of the Way the World Really Is.......2004-04-22
William Boyer presents an excellent summary of how things really are in our country and how the domination by corporations in just about every aspect of our lives, including the media, has led to mass ignorance by the American people. Although there is alot of disheartening facts presented in this book, I have found it to be quite optomistic as well because a lot of what has occured in this country can be changed with proper education of the American people. Institutions were invented and can be reinvented is Boyer's perspective. I have been moved to become more active in our polical system because of this book.
Resolute in its mission to forewarn society.......2004-01-12
In Myth America: Democracy vs. Capitalism, William H. Boyer (Professor Emeritus in Philosophy, University of Hawaii) persuasively denounces the very real and alarming growth of corporate power in America, which has increased and proliferated to such an extent that it routinely co-opts the agendas of the media and of public schools in to serve the almighty dollar and the corporate bottom line. From an obvious erosion of democratic fundamentals, to self-righteous "myths" of foreign policy used to justify abusive world dominance, Myth America is resolute in its mission to forewarn society of dangerous present trends and conditions so that an horrific anti-democratic future can be avoided for our children and our grandchildren. A highly recommended and welcome addition to Political Science reading lists, Myth America is also available in a hardcover edition.
Book Description
This pathbreaking interpretation of the slaveholding South begins with the insight that slavery and freedom were not mutually exclusive but were intertwined in every dimension of life in the South. James Oakes traces the implications of this insight for relations between masters and slaves, slaveholders and non-slaveholders, and for the rise of a racist ideology. Features 43 period illustrations, including drawings made by Clark.
Customer Reviews:
Academic, well-researched, thought-provoking.......2007-04-03
After reading Oakes' The Ruling Race (which I highly recommend), I decided to give this book a try. This book is just what the title says, an interpretation of the Old South. Specifically, Oakes looks at slavery and how it affected the antebellum South politically, socially, and economically. He also spends the last chapter discussing the differences between the South before the Civil War and after Reconstruction, disagreeing with historians who have stated that sharecropping was just like slavery and politics was exactly the same. In most of Oakes' arguments, he is very persuasive. Oakes brings a lot of new ideas to the table, but all of them are based upon meticulous research so he deserves kudos for that.
The only negative about the book is that it can be scholarly and academic, which means, at times, it does not read like a page turner, but at other times it really does read easy and flows well. Oakes' writing style helps, though.
Overall, while this is certainly not a definitive look at the antebellum South (and Oakes says as much in the preface), it can serve as an excellent intro or open even the most seasoned Southern historian's eyes to some new possibilities. Well worth the time.
Excellent view of the Old South.......2000-03-11
I was really impressed with the unbelievable wealth knowledge Professor Oakes brings to light in this book. I recommend it be used in high schools throughout the country. Everyone should have access to this information. I knew him from Northwestern University. Thanks Dr. Oakes.
Product Description
The relationship between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism has been a subject of scholarly study for centuries. In this volume, John Robbins argues that political and economic freedom are the results of Biblical Christianity. Political freedom and capitalism arose in Northwestern Europe and North America after the Christian Reformation of the 16th Century, and they are unique in world history. The nations and peoples that heard and accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ as proclaimed by the Reformers quickly became free and prosperous on a scale previously unimaginable.
Some historians and economists have denied any causal connection between Christianity, freedom, and capitalism, but they are able to deny this connection only by ignoring clear philosophical, economic, legal, sociological, and historical evidence demonstrating that Christianity is the source of capitalism. Laissez-faire capitalism, which is the only moral economic system, is in fact the economic system of Christianity.
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- Constitution of Liberty (Routledge Classics S.)
- Country of My Skull: Guilt, Sorrow, and the Limits of Forgiveness in the New South Africa
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- Democracy for the Few
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- Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, Revised Edition
Books Index
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