I find it difficult to read/listen to Ludwig Von Mises sometimes because he goes on for a really long time about certain subjects. I know his first language wasn't English but like I am reading/listening to Human Action right now... and like I just want to know like I should just take the general ideas from him? It's just that he goes on and on... and like I find it troublesome to pay attention to everything. I mean it makes sense... but should I really pay attention to the specifics? I pay attention to his arguments and that... but like... it's a bit long at parts.
Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? I could really use some help. It would help me reading this book and other books by him I plan to read in the future. He's a great author... but I find him tedious at parts.
SilentXtarian: I find it difficult to read/listen to Ludwig Von Mises sometimes because he goes on for a really long time about certain subjects. I know his first language wasn't English but like I am reading/listening to Human Action right now... and like I just want to know like I should just take the general ideas from him? It's just that he goes on and on... and like I find it troublesome to pay attention to everything. I mean it makes sense... but should I really pay attention to the specifics? I pay attention to his arguments and that... but like... it's a bit long at parts. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? I could really use some help. It would help me reading this book and other books by him I plan to read in the future. He's a great author... but I find him tedious at parts.
Mises has a tendnecy to go into very involved reasoning on specific subjects, either because he sees them as holding the key to more general elements of praxeology or because they were relevant at the time of his writing. If you just want to get the basics of the Misesian economic theory down read Rothbard's Man, Economy and State. Mises work is much more like Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, a work of both general philosophy and specific subjects troubling the field at his time; Rothbard is more a textbook.
“Laws: We know what they are, and what they are worth! They are spider webs for the rich and mighty, steel chains for the poor and weak, fishing nets in the hands of the government.” - Proudhon
Human Action isn't something to be taken lightly. It is, after all, a treatise. And a treatise is a treatise is a treatise. I'd suggest you sit down with your copy of Human Action, a composition notebook, and a pencil, and start taking notes.
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krazy kaju: Human Action isn't something to be taken lightly. It is, after all, a treatise. And a treatise is a treatise is a treatise. I'd suggest you sit down with your copy of Human Action, a composition notebook, and a pencil, and start taking notes.
Absolutely. Dealt with properly, it is a brilliant book, but it will simply confuse you if you don't take your time to understand each part and the whole it makes.
It helps to care about it..., and to come at it with respect and in anticipation of the possibility of amassing deep insights that most people you will ever meet will not have grasped.
Where there is no property there is no justice; a proposition as certain as any demonstration in Euclid
Fools! not to see that what they madly desire would be a calamity to them as no hands but their own could bring
nirgrahamUK:It helps to care about it..., and to come at it with respect and in anticipation of the possibility of amassing deep insights that most people you will ever meet will not have grasped.
Sadly I am stuck in a local that doesn't even know who John Stuart Mill is. Woe is me.
'Men do not change, they unmask themselves' - Germaine de Stael
If you're listening anyway, listen to Rothbard's Economics 101(from the Media section) first: over and over again. When you've internalized that, then listen to Human Action.
Also, have you read something easier than Human Action? Something like Economics for Real People by Gene Callahan? Human Action wasn't written for the beginner. Perhaps an introduction like Callahan's book would make Human Action more readable.
krazy kaju: Also, have you read something easier than Human Action? Something like Economics for Real People by Gene Callahan? Human Action wasn't written for the beginner. Perhaps an introduction like Callahan's book would make Human Action more readable.
I've read a few Austrian books already actually. I've read Economics in One Lesson, Principles of Economics, a few Ron Paul books... and I've read Omnipresent State: (I forget the title- it's by Ludwig Von Mises). I didn't expect this book to be so challenging. I understand the first half of it... I understand what he says about an evenly rotating economy... but now it's starting to get kind of complicated. Are you suggesting that I put it down and read some other more introductory work? I'm also taking a basic economics class this winter so that might help.
I have my copy on hand either in my car or around the house. This way, whenever I think to myself "I think I need to improve my understanding of topic X" I just go to that section of the book and skim through and slowly read the parts that interest me or fill the gaps in my understanding.
J. Grayson Lilburne: If you're listening anyway, listen to Rothbard's Economics 101(from the Media section) first: over and over again. When you've internalized that, then listen to Human Action.
I've been doing that. The audio could be better. Maybe if someone gave the lecture over it could sound a little nicer.
SilentXtarian: I've read a few Austrian books already actually. I've read Economics in One Lesson, Principles of Economics, a few Ron Paul books... and I've read Omnipresent State: (I forget the title- it's by Ludwig Von Mises). I didn't expect this book to be so challenging. I understand the first half of it... I understand what he says about an evenly rotating economy... but now it's starting to get kind of complicated. Are you suggesting that I put it down and read some other more introductory work? I'm also taking a basic economics class this winter so that might help.
There's lots of stuff available online. Look up the topic that confuses you so you can get a better idea of the concept. Taking an introductory course in economics can help as well. I'd consider supply and demand curves and the dynamics they imply are very important.
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EDIT: Going through these readings might be helpful: http://mises.org/misesuniv.asp
SilentXtarian:I've read Economics in One Lesson, Principles of Economics, a few Ron Paul books... and I've read Omnipresent State
Ron Paul is not an authority on economics by any means. His books are political, not economic. Econ in One Lesson is a good book for beginners who are uninterested in economics, it is not, however, a good introduction to economics itself. I haven't entirely read either Principles of Economics (I'm assuming you're referring to Menger's book) or Omnipresent State, so I cannot really comment on either.
SilentXtarian:Are you suggesting that I put it down and read some other more introductory work?
Maybe. Soaking in more economics could make Human Action more understandable.
Maybe have a shot at Econ for Real People. You can find it online for free. Then, sit down to HA with a notebook and a pencil. Read and reread the parts you have difficulty with.
I think you should try David Gordon's Introduction to Economic Reasoning. It is doing wonders for me.
Read the coherently organized Human Action Homepage in synchronization with the audio book. Refer to the HA study guide after completing each chapter. Works like a charm for me.
If you desire a structured approach to Austrian Economics, I recommend the Home Study Course prepared by Robert Murphy.
I was finally able to get the torrent finished that has all the multimedia files from the Mises Institute, but it is somewhat unorganized. Does anyone know what folder the Economics 101 lectures are labeled as? Or what folder they are in?