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What to Read Next?

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CloverFella Posted: Sun, Sep 5 2010 8:17 PM

So far, I've read...

 

Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul

What has Government Done for Money? by Murray Rothbard

 

I'm a novice in the realm of economics with no formal training. Any suggestions on what I should tackle next? I'm really curious about "Anarchy and Law" but I think it might be a bit much yet.

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What's your field of interest? 

- Economics for Real People - Gene Callahan and An Introduction to Austrian Economics by Taylor are two introductory must reads. 

- For a New Liberty is a good book as a general introduction to libertarianism. 

I could you all sorts of reading tips from broad general ones to (relatively) specific ones; but in order to that, I need some more info on what you care about.

Anarchy and the law is a good book; which combines introductionary stuf with more advanced stuf. 

The state is not the enemy. The idea of the state is. 

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Thanks Adrian.


I'm interested in the idea of Austrian Economics (obviously =D) and libertarianism. I'm also trying to educate myself on the plausibility of anarcho-capitalism. All the while, thuroughly critiquing the validity of the Constitution (which has always been my guiding ideal over the years, all the reason I should be extra critical of it).

I don't think I have a solid enough ground in general econ and Austrian School to say I have a specific field of interest just yet. I suppose the general grasp of the concepts would be a good start. I'm familiar with the business cycle, but reading more on it wouldn't hurt.

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End the Fed is always a good book to read for an introduction into the Federal Reserve system. It actually brought up a few things about history that I didn't know. Make sure to go into the "Media" section of this website too, if you haven't already. There's some really good stuff on there about economics in relation to our history.

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I'll do that Brian. I have a wealth of material from the book catalog on the site for my Stanza app on my iPod. I'll check the media section too though. Thanks.

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Given that; I would just repeat the two economic books (Callahan and Taylor). I would also add Bob Murphy's recent book 'lessons for the young economist'. All of the books are available on the mises website in pdf - and 2 of them in the mises store. (I don't think Bob Murphy's book is available yet.) I would start with those and then go on to more advanced ones; so you get a good grasp of what it's all about. 

If you are interested in the plausibility of anarcho-capitalism; anarchy and the law is a very good idea. Linda & Morris Tannehills their 'market for liberty' is a pretty good one too; that focuses solely on a anarcho-capitalist legal system. Bruce Benson 'the enterprise of law' is more of a historical/empirical one; which is actually pretty good on theory too. Skoble his 'against the state: an argument about government' is pretty short; but makes one enormous important point (the possibility of getting out of the Hobbesian problem.) I'm also very found of Shaffer his 'bounderies of order'. Also Narveson his 'introduction to political philosophy' is really awesome too; because he tries to speak to a general public, but does a really good job problemizing certain concepts that are associated with statism. I'm a really big fan.

Criticizing the constitution; Spooner his 'no treason; the constitution of no authority' is a really famous one. 

 

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Thank you for all of the suggestions. The "Lessons for the Young Economist" is the book used for the Econ 101 course starting in a couple days on the Mises Academy right?

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Depends.  What's your other background?  What fields have you studied before?

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Naevius replied on Sun, Sep 5 2010 9:22 PM

How has no one brought up Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson yet? You can't get a better introduction to Austrian economics than that.

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I really enjoyed Rothbard's The Mystery of Banking. That gave me a very solid foundation of the banking system. Though I haven't read it cover to cover yet, America's Great Depression is also very good. It talks about the Austrian Theory of the Business Cycle, analyzes some critiques of it, and also attempts to refute other possible explanations to the business cycle. It's also a very detailed account of the period leading up to the crisis and then Hoover's response. 

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I don't have much of a background other than the aforementioned books I've read. Everything I know is what I was able to find on the web to be honest. I haven't retained anything from high school and I do not possess a college education. So I guess that is hard for me to describe. My background consider novice to government and economics.

 

The Austrian School is the only school of thought I've placed any attention on.

 

Economics in One Lesson - I read about that. Maybe I will start there. Thanks.

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JAlanKatz replied on Sun, Sep 5 2010 10:14 PM

Then I think "Economics in One Lesson" and "Economics for Real People" would be ideal.  As for politics, I'd suggest Bob Murphy's charming "Chaos Theory."

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Naevius

How has no one brought up Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson yet? You can't get a better introduction to Austrian economics than that.

 

Cause as an introduction to Austrian economics it's not that good; it's an introduction to an Austrian take on policy conclusions. It doesn't discuss the relationship between theory and history, the ERE, capital structure, entrepreneurship, the relationship between interest and profit, individual action, the evolution of money, emergens of prices, economic calculation and appraisement, etc. in any substantial way that gives you a good introduction to Austrian _economics_. That's why I think the book isn't good for someone who wants to learn Austrian economics. 

The state is not the enemy. The idea of the state is. 

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