Economics Questions

Re: Which of these do you think I should read (and in what order)?

Albert — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 20:49:42 GMT

Sorry David, did not mean to insult. I did not intend to imply Milton Friedman in the "wrong" category.

I idolise Milton Friedman. I am guilty of just assuming Keynes and Krugmans opinions are just about always wrong in my book, but I therefore challenge everybody to make those declsions for themselves.

I find it fascinating, enlighting and challenging to read your opinions or your fathers and see if I can have a coherent conversation about what I agree and disagree with. It tells me if I have been studying with enough attention.

Even you and your father or prominent Austrians like Mises and Hayek do not all agree on everything. There is a lesson in that.

Re: Which of these do you think I should read (and in what order)?

Neodoxy — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 20:40:06 GMT

"That amused me--it takes it for granted that, before learning to understand those positions you already know they are wrong and need to be attacked. The poster assumes away the possibility that one might conclude that it was the position one started with that was wrong."

David, I don't think you understand how things work around here. Lord Mises and his favored disciples Hayek and Rothbard clearly know the proper economic path. Your father and his ill-bred Keynesian ilk were merely too imputant to understand the truth of the matter.

Re: Which of these do you think I should read (and in what order)?

David Friedman — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 20:24:12 GMT

"You need to be able to verbalize their wrong opinions and notice the difference between Keynesians, Chicagoans and Austrians, before you will be able to attack it."

That amused me--it takes it for granted that, before learning to understand those positions you already know they are wrong and need to be attacked. The poster assumes away the possibility that one might conclude that it was the position one started with that was wrong.

Re: Which of these do you think I should read (and in what order)?

Albert — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 20:19:58 GMT

There's not a right way and a wrong way to learn economics, just do it and never stop.

Sometimes you should study history and sometimes you should study philosophy too.

Personally I like the audiobook recordings and hundreds of recorded lectures available for free on this website, right from the mouths of Rothbard and Mises. I don't necessarily listen from beginninmg to end, I pick the chapters that interest me at the moment. Also if you hear or read something in the news that you know was covered in one of the books, go and reread that chapter. It makes more and different sense when you reread it.

Do not limit yourself to Austrians, even read Keynes and Krugman so you know how the other half thinks. Watch "Free to Live" by Milton Friedman and see if you can spot where we agree and where he disagrees with Austrians. You need to be able to verbalize their wrong opinions and notice the difference between Keynesians, Chicagoans and Austrians, before you will be able to attack it.

Re: Which of these do you think I should read (and in what order)?

Ark de Grande — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:15:11 GMT

Not sure how to get edits to go through on this site, so I'll write this here: I'm also thinking of adding L. Albert Hahn's Common Sense Economics to the list of books to potentially read. Anyone recommend that one?

Re: Which of these do you think I should read (and in what order)?

Ark de Grande — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:43:52 GMT

I've been following #1 pretty much already. That's one of the reasons I got interested in these particular books (they're not huge like Man, Economy, and State).

Yeah, I knew Sowell wasn't Austrian. I'm pretty new to everything, so I'm not even sure if Austrian economics is as awesome as some people make it out to be.

Re: Which of these do you think I should read (and in what order)?

Smiling Dave — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:37:58 GMT

Get free PDFs or epubs of the ones you can, start a few pages from all of them. The one that hooks you is the one you want.

Rules of Thumb:

1. The shorter the book, the better.

2. Rothbard has smooth style.

3. Callahan is nutjob, so his book is suspect.

4. Sowell is not Austrian, but not a fool.

Re: Which of these do you think I should read (and in what order)?

Ark de Grande — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:32:10 GMT

Also thought of maybe checking out some of David Friedman's stuff (he's not an Austrian, so I'm guessing it'd be different). Is Menger's Principles of Economics worth reading? Or would it be redundant if I read a lot of these?

Which of these do you think I should read (and in what order)?

Ark de Grande — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:25:47 GMT

I've already read Economics in One Lesson, but that was several months ago.

Essentials of Economics - Faustino Ballve

An Introduction to Austrian Economics - Thomas C. Taylor

Lessons for the Young Economist - Robert Murphy

The Concise Guide to Economics - Jim Cox

Making Economic Sense - Rothbard

Free Market Economics: A Reader - Bettina Bien Greaves

Free Market Economics: A Syllabus - Bettina Bien Greaves

Economics for Real People - Gene Callahan (I recall one person in this forum criticizing this book for the way it lays out the Austrian theory of the business cycle, I think? That guy probably knows who he is)

Economic Policy - Von Mises

What Has Government Done to Our Money - Rothbard

An Introduction to Economic Reasoning - David Gordon

I'll take other recs. These have been compiled because they're the ones I can find on this site. I know some people really like Schiff's How An Economy Grows and Why It Crashes and Sowell's Basic Economics (have no idea what edition to get if I should try and tackle this one).