It's a Jetsons World: Private Miracles and Public Crimes

by Jeffrey Tucker

It's a Jetsons World: Private Miracles and Public Crimes

We are surrounded by miracles created in the private sector, particularly in the digital universe, and yet we don't appreciate them enough. Meanwhile, the public sector is systematically wrecking the physical world in sneaky and petty ways that really do matter.

Jeffrey Tucker, in this follow-up to his Bourbon for Breakfast, draws detailed attention to both. He points out that the products of digital capitalism are amazing, astounding, beyond belief-more outrageously advanced than anything the makers of the Jetsons could even imagine. With this tiny box in hand, we can do a real-time video chat with anyone on the planet and pay nothing more than my usual service fee. This means that anyone on the planet can do business with and be friends with any other person on the globe. The borders, the limits, the barriers-they are all being blasted away.

The pace of change is mind-boggling. The world is being reinvented in our lifetimes, every day. Email has only been mainstream for 15 years or so, and young people now regard it as a dated form of communication used only for the most formal correspondence. Today young people are brief instant messaging through social media, but that's only for now, and who knows what next year will bring.

Oddly, hardly anyone seems to care, and even fewer care about the institutional force that makes all this possible, which is the market economy. Instead, we just adjust to the new reality. We even hear of the grave problem of "miracle fatigue"-too much great stuff, too often. Truly, this new world seems to have arrived without much fanfare at all.

And why? It has something to do with the nature of the human mind, Tucker argues, which does not and

This book will inspire love for free markets - and loathing of government.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Politics, Cultural, Philosophy, History

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Jeffrey A. Tucker is Editorial Director for the American Institute for Economic Research. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Austrian Economics Center in Vienna, Austria, Honorary Fellow of Mises Brazil, founder and Chief Liberty Officer of Liberty.me, an adviser to blockchain application companies, past editorial director of the Foundation for Economic Education and Laissez Faire Books, founder of the CryptoCurrency Conference, and author of many thousands of articles in the scholarly and popular press and eight books in 5 languages. He speaks widely on topics of economics, technology, social philosophy, and culture.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, probably due to confirmation bias. The book is a collection of essays on various topics always presented with a libertarian and Austrian economic viewpoint. The book probably won't make many converts as it seems to be written to the audience of like minded people. Since there are a wide range of libertarian viewpoints, some may find objection to Tucker's treatment of intellectual property if they haven't carefully considered the ethics of patents and copyrights.

While this book is not written in an apologetic style, readers may be intrigued (or repulsed) by the author's viewpoints enough to dig deeper. There are plenty of other books that will provide a solid defense of Tucker's views and most are available from Mises.org as audiobooks or ebooks or free download.

The book was fun, modern and brings many current events and technological trends into the light while considering the benefits of the free market and the harm of interventionist policies. If you were/are a fan of the Jetson's you will enjoy the way the author relates the social, political and philosophical views of the cartoon to the modern age.

I didn't find much new material that challenged my thinking, but other readers less familiar with libertarian views might find some to consider. The book is well rounded in the variety of topics it covers and often provides "The rest of the story" as Paul Harvey might say.

[Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a free audio book on mises.org. The book is a compilation of articles written about various economics topics with a focus on the role of technology and complex market relationships on everyday life. The author is very passionate about lauding the effects of these two economic phenomena, effects which most people take for granted and which are produced by private sector effort. The author is astounded by the miracle of affordable goods which were only dreamed about when the Jetsons cartoon aired in the early 1960's (i.e. mobile global skype, ubiquitous broadband internet, perfectly preserved potato chips thanks to highly engineered bags, etc.), examples of the prosperity that ancient man could never have imagined. He argues that the state (statism) only inhibits greater innovation and prosperity, calling it an "anachronism" which would plunge society into rigid, authoritarian, "wonkish" rule and technological darkness by stifling innovation. According to the author, the technology sector of the economy is the least regulated and is a picture of what innovation and product improvement would look like in other sectors if they were less regulated. The author goes so far as to say that we would have flying cars (something the Jetsons have that we don't) if government did not have a hand in transportation, diverting manufacturers effort to political issues instead of letting them innovate to please consumers. I enjoyed the author's style and energy in his written articles and decided to listen to his book. Some of the audio files are clipped short or missing and I would have liked the book to be longer, but overall I enjoyed it.

[Shane Hawk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly enlightening collection of essays written for the Everyman. Tucker covered a lot of topics including regulations, innovations, intellectual property, militarization, entrepreneurship, globalization, etc. His informal style is akin to blogs or short YouTube clips covering random things each day under the umbrella of freedom. This is a great book for challenging teenagers.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

My favourite chapters were about Home-made Ice-Cream and the myth of the voluntary military.

If you want to know why your toilet doesn't flush properly - Read this.

[Hyzer Anhyzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the chapters against intellectual monopoly.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will awaken you to the oppressive nature of the regulatory nation state in which we live. According to Tucker, the US Code, for example, is now more than 365 1000+ page volumes. It contains rules and regulations that govern every area and aspect of our lives. It respects no jurisdictional boundaries. Tens of thousands of more pages are added every year. Its oppressive nature is sometimes difficult to discern because you cannot see what might have been in its absence. It drains our lives of value and efficiency by banning or over-controlling helpful products and processes in myriad ways. It depletes the strength and determination from the inventor and entrepreneur. It is to be credited with our gradual return to the hunter gather economy that provides such disservice to the third world. Tucker provides an arsenal of arguments against those who believe the State is God and who, unwittingly, pine for its total domination over the people of the world. Such people, like every NPR commentator I've every heard (and the current administration in Washington), see the state and its rules and regulations as a club to solve every problem. By their actions, they appear to believe that Cuba, Venezuala, and North Korea are forms of utopia to be emulated.

Hang on, there's a knock at the door. I'll be right back...

[JC Hewitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read most of these before before picking up the book. Regardless, it was pleasurable to spend so much time in the mental company of Jeffery Tucker. In a few decades, I'm confident that many millions more readers will appreciate his life's work.

I don't think I have ever encountered anyone before who loves the workings of the market as much as he does. He has a talent for praising what is best about human creativity, collaboration, and invention while condemning general venality, statism, and corporate corruption.

There's a great chapter in here in particular arguing against intellectual property that I appreciated especially.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeffrey Tucker is an excellent writer as this collection of essays demonstrates. He has a knack for pointing out the extraordinary in the things we often take for granted. Technology that was only imagined at the time the Jetsons cartoons were created is now a part of our everyday lives. Tucker explains the role that market economics and government policies played in promoting or suppressing the advancement of this technology. Spoiler alert (sarcastic)... Freedom and liberty promote and government policies suppress technology.

The audiobook version can be downloaded for free at mises.org. The audiobook is read by Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio.

[Geir · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is truly an eye-opener in so many ways!
- It provides very, very interesting facts, which I was not aware of before (mostly of public crimes).
- It is a refreshing book for a political "nerd" like me, which usually reads the "dry" stuff.
- It brings enthusiasm and good spirit to the liberty loving reader.
- It brings many interesting practical and theoretical thoughts to the surface.
- It is very well written.

I only reserve star nr. 5 because I felt some of the material was familiar from another book by the same other, and because some sections were a bit lengthy, although always interesting.

[Rick Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was better than Tucker's previous collection of essays, Bourbon for Breakfast. Whether or not you're on board with the whole an-cap philosophy, you should still read this book for a taste of how the simplest things in life are made better with less government regulation and, on the other hand, how the simplest things in life are ruined by government interference.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways I enjoyed this book more than the author's first. He stuck to his theme and didn't include the useless essays on culture that plagued his first essay collection. His essays on the myth of voluntary military and on the drug war against Sudafed were among the strongest in the book.

(Review will be continued later.)

[Zohair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was planning to read it, but the Mises institute made a brilliant audio version with Jeff's voice. A very enjoyable few hours finished the book. Perfectly libertarian. Filled with Tucker's wild eyed wonder at the world around him. I even started watching the Jetsons again! Brilliant!

[Dan Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read that will gives powerful, everyday reasons on why we should believe that freedom, and not coercive government control, will give us better lives.

[Maurice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeff Tucker, as always, brilliant!

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear well-reasoned libertarian book.

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good start into his catalog, really liking this guy.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you adore Jeffrey Tucker like I do, then I know you'll enjoy this collection of his essays on the miracles of the market that permeate our everyday life.

[Michael Kaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another collection of Jeffrey Tucker's amazing essays.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

So now I join the armies of people who are demanding an end to a system that threatens our way of life in the most fundamental way.