The Rise and Fall of Society: An Essay on the Economic Forces That Underlie Social Institutions

by Frank Chodorov, Frank S. Meyer (Foreword)

This volume is an essay on the rise and fall of societies in general. Includes economics, war, social services, competition, trade, reform, corruption and much more.

Genres: Politics, History, Economics, Nonfiction, Philosophy

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is without a doubt, and by considerable margin, the finest text I have ever read on the nature of human beings, politics, and economics. Loaded with lean wisdom and simple truth, this should be required reading as early as secondary school. Which, clearly, is why it isn't.

For those interested in economics and politics, it's a no-brainer to read this classic. For others, it will probably read drily, but you will definitely learn a lot, so if you aspire to that, the destination is well worth the journey.

[Ned · Rating 5 out of 5]

Producer v. Predator, choose a side.

"Man, the producer, must have freedom, while man, the predator, puts limitations on freedom, and this inner dichotomy is the plot of his life story."

The preceding quote strikes me as key, and a good summary of the book.

[Zachary Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Rise and Fall of Society is a short book arranged into easily manageable chapters of around ten pages apiece but it nevertheless gives a strong exposition of the libertarian viewpoint and the individualist view of human life. His early sections on economics are solid but will not give much new information to the reader familiar with free market economics. The latter half of the book dealing with the relations between society and the state features more original and stronger material.

[Gerardo Caprav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sin llegar a ser un libro disruptivo, tiene un lenguaje y conceptos muy interesantes, que tiene claras influencias del de El Estado de Franz Oppenheimer y Nuestro Enemigo el Estado de Albert J.Nock, una pluma de la vieja old right americana poco conocida hoy en día.

[Daniel Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

If someone were to read this along with The Mainspring of Human Action & The Income Tax: Root of All Evil, they would have a very good foundation for understanding basic economics and how they apply to sociopolitical institutions. This is a really great book!

[Christoffer Skuthälla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!