Capitalism: A Condensed Version

by Arthur Seldon, Milton Friedman (Foreword), James Bartholomew (Commentary)

Arthur Seldon';s new book is a tenacious and elegant ';celebration'; of capitalism despite its faults. Traditionally, socialist critics have contrasted capitalism as it is in the world we have known with socialism as it is envisaged in a world they have yet to demonstrate is possible. It creates a false debate that socialism must win and capitalism cannot win whatsoever its achievements. Furthermore, it confuses the people';s choice between the ';capitalist hell'; they know and the ';socialist heaven'; they are promised. Using the methodology of the critics of capitalism in the opposite direction, the book places socialism as it is against capitalism as it could be. Arthur Seldon argues that neither system is without faults and failures, but that an informed choice is properly made by assessing the degree to which they can be corrected. The book argues that, unlike socialism, the waknesses of capitalism are not inevitable nor fundamental to the system it creates and concludes that it is with capitalism that the choice must lie. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Genres: Economics

83 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1990

About the author

Arthur Seldon was the Editorial Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs from the late 1950s until the later 1980s. At the IEA, he directed a publishing programme that included some of the world’s most eminent economists, including FA Hayek and Milton Friedman. Arthur Seldon was a prolific author and one of the most influential economists of the late twentieth century.

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arthur Seldon, were he alive today, would be proud of this little version of his book and the masterful way it has been condensed without losing any of the flavor. Moreover, the fact that, like Hayek before him, his work could be easily included in such as the Reader's Digest would delight him even more.

To those who are poor, on limited incomes Arthur Seldon's book is a like a beacon shedding light on despair that it is possible for people to do things for themselves and get out from under the burden of the dead hand of the state.