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Making Economic Sense
A hefty tome by this master economist. Here he is communicating with the public about economic theory and policy. No economist has ever written so clearly about subjects usually wrapped in mystery. Even when discussing exchange rates, interest rates, and central banking, Rothbard is clear and persuasive. That's what makes this book so wonderful, and so dangerous to the purveyors of economic fallacy and those who enforce their ideas on the public. This wonderfully lucid work could become the next Economics in One Lesson .
439 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1995
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309 people want to read
About the author
Murray N. Rothbard
282 books1,114 followersMurray Newton Rothbard was an influential American historian, natural law theorist and economist of the Austrian School who helped define modern libertarianism. Rothbard took the Austrian School's emphasis on spontaneous order and condemnation of central planning to an individualist anarchist conclusion, which he termed "anarcho-capitalism".
In the 1970s, he assisted Charles Koch and Ed Crane to found the Cato Institute as libertarian think tank.
In the 1970s, he assisted Charles Koch and Ed Crane to found the Cato Institute as libertarian think tank.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 18, 2017
This book provides a sort of running commentary on American politics and economics in the last decade of Rothbard's life, from the mid-1980s to 1995. Its fascinating reading.
Rothbard was one of the foundational figures of the modern libertarian movement. So, it is not surprising that Bill Clinton gets a roasting here but so, also, do Ronald Reagan and George Bush. In fact, few politicians come out of it at all well. Even the epitaphs for Margaret Thatcher and Friedrich A. Hayek damn them both with faint praise amid much criticism.
Rothbard was a great writer of economics. You can follow his discussions of fiscal, monetary, and trade policy without a background in economics. These were rollercoaster years for the world economy, including the collapse of socialism, and Rothbard explains it all with clarity.
Most interesting to a current readership though might be the final essay, 'The November Revolution...And What to Do About It'. Here, Rothbard reflects on the November 1994 midterms which saw the Republicans take control of Congress and stop the Clinton presidency dead in its tracks. This article, with its talk of elites and mass resentment, is about the best exposition of 'populism' as you'll find. One of the best things I've read for understanding the Trump phenomenon, it was written 23 years ago about a different election.
Rothbard was one of the foundational figures of the modern libertarian movement. So, it is not surprising that Bill Clinton gets a roasting here but so, also, do Ronald Reagan and George Bush. In fact, few politicians come out of it at all well. Even the epitaphs for Margaret Thatcher and Friedrich A. Hayek damn them both with faint praise amid much criticism.
Rothbard was a great writer of economics. You can follow his discussions of fiscal, monetary, and trade policy without a background in economics. These were rollercoaster years for the world economy, including the collapse of socialism, and Rothbard explains it all with clarity.
Most interesting to a current readership though might be the final essay, 'The November Revolution...And What to Do About It'. Here, Rothbard reflects on the November 1994 midterms which saw the Republicans take control of Congress and stop the Clinton presidency dead in its tracks. This article, with its talk of elites and mass resentment, is about the best exposition of 'populism' as you'll find. One of the best things I've read for understanding the Trump phenomenon, it was written 23 years ago about a different election.
December 16, 2014
One of the most fascinating book I've read, written just before the death of Rothbard. Rothbard used witty humour to discuss the political climate at the time whilst addressing the issues facing USA's economy and liberty.
I simply love the writing style of Rothbard, very impersonal and humourous. But the point is that he makes perfect sense and made economics easy for advanced persons to read about and understand. A remarkable book, definitely a required reading for Libertarians.
I simply love the writing style of Rothbard, very impersonal and humourous. But the point is that he makes perfect sense and made economics easy for advanced persons to read about and understand. A remarkable book, definitely a required reading for Libertarians.
December 4, 2020
A very long book, and some of the chapters are very specific to certain events. However, I enjoyed the book and found it helpful. I don't think I'd recommend this one to a beginner in economics or libertarian philosophy.
I almost skipped the Postscript, but I'm glad I didn't. It may have been the best part of the book. Very relevant for where we find ourselves today.
I almost skipped the Postscript, but I'm glad I didn't. It may have been the best part of the book. Very relevant for where we find ourselves today.
February 16, 2021
Obowiązkowa lektura dla osób zaczynających przygodę z zupełnie przemilczaną na polskich uczelniach ekonomicznych myślą Austriackiej Szkoły Ekonomii. Dobre wprowadzenie do bardziej zaawansowanych tematycznie książek.
August 1, 2024
A COLLECTION OF ROTHBARD'S MONTHLY ESSAYS OF VARIOUS SUBJECTS
Murray Newton Rothbard (1926-1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School of economics, and a prominent figure in the Libertarian movement. He also wrote books such as 'Man, Economy and State,' 'Power and Market: Government and the Economy,' 'America's Great Depression,' etc. This book contains Rothbard's monthly essays in 'The Free Market,' a publication of the Ludwig von Mises Institute.
He argues that "I suspect that the great bulk of working women, i.e. those in non-glamorous careers, are only working to keep the family income from falling steeply... I suspect they would happily return to the much-maligned 'Ozzie and Harriet' family of the Neanderthal era." (Pg. 18) Later, he contends, "despite the hosannahs of the nation's liberals... Cesar Chavez's entire life turned out to be a flopperoo... The UFW has had it." (Pg. 140)
He asserts, "the Social Security system is the biggest single racket in the entire panoply of welfare-state measures ... The federal government taxes the youth and adult working population... and spends it on the boondoggles that make up the annual federal budget. Then, when the long-taxed person gets to be 65, the government taxes someone else---that is, the still-working population, to pay the so-called benefits." (Pg. 73)
He observes, "Ronald Reagan did NOT, despite the propaganda, 'cut taxes'; instead, the 1981 cuts in upper-income taxes were more than offset, for the average American, by rises in the Social Security tax... Every year after 1981, the Reagan administration agreed to continuing tax INCREASES, apparently to punish us all for the non-existent tax cut." (Pg. 106)
He argues, "There is... nothing wrong and everything right with insider trading. If anything, inside traders should be hailed as heroes of the free market instead of being apprehended in chains." (Pg. 181) He answers, "Many free-market advocates wonder: why is it that I am a champion of free markets, privatization, and deregulation everywhere else, but not in the banking system? The answer should now be clear: Banking is not a legitimate industry... so long as it continues to be a system of fractional-reserve banking: that is, the fraudulent making of contracts that it is impossible to honor." (Pg. 279)
These essays allow Rothbard to express himself on a wide variety of topics that are not addressed elsewhere in his voluminous writings, and will be of great interest to anyone interested in Libertarianism or Austrian economics.
Murray Newton Rothbard (1926-1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School of economics, and a prominent figure in the Libertarian movement. He also wrote books such as 'Man, Economy and State,' 'Power and Market: Government and the Economy,' 'America's Great Depression,' etc. This book contains Rothbard's monthly essays in 'The Free Market,' a publication of the Ludwig von Mises Institute.
He argues that "I suspect that the great bulk of working women, i.e. those in non-glamorous careers, are only working to keep the family income from falling steeply... I suspect they would happily return to the much-maligned 'Ozzie and Harriet' family of the Neanderthal era." (Pg. 18) Later, he contends, "despite the hosannahs of the nation's liberals... Cesar Chavez's entire life turned out to be a flopperoo... The UFW has had it." (Pg. 140)
He asserts, "the Social Security system is the biggest single racket in the entire panoply of welfare-state measures ... The federal government taxes the youth and adult working population... and spends it on the boondoggles that make up the annual federal budget. Then, when the long-taxed person gets to be 65, the government taxes someone else---that is, the still-working population, to pay the so-called benefits." (Pg. 73)
He observes, "Ronald Reagan did NOT, despite the propaganda, 'cut taxes'; instead, the 1981 cuts in upper-income taxes were more than offset, for the average American, by rises in the Social Security tax... Every year after 1981, the Reagan administration agreed to continuing tax INCREASES, apparently to punish us all for the non-existent tax cut." (Pg. 106)
He argues, "There is... nothing wrong and everything right with insider trading. If anything, inside traders should be hailed as heroes of the free market instead of being apprehended in chains." (Pg. 181) He answers, "Many free-market advocates wonder: why is it that I am a champion of free markets, privatization, and deregulation everywhere else, but not in the banking system? The answer should now be clear: Banking is not a legitimate industry... so long as it continues to be a system of fractional-reserve banking: that is, the fraudulent making of contracts that it is impossible to honor." (Pg. 279)
These essays allow Rothbard to express himself on a wide variety of topics that are not addressed elsewhere in his voluminous writings, and will be of great interest to anyone interested in Libertarianism or Austrian economics.
December 6, 2015
Making Economic Sense is a collection of articles written by Rothbard in the late 80s and early 90s, from the last years of his life. The articles are divided into several sections that include thematically related articles. This is not a serious work on economics but rather journalism. In this work you can read about criticism of socialism, environmentalists, fiat money, central banks etc. Many of the articles also applies to US policy at this time, which is disadvantage for foreign readers, because many of us do not know what happened at that time in the US.
An interesting aspect of this work is that Murray wrote those articles when he hooked up with paleoconservatism. I think that this book should be read by left-wing libertarians who know guru of anarchocapitalism only from Libertarian Manifesto, which was created at a time when Rothbard cooperated with the New Left. In this work you can found even fragments where Murray criticizes the libertarian movement itself (See proposition 187, which would exclude illegal immigrants from any State aid which Rothbard advocated and libertarians have criticized). You can also see that Murray criticizes anarcho-capitalism a bit (eg. Critique of the privatization of tax collection or libertarian fetish that everything whitch is private is good).
The book is not a particularly outstanding because it is simply journalism mainly on US policy from that period. I would recommend it to people who are already familiar with the earlier works of Rothbard. I recommend it especially to Talmudic libertarians who know Murray only from Libertarian Manifesto.
//polish
Ekonomiczny punkt widzenia jest zbiorem artykułów napisanych przez Rothbarda pod koniec lat 80 i z początku lat 90, czyli z ostatnich lat jego życia. Artykuły są podzielone na kilka działów, które zawierają powiązane tematycznie artykuły. Nie jest to jakaś poważna praca ekonomiczna, a raczej publicystyka Rothbarda. W tym dziele można poczytać o krytyce socjalizmu, ekologów, fiducjarnego pieniądza, banków centralnych itd. Dużo artykułów dotyczy także polityki USA z tamtych czasów, co dla polskiego czytelnika będzie wadą, ponieważ wielu z nas nie wie co się działo w tamtych czasach w USA.
Ciekawym aspektem tego dzieła jest to, że Murray pisał te artykuły kiedy związał się z paleokonserwatystami. Myślę że książka przydałaby się tak zwanym lewicowym libertarianom, którzy znają guru anarchokapitalizmu jedynie z Manifestu Libertariańskiego, który powstał w czasach, gdy Rothbard współpracował z Nową Lewicą. W tym dziele można znaleźć nawet fragmenty, gdzie Murray ostro krytykuje sam ruch libertariański(Patrz porpozycja 187, która miała wykluczyć nielegalnych imigrantów ze wszelkiej pomocy państwa, którą Rothbard popierał a libertarianie krytykowali). Widać też, że Murray trochę krytykuje anarchokapitalizm (np. krytyka prywatyzacji poboru podatków lub fetyszu libertarian, że wszystko co prywatne do dobre).
Książka nie jest jakaś szczególnie wybitna, ponieważ jest to po prostu publicystyka dotycząca głównie polityki USA z tamtego okresu. Polecam ją ludziom, którzy zapoznali się już ze wcześniejszymi dziełami Rothbarda. Polecam ją szczególnie talmudycznym libertarianom, którzy znają Murraya jedynie z Manifestu Libertariańskiego.
An interesting aspect of this work is that Murray wrote those articles when he hooked up with paleoconservatism. I think that this book should be read by left-wing libertarians who know guru of anarchocapitalism only from Libertarian Manifesto, which was created at a time when Rothbard cooperated with the New Left. In this work you can found even fragments where Murray criticizes the libertarian movement itself (See proposition 187, which would exclude illegal immigrants from any State aid which Rothbard advocated and libertarians have criticized). You can also see that Murray criticizes anarcho-capitalism a bit (eg. Critique of the privatization of tax collection or libertarian fetish that everything whitch is private is good).
The book is not a particularly outstanding because it is simply journalism mainly on US policy from that period. I would recommend it to people who are already familiar with the earlier works of Rothbard. I recommend it especially to Talmudic libertarians who know Murray only from Libertarian Manifesto.
//polish
Ekonomiczny punkt widzenia jest zbiorem artykułów napisanych przez Rothbarda pod koniec lat 80 i z początku lat 90, czyli z ostatnich lat jego życia. Artykuły są podzielone na kilka działów, które zawierają powiązane tematycznie artykuły. Nie jest to jakaś poważna praca ekonomiczna, a raczej publicystyka Rothbarda. W tym dziele można poczytać o krytyce socjalizmu, ekologów, fiducjarnego pieniądza, banków centralnych itd. Dużo artykułów dotyczy także polityki USA z tamtych czasów, co dla polskiego czytelnika będzie wadą, ponieważ wielu z nas nie wie co się działo w tamtych czasach w USA.
Ciekawym aspektem tego dzieła jest to, że Murray pisał te artykuły kiedy związał się z paleokonserwatystami. Myślę że książka przydałaby się tak zwanym lewicowym libertarianom, którzy znają guru anarchokapitalizmu jedynie z Manifestu Libertariańskiego, który powstał w czasach, gdy Rothbard współpracował z Nową Lewicą. W tym dziele można znaleźć nawet fragmenty, gdzie Murray ostro krytykuje sam ruch libertariański(Patrz porpozycja 187, która miała wykluczyć nielegalnych imigrantów ze wszelkiej pomocy państwa, którą Rothbard popierał a libertarianie krytykowali). Widać też, że Murray trochę krytykuje anarchokapitalizm (np. krytyka prywatyzacji poboru podatków lub fetyszu libertarian, że wszystko co prywatne do dobre).
Książka nie jest jakaś szczególnie wybitna, ponieważ jest to po prostu publicystyka dotycząca głównie polityki USA z tamtego okresu. Polecam ją ludziom, którzy zapoznali się już ze wcześniejszymi dziełami Rothbarda. Polecam ją szczególnie talmudycznym libertarianom, którzy znają Murraya jedynie z Manifestu Libertariańskiego.
December 31, 2014
This book was just wonderful. It is a collection of essays covering a lot of the 80's and early 90's. I was born in the 70's, so I was aware of events he discusses, but did not have deep knowledge. It was such an interesting spin on nearly everything I thought I knew. This author is always very readable, and this collection is no exception. His vast knowledge and enthusiasm also comes through.
August 11, 2013
Awesome book. It applied Austrian economics and applied them to real world events. It was a great way to learn history and economics at the together.
June 21, 2016
Rothbard é sempre delicioso de ler.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews