In Rothbard's magnum opus, he takes you step-by-step from an economy consisting solely of one person--termed a Robinson Crusoe Economy--to today's economy, consisting of billions of people, showing that the same laws of economics apply equally to both scenarios. He deduces what he terms the "true laws" (1) of economics from the simple praxeological axiom that every man acts. This is done "in a logical, cause-and-effect" (1) manner.
Throughout the book, Rothbard--in a very scientific manner--shows the reader that although they may believe that a planned economy would be the most organized system, it is instead a purely free market that would result in the most efficient and beneficial economy, while socialism and interventionism by default cause chaos in an economy. He also differentiates the free market from the government-controlled market by showing that both parties to a transaction in a free market are always made better off--else they would not have entered into the transaction in the first place (6). On the other hand, all transactions in a planned economy are based on coercion and thus hurt at least one of the parties to the transaction, since that party would have preferred to not have entered into the transaction.
Other notable contributions made by Rothbard throughout his book are his analysis of the business cycle (2), the monopoly 'problem' (3), IP (4), as well as his discussion of the origins of money and prices (5).
Libertarian Take-away
This book, though quite formidable-looking to the average lay person in terms of its sheer size, can be quickly comprehended and understood. Rothbard, unlike Mises in his Human Action, assumes that the reader has no previous economic knowledge. Thus, this book is much more highly recommended to the beginner in economics than Human Action, since it is written for the layman.
By the end of the book, the reader is nearly all-knowing when it comes to economics. This is due to the fact that Rothbard dissects the economy step by step and covers almost every topic related to economics that one can imagine. If one is looking for a one-stop-shop for everything economics, they must read this book.
Citations and Links:
Book (free-online): https://mises.org/library/man-economy-and-state-power-and-market
Study Guide (free-online): https://mises.org/library/study-guide-man-economy-and-state
1. Page 786
2. Pages 852 and 994
3. Pages 651 and 688
4. Page 747
5. Page 624 (highly summarized)
6. Pages 614, 624, 946
A CPA focusing on investing and "death and taxes" so you can focus on life and production.
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Friday, December 11, 2015
Equilibrium - A Libertarian Review
Set in an Orwellian future, the elite forces of an all-powerful government are on a mission to find and destroy any last remnants of human emotion. This is due to emotions and all forms of artistic expression having been outlawed since the founding of the state of Libria after WWIII, which was supposedly caused by men having negative emotions and passions.
The main character, Preston, is one of Libria's most skilled and ruthless assassins and destroyer of art. However, things begin to change when he is forced to kill his partner after witnessing him reading a book of poetry and then getting told that emotions are what make life worth living. After this incident, Preston fails to take the emotion-negating drug and thus starts to experience feelings of his own. This leads to his ambitious young partner becoming suspicious of his being a "sense offender".
Preston eventually meets with the head of the resistance to Libria and its drugs--the Underground. They enlist Preston to assassinate the head of the state, Father, since he is one of the few people capable of being granted audience with the man. Preston pledges to try his best. However, his young partner and Father are keen to the scheme and set Preston up. Although Preston falls into the trap, he ends up killing his way through his partner and an onslaught of guards, and making it into Father's office to confront him one-on-one.
The movie ends with Preston getting the better of Father after a titanic battle between the two men. Preston, from Father's office, then overlooks the state of Libria being "liberated" by the Underground.
The allure of this film to the libertarian is in its representation of an all-tyrannical state, and its effects on the individuals within that state. Though this sort of state rule seems quite unlikely in this day and age, one can perhaps find many parallels between those methods of rule with those found in the world today. America and the other states may not be as outwardly tyrannical in an Orwellian and Librian fashion, but they are indeed as tyrannical in more of an insidious Huxlian manner--which may be much harder to form a resistance against.
The main character, Preston, is one of Libria's most skilled and ruthless assassins and destroyer of art. However, things begin to change when he is forced to kill his partner after witnessing him reading a book of poetry and then getting told that emotions are what make life worth living. After this incident, Preston fails to take the emotion-negating drug and thus starts to experience feelings of his own. This leads to his ambitious young partner becoming suspicious of his being a "sense offender".
Preston eventually meets with the head of the resistance to Libria and its drugs--the Underground. They enlist Preston to assassinate the head of the state, Father, since he is one of the few people capable of being granted audience with the man. Preston pledges to try his best. However, his young partner and Father are keen to the scheme and set Preston up. Although Preston falls into the trap, he ends up killing his way through his partner and an onslaught of guards, and making it into Father's office to confront him one-on-one.
The movie ends with Preston getting the better of Father after a titanic battle between the two men. Preston, from Father's office, then overlooks the state of Libria being "liberated" by the Underground.
The allure of this film to the libertarian is in its representation of an all-tyrannical state, and its effects on the individuals within that state. Though this sort of state rule seems quite unlikely in this day and age, one can perhaps find many parallels between those methods of rule with those found in the world today. America and the other states may not be as outwardly tyrannical in an Orwellian and Librian fashion, but they are indeed as tyrannical in more of an insidious Huxlian manner--which may be much harder to form a resistance against.