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.
Friday, November 27, 2015
The Quiet American - A Libertarian Review
This movie (1) is set in Vietnam during the 1950's when the French colonists were fighting the Ho Chi Mihn's Communist forces. Thomas Fowler--a British journalist in his 50s--is a correspondent for the London Times, covering the conflict. He meets a young American aid worker--Alden Pyle--who immediately falls in love with the former's Vietnamese mistress Phuong.
Although it seems that Phuong is in love with the older Fowler, she above all else desires to marry a Westerner so that she may move to their country with them. The problem is that Fowler is already married; and because his wife is a devout Catholic, he has not been able to divorce her and marry Phuong. This lead to Phuong leaving Fowler for Pyle, who she will be able to marry and then move to the U.S. with.
While all of this is going on, a "third power" (not French and not Communist) arises in Vietnam in the person of a General The. Pyle lets it be known that he supports this man and his cause since he believes that colonialism is not the answer to the problems in Vietnam, but Communism is not either. This seemingly noble idea runs into the fact that since the new general's rise to prominence, there has been an increase in atrocities (more like terror attacks) throughout the country that the West is blaming on the Communist forces. Fowler soon discovers that the "third power" The is behind these attacks, with American aide, in hopes of acquiring even more aid from the U.S.
Fowler then finds out that Pyle is not truly an aide worker, but really a CIA undercover operative sent to the country to find such a "third power" and assist in the rise of it, by means of the aforementioned terrorist attacks. Thus, Pyle had been complicit (directly or indirectly) in all of the killings of innocents that had been taking place. Once he finds this out, he agrees to assist his Vietnamese contacts assassinate Pyle.
The movie ends with Pyle getting stabbed and killed, and then Phuong returning to Fowler, who promises her that he "will never leave" Vietnam or her.
Links
Although it seems that Phuong is in love with the older Fowler, she above all else desires to marry a Westerner so that she may move to their country with them. The problem is that Fowler is already married; and because his wife is a devout Catholic, he has not been able to divorce her and marry Phuong. This lead to Phuong leaving Fowler for Pyle, who she will be able to marry and then move to the U.S. with.
While all of this is going on, a "third power" (not French and not Communist) arises in Vietnam in the person of a General The. Pyle lets it be known that he supports this man and his cause since he believes that colonialism is not the answer to the problems in Vietnam, but Communism is not either. This seemingly noble idea runs into the fact that since the new general's rise to prominence, there has been an increase in atrocities (more like terror attacks) throughout the country that the West is blaming on the Communist forces. Fowler soon discovers that the "third power" The is behind these attacks, with American aide, in hopes of acquiring even more aid from the U.S.
Fowler then finds out that Pyle is not truly an aide worker, but really a CIA undercover operative sent to the country to find such a "third power" and assist in the rise of it, by means of the aforementioned terrorist attacks. Thus, Pyle had been complicit (directly or indirectly) in all of the killings of innocents that had been taking place. Once he finds this out, he agrees to assist his Vietnamese contacts assassinate Pyle.
The movie ends with Pyle getting stabbed and killed, and then Phuong returning to Fowler, who promises her that he "will never leave" Vietnam or her.
Links
- http://www.amazon.com/The-Quiet-American-Michael-Caine/dp/B00005JLXB
- https://www.corbettreport.com/?s=gladio+b - For more on the staging of terrorist attacks in foreign countries by the CIA in the furtherance of their objectives, please research "Gladio B"
The Wisdom of Laotse - A Libertarian Review
I shall first discuss the layout of this book--the 1948 Modern Library edition (1). The editor has kept the original Laotse text at the beginning of each chapter; however, he then usually includes related writings on the topics by Laotse's greatest disciple, Chuangtse. These additional writings are very useful in expounding the ideas of Laotse, and in a manner than any regular layman can readily comprehend. This is not to say that all of Laotse's writings are hard to grasp, but they tend to be quite philosophical and may require many re-readings to fully comprehend.
The main tenant of Taoism is that all things in the universe originated from the same source, what the authors term "the Tao". The authors then spend the rest of the book spelling out the implications of this. Some of the main ideas expressed are as follows (in no particular order):
Libertarian Take-away
Murray Rothbard claimed that Laotse was the first libertarian (1). The reader of this book will be quick to find out why. Not only does the main tenant of Taoism--inaction--conform to the libertarian principle of the non-aggression principle, but many of Laotse's subsequent teachings also directly relate to that of libertarianism. For instance, Laotse greatly stresses the harm that "humanity and justice" practiced by the state must always lead to; while extolling the effects that a policy of Laissez Faire in state affairs would result in. He sums this idea up by asking the pertinent question of, "if one cannot take care of himself, how can he take care of the world?". He also touches upon the destructive and immoral nature of war and all forms of violence, going so far as to say that "the violent man dies a violent death". These are but two of many such nuggets of wisdom that the libertarian will find in this gold mine of a book. This book is highly recommended not only as additional ammunition in the libertarian reader's arsenal, but also due to the positive effects it can have on altering the way the reader looks at the world.
Links
The main tenant of Taoism is that all things in the universe originated from the same source, what the authors term "the Tao". The authors then spend the rest of the book spelling out the implications of this. Some of the main ideas expressed are as follows (in no particular order):
- Life and death is a natural cycle; thus, do not mourn one's passing
- All distinctions in the world are arbitrary; they result from differing viewpoints
- The world is in a constant state of change; worldly things are temporary in nature
- Worldly desires tend to lead to the destruction of character/one's self
- Inaction--allowing natural forces to take place--is how to realize one's highest self
- Be like water; benefit all, compete with none (be humble)
- Laissez Faire in government allows the citizenry to reach their fullest potential
Libertarian Take-away
Murray Rothbard claimed that Laotse was the first libertarian (1). The reader of this book will be quick to find out why. Not only does the main tenant of Taoism--inaction--conform to the libertarian principle of the non-aggression principle, but many of Laotse's subsequent teachings also directly relate to that of libertarianism. For instance, Laotse greatly stresses the harm that "humanity and justice" practiced by the state must always lead to; while extolling the effects that a policy of Laissez Faire in state affairs would result in. He sums this idea up by asking the pertinent question of, "if one cannot take care of himself, how can he take care of the world?". He also touches upon the destructive and immoral nature of war and all forms of violence, going so far as to say that "the violent man dies a violent death". These are but two of many such nuggets of wisdom that the libertarian will find in this gold mine of a book. This book is highly recommended not only as additional ammunition in the libertarian reader's arsenal, but also due to the positive effects it can have on altering the way the reader looks at the world.
Links
- http://www.amazon.com/The-Wisdom-Laotse-Modern-Library/dp/B000EETKIA
- https://mises.org/library/ancient-chinese-libertarian-tradition
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laotse
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuang_Zhou
Saturday, October 31, 2015
The Americanization of Emily - A Libertarian Review
This is a very powerful film (Link 1) about the realities of war. It is a drama, with its various dialogues about war, a comedy, with many downright outrageous scenes, and also romantic, with Charlie and Emily's relationship.
Set in the months before and including D-Day, Charlie is a "Dog Robber" for an American admiral of the Navy--someone who must see to it that the admiral is very well fed and taken care of during the war. The setting is in London, far removed from any battlefront. Emily is one of Charlie's drivers and initially finds him very distasteful since he both is chauvinistic as well as not remorseful in getting to enjoy many of the items that the average British citizen has not been allowed to eat or possess during the war. However, she eventually warms up to him after attending one of the parties that he set up for the admiral. From then on, the two fall madly in love with each other.
The two are seemingly quite different. Emily is quite proud of being a war widow and having a father, brother, and cousins that have also died in war. On the other hand, Charlie believes that there is nothing to be proud of in regards to a soldier's death; that it is truly living that one should admire and respect. This conflict comes to a head when Charlie is sent to film a live movie of the invasion of Normandy and believes that he will be able to avoid actually taking part. Emily believes that it is cruel and very dishonorable to wish to avoid the invasion while thousands of other soldiers will not be so fortunate. It is then that Emily breaks off their relationship.
After it is believed that Charlie dies on Omaha Beach, Emily comes around to Charlie's feelings about war. She lets it be known that she no longer is proud of death during war.
Throughout the film, there are several scenes that contain bitter criticism of war and how it is perpetuated. The most important of these is when Charlie meets Emily's mother (Link 2). During the exchange between Charlie and the mother, Charlie states that it is the public that are most to blame for continual war--not the generals and politicians at whom the finger is often pointed. He explains that it is the people and their glorification of war that makes it palatable to the public at large. For a current example of this, one only needs to look at how members of the U.S. military are treated--and often worshiped--by the average American. This is the main message of the film. To put it another way, war will never truly end so long as it is seen as honorable to fight and die for one's country.
It can clearly be seen that the world today--especially in America--is not even close to this philosophy. However, if more and more people begin to see war for what is truly is (Links 3-5), then we may one day achieve this noblest of ideals.
Links
Set in the months before and including D-Day, Charlie is a "Dog Robber" for an American admiral of the Navy--someone who must see to it that the admiral is very well fed and taken care of during the war. The setting is in London, far removed from any battlefront. Emily is one of Charlie's drivers and initially finds him very distasteful since he both is chauvinistic as well as not remorseful in getting to enjoy many of the items that the average British citizen has not been allowed to eat or possess during the war. However, she eventually warms up to him after attending one of the parties that he set up for the admiral. From then on, the two fall madly in love with each other.
The two are seemingly quite different. Emily is quite proud of being a war widow and having a father, brother, and cousins that have also died in war. On the other hand, Charlie believes that there is nothing to be proud of in regards to a soldier's death; that it is truly living that one should admire and respect. This conflict comes to a head when Charlie is sent to film a live movie of the invasion of Normandy and believes that he will be able to avoid actually taking part. Emily believes that it is cruel and very dishonorable to wish to avoid the invasion while thousands of other soldiers will not be so fortunate. It is then that Emily breaks off their relationship.
After it is believed that Charlie dies on Omaha Beach, Emily comes around to Charlie's feelings about war. She lets it be known that she no longer is proud of death during war.
Throughout the film, there are several scenes that contain bitter criticism of war and how it is perpetuated. The most important of these is when Charlie meets Emily's mother (Link 2). During the exchange between Charlie and the mother, Charlie states that it is the public that are most to blame for continual war--not the generals and politicians at whom the finger is often pointed. He explains that it is the people and their glorification of war that makes it palatable to the public at large. For a current example of this, one only needs to look at how members of the U.S. military are treated--and often worshiped--by the average American. This is the main message of the film. To put it another way, war will never truly end so long as it is seen as honorable to fight and die for one's country.
It can clearly be seen that the world today--especially in America--is not even close to this philosophy. However, if more and more people begin to see war for what is truly is (Links 3-5), then we may one day achieve this noblest of ideals.
Links
Friday, October 30, 2015
My Dinner with Andre - A Libertarian Review
I recently watched this very unique film (See link 4 below), and found much value in it.
Granted, the first thirty minutes is hard to get through--as it consists of Andre describing his wild journeys to Wally--but what follows is well worth the temporary pain. I nearly stopped watching it myself, but was urged on from what I had seen in a great YouTube clip (Link 1) from the film.
The conversation then shifts to a long exchange over what both characters believe to be the deeper meaning of life. Throughout this conversation, there are numerous claims advanced by both characters--especially Andre--that the viewer will no doubt find quite thought-provoking. The following statements from Andre are the ones I found to be the most valuable, in no particular order:
What I found to be the motif of this most interesting film is that in order to get the most out of life, one must take the time to look around and smell the roses, as opposed to thoughtlessly moving from one task to another. If one is always moving as fast as they can to get from A to B, they are not truly living. Awareness of life is the key to truly enjoying it.
Links:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl9wjhXqC98
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68JLWyPxt7g
3. https://www.corbettreport.com/?s=solutions
4. Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rc40jtqVVk&spfreload=10&hd=1
Granted, the first thirty minutes is hard to get through--as it consists of Andre describing his wild journeys to Wally--but what follows is well worth the temporary pain. I nearly stopped watching it myself, but was urged on from what I had seen in a great YouTube clip (Link 1) from the film.
The conversation then shifts to a long exchange over what both characters believe to be the deeper meaning of life. Throughout this conversation, there are numerous claims advanced by both characters--especially Andre--that the viewer will no doubt find quite thought-provoking. The following statements from Andre are the ones I found to be the most valuable, in no particular order:
- Going through life on autopilot--by habit alone--is NOT truly living; instead, some degree of mindfullness should be used in all aspects of life
- habit leads to a dearth of true feeling and thought
- comfort can lull you into a false sense of security
- Most human contact is indirect and superficial; we must instead attempt to truly get to know the other person
- See the whole person, not only what/who you wish to see
- people are constantly told about what is wrong with the world; try instead to provide them with solutions (link 3)
- work to live, do not live to work
What I found to be the motif of this most interesting film is that in order to get the most out of life, one must take the time to look around and smell the roses, as opposed to thoughtlessly moving from one task to another. If one is always moving as fast as they can to get from A to B, they are not truly living. Awareness of life is the key to truly enjoying it.
Links:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl9wjhXqC98
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68JLWyPxt7g
3. https://www.corbettreport.com/?s=solutions
4. Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rc40jtqVVk&spfreload=10&hd=1