Should I first read Rothbard’s Man, State, and Economy or Mises’ Human Action? I will have study guides for both.
You can read them, but you won’t understand most of it.
Well that’s a pretty poor assumption to make. Maybe you didn’t understand most of it.
Bboy, firstly welcome to Mises.org [:)]
Have you read any other introductory texts?
I would recommend read MES first, with study guide.. as it was first meant to be a textbook for Human Action, but became it’s own treatise. In my opinion, it is easier to understand and comprehend.
Takes a long time, as with any thing worthy - to digest it all though. Good luck.
I actually haven’t read either of them, but I believe Robert Murphy when he says that Mises expects you to understand Bohm-Bawerk’s capital theory.
Yep. Rothbard doesn’t assume you know anything.. besides English? [:D]
Good advice - for myself, at least.
I have been pursuing independent study here at mises.org for…I don’t know…maybe going on 5 years - might be more. I have learned a lot - at least as much as a old dog could reasonably expect without a professional trainer.
Human Action has been going in fits and starts. The Study Guide is a must-use item. Even at that I have had a hard time making room in ‘life’ to do what it takes to attack the study as it ought to be done.
Persistence pays off in the long run. Patience is a virtue. Peace of spirit prepares the mind for reception.
These three are difficult to achieve even within an academic setting. Outside of acadamia the pressure is off, so I think they are easier to achieve but harder to make room for.
For starting out I had a lot more success with Epistemological Problems of Economics, Theory and History, For A New Liberty, and The Ethics of Liberty.
I had good success reading Man, Economy and State early on, but it is definately one that I need to go back through with the study guide.
ty to for the welcome conza88
i have been reading Austrian economics for quite some time and understand much of the material.
I just decided recently that I’m ready to tackle Rothbard and Mises’ treatises on economics.
I will read both, but i was just wondering which one would be better to start off with; if it would be easier, for example to understand mises if i first read rothbard.
I would read MES before Human Action, though I would read Callahan’s Economics for Real People as an intro to Austrian econ before moving on to these heavier treatises.
alright thx for the suggestions
Read ‘Economics for real people’ by Gene Callahan first, then try to comprehend MES (with the study guide) for the first time. Then HA for the first time. And then onwards.
It took me about a year to understand all the nuts & bolts of MES. I would advice not to focuse on 1 book at the time, but try reading a lot of different things.
If you commute, and you have a way to play digital media in your car, I would take this approach:
- Listen to Rothbard’s Economics 101 lecture series 3 times.
- Listen to the audiobook of Human Action 2 or more times.
- Read Man, Economy, and State.
In Human Action, you won’t get all the nuts and bolts you get in MES (like, for existence, Rothbard’s full exposition on price formation). But too many nuts and bolts are onerous the first time around. With Human Action, you’ll have the key principles eloquently expressed, and see the might edifice of the market economy loom up before your eyes, even if you don’t see in precise detail how every single girder joins the next. Human Action is much more enjoyable to listen to than MES is to read, so I would start with Mises first. Even if you’re not familiar with the historical allusions, you can still understand their import, because his expression is so forceful. And each time you listen to it, its teachings will become more clear. Just make it the Official Soundtrack of your car, and you won’t be sorry!
Do not start with these things, economics for real people then economics in 1 lesson then man state and the economy
In my opinion you should read, like the guy above me said, a few genuinely introductory texts first.
Economics for Real People - Gene Callahan
Economics in One Lesson - Henry Hazlitt
How an Economy Grows and Why it Doesn’t - Irwin Schiff [no jokes, it’s actually really good and fun]
An Introduction to Austrian Economics - Thomas C. Taylor
Those are all good ones I’ve read.
I haven’t read either Human Action or Man, Economy and State but the reason I haven’t is because I can get them for free off my ex-Austro-libertarian (now apolitical neo-fascist, although somehow a quite lovely person) friend.
Combined with the economics-maths mush they’re feeding me here, my good economics has almost withered away (most of the good reading I did was about a year ago). But I shall re-kindle it.
Anyway, read the basics first, and you’ll find the more complex stuff easier.
Absolutely read Man, Economy, and State first. It’s what got me started and I can’t think of a better way to approach Austrian economics than from the ground up, beginning with the fundamental axioms and deriving the entire economic edifice from them. Sure, there’s a lot of nuts and bolts, but it’s an enjoyable ride from beginning to end and seems far better organized than Human Action (which I am halfway through). That said, I’m loving Human Action now, though I can’t imagine what I’d be getting out of it had I not started with Rothbard.
Woah, time out. lol
Can you pm an explanation to that one?
Sorry don’t want to threadjack.
Same here.
wow lots of good advice, again ty to all for the suggestions, i will start by reading Economics for Real People, then Thomas Taylor’s Intro, listen to Economics 101 by rothbard, and finally begin on MES.
But now i want to know what Thedesolateone means by ex-Austro-liberatarian…because the way i see it is that once you realize the state is evil, theres no going back. It’s analogous to The Matrix in my opinion.
Yea I think he’s got some s’plaining to do.
I also recommend Economics for Real People (Callahan) and Economics in One Lesson (Hazlitt). Very easy to read, very easy to understand. And better yet, Economics for Real People is available free online.
haha I lol’ed irl after reading ur quote from Watchmen.