So what is the greatest book about capitalism in your opinion? I suspect people are going mention LvM’s Human Action and Rothbard’s MES. What about Reisman’s Capitalism? What about Rand’s Atlas Shrugged? Or is there some other book you consider to be even greater?
I would also like to know what do you think about Reisman’s Capitalism in general. Go ahead and share your thoughts.
Human Action
Atlas Shrugged is a work of Pulp Fiction / Science Fiction, so no
Reisman believes in some objective theory of value and doesn’t think opportunity costs exist from what I gather. So most certainly not, if that’s the case
Other good books: Capitalism Socialism and Democracy and Theory and History
Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal by Rand is quite good.
The only good thing about Atlas Shrugged is that it makes all other books seem shorter and easier to read by comparison. There is no way I will read it again or recommend it to anyone. I Think I would rather take the time to read one of her philosophy books rather than have her use her “characters” as rather preachy mouth pieces.
I am around half way through MES at the moment and am really enjoying it. Rothbard’s writing is very clear and the book so far (except for a few typos) is very easy to understand. Murphy’s study guide is also great.
I will probably read HA next, although I may take a break and read something a bit lighter first.
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations ~Smith 1776
Im just kiddin, but someone had to mention it.
How can you reject a book you haven’t read on account of an argument you aren’t familiar with?
How can you reject a book you haven’t read on account of an argument you aren’t familiar with?
I own(ed) it, have read it once (or much of it) about 4 or 5 years ago. Moreover, I have seen a few arguments in favor of Reisman from time to time. While this is far from an expert opinion I do have at least some familiartity. Even so if the ultimate conclusion is no such thing as objective value, it is false…but I thought I implied in my post I wasn’t completely certain about his ultimate conclusions.
Oh, plus doesn’t he state that economics is about wealth and not human action?
- Reisman believes in some objective theory of value and doesn’t think opportunity costs exist from what I gather. So most certainly not, if that’s the case
No, he does not. He’s just not very clear when he writes that Böhm-Bawerk’s cost of production theory of price is still based on marginal utility, and I think he underestimates just how important marginal utility still is in Böhm-Bawerk’s theory – but, he does not believe in an objective theory of value.
EDIT: Regarding his rejection of Misesian praxeology and the notion that economics is a study of human action, you’re right that that may be considered a deficiency, but I don’t think it’s a particularly fatal one.
Call me a weirdo but to me the best book about Capitalism is Japan’s Motorcycle Wars by Jeffrey Alexander. All the texts cited are great but they do not focus on true capitalism in action, in the real world. The part about Honda Motor Corporation is particularly inspiring since it has it all: a brilliant engineer coming up with designs to satisfy the largest number of customers, capital accumulation, risk taking, government intervention… You won’t find theory in it, just the naked facts.
I second that, though not kidding.
