What should be read first?

Economics Economics Questions
1

I recently bought a variety of books from the LvMI and I’m eager to start reading them but I’m somewhat unsure where to start.

Here is the complete list of books that I bought:

The LvMI Home Study Course

(1. Great Austrian Economists, Randall Holcombe
2. Against Leviathan, Robert Higgs
3. An Introduction to Economic Reasoning, David Gordon
4. Introduction to Austrian Economics, Thomas Taylor… Visa mer
5. Antitrust: The Case for Repeal, D.T. Armentano
6. Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and Other Essays, by Mises et al.
7. Chaos Theory, Robert Murphy
8. Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth, Ludwig von Mises
9. Economic Science and the Austrian Method, Hans-Hermann Hoppe
10. Economics for Real People, Gene Callahan
11. Economics in One Lesson, Henry Hazlitt
12. Economics of Liberty, ed. Lew Rockwell
13. Education, Free and Compulsory, Murray Rothbard
14. Theory and History, Ludwig von Mises
15. Two Essays by Ludwig von Mises, Ludwig von Mises
16. What Has Government Done to Our Money?, Murray Rothbard)

  1. Human Action, The Scholar’s Edition, Ludwig von Mises
  2. Human Action Study Guide, Robert P. Murphy
  3. Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market (The Scholar’s Edition), Murray Rothbard
  4. Man Economy and State - Study Guide, Robert P. Murphy
  5. The Road to Serfdom, F. A. Hayek
  6. Principles of Economics, Carl Menger
  7. Capital and Interest, Eugen von Boehm-Bawerk
  8. The Positive Theory of Capital, Eugen von Boehm-Bawerk
  9. Treatise on Political Economy, Jean-Baptiste Say
  10. Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought (vol 1), Murray Rothbard
  11. Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought (vol 2), Murray Rothbard
  12. The Theory of Money and Credit, Ludwig von Mises
  13. Socialism, Ludwig von Mises
  14. Critique of Interventionism, Ludwig von Mises
  15. Critics of Keynesian Economics, Henry Hazlitt
  16. Bureaucracy, Ludwig von Mises
  17. Requiem for Marx, Yuri N. Maltsev
  18. Keynes the Man, Murray Rothbard
  19. The Real Lincoln, Thomas J. DiLorenzo
  20. Where Keynes Went Wrong, Hunter Lewis
  21. Control or Economic Law, Eugen von Boehm-Bawerk
  22. Men of Wealth, John T. Flynn
  23. The Regulated Consumer, Mary Bennett Peterson
  24. Secession, State & Liberty, David Gordon
  25. The Politics of Unemployment, Hans F. Sennholz
  26. Democracy: The God That Failed, Hans-Hermann Hoppe
  27. Against Intellectual Monopoly, Michele Boldrin & David K. Levine
  28. Deflation and Liberty, Guido Jorg Hulsmann
  29. Energy: The Master Resource, Robert L. Bradley & Richard Fulmer
  30. Thinking as a Science, Henry Hazlitt
  31. The Philosophy of Ownership, Robert LeFevre
  32. Prosperity and Depression, Gottfried Haberier
  33. What You Should Know About Inflation, Henry Hazlitt
  34. Ethics of Money Production, Guido Jorg Hulsmann
  35. International Monetary Economics, Michael A. Heilperin
  36. Competition and Entrepreneurship, Israel M. Kirzner
  37. The Mystery of Banking, Murray Rothbard
  38. The Roots of Capitalism, John Chamberlain
  39. Lectures on Political Economy, Knut Wicksell
  40. The Politics of Obedience, Etienne de la Boetie
  41. The Ethics of Liberty, Murray Rothbard
  42. Economic Freedom and Interventionism, Ludwig von Mises
  43. Jefferson, Albert Jay Nock
  44. Hamilton’s Curse, Thomas J. DiLorenzo
  45. Banking and the Business Cycle, C.A. Phillips
  46. Basic Principles of Economic Value, Eugen von Boehm-Bawerk
  47. Organization of Debt into Currency, and Other Papers, Charles Holt Carroll
  48. Not a Zero Sum Game, Manuel F. Ayau
  49. Planning for Freedom, Ludwig von Mises
  50. Privatization of Roads and Highways, Walter Block
  51. The Conquest of Poverty, Henry Hazlitt
  52. Foundations of the Market Price System, Milton M. Shapiro
  53. Free Banking, Larry J. Sechrest
  54. The Capitalist & The Entrepreneur, Peter G. Klein
  55. Early Speculative Bubbles, Douglas E. French
  56. Elementary Lessons in Logic, William Stanley Jevons
  57. Choice in Currency, F. A. Hayek
  58. A Free Market Monetary System, F. A. Hayek
  59. Ethics of Redistribution, Bertrand de Jouvenel
  60. Interest and Prices, Knut Wicksell
  61. Value, Capital, and Rent, Knut Wicksell
  62. Capital and Production, Richard von Strigl
  63. Prices and Production, F. A. Hayek
  64. Ludwig von Mises on Money and Inflation, Bettina Bien Greaves

And I plan to read them in the following order:

  1. Thinking as a Science, Henry Hazlitt (I’ve read half of it so far)

  2. Elementary Lessons in Logic, William Stanley Jevons (I’ll probably reread Henry Hazlitt’s book after this one)

The LvMI Home Study Course

(3. Great Austrian Economists, Randall Holcombe
4. Against Leviathan, Robert Higgs
5. An Introduction to Economic Reasoning, David Gordon
6. Introduction to Austrian Economics, Thomas Taylor… Visa mer
7. Antitrust: The Case for Repeal, D.T. Armentano
8. Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and Other Essays, by Mises et al.
9. Chaos Theory, Robert Murphy
10. Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth, Ludwig von Mises
11. Economic Science and the Austrian Method, Hans-Hermann Hoppe
12. Economics for Real People, Gene Callahan
13. Economics in One Lesson, Henry Hazlitt
14. Economics of Liberty, ed. Lew Rockwell
15. Education, Free and Compulsory, Murray Rothbard
16. Theory and History, Ludwig von Mises
17. Two Essays by Ludwig von Mises, Ludwig von Mises
18. What Has Government Done to Our Money?, Murray Rothbard)

I’m not sure which one I’ll should read after this.

One alternative is to start with Carl Menger’s Principles of Economics or Jean-Baptiste Say’s Treatise on Political Economy in some kind of chronological/historical order (with Carl Menger → Eugen von Boehm-Bawerk → Ludwig von Mises → F.A Hayek or Murray N. Rothbard). I could also start with the most recent and general book and work my way backwards in time: Murray N. Rothbard’s Man, Economy and State → Ludwig von Mises Human Action and so on.

Henry Hazlitt writes in his Thinking as a Science that one should start with the most important and comprehensive book in the field (a recent one if necessary). What do you think about this reading list, how would you do and why?

//Patrik

2

I would probably take a very different order, but I don’t know what your purpose in learning this is or any specific interests. I would read a section, or a few pages a day of Human Action, along with whatever else. It isn’t a book that you absorb in one reading, but I think it’s important to read early. Also, I would save Jevons for way later. Get a more recent logic book, or there is probably plenty of free stuff online.

3

You should post your library: https://forum.freecapitalists.org/t/your-austrian-library/8962

4

Thanks for your answer to my question!

My purpose in learning this is to get a deeper understanding of economics and use it in various political activities. Would you prefer reading Human Action before Rothbard’s Man, Economy and State? (judging by the pdf-versions of these books Man, Economy and State seems to be more easily read while still being comprehensive and advanced)

My original plan was to start off with the home study course as a preferable introduction in economics. I started to read Henry Hazlitt’s Thinking as a Science to maximize my efficiency in learning the essence of the other works and so far it seem to be a wise first choice (even Javons was thought as a mean to achieve this goal).

5

Thanks for the tip! I will definitly post it there as soon as it arrives.

Off Topic: Do anyone know the purpose of verifying the answers to this thread?

EDIT: I think I understand the concept of verifying answers now, I’m sorry for the confusion.

6

Wow you make me jealous :frowning:

7

What I would probably do is weigh the books, or count the pages. And read them starting with the shortest one first. If two books were roughly the same size, I’d go for the readable one first. This usually means Rothbard over Mises, and newer books over older ones.

Then, when I actually dipped in and found that I like one author more than others, I’d read his stuff precedence, maybe ploughing through all his works before doing anything else. In my case that’s Hazlitt first.
Since Mises seems to speak a foreign language [ever heard of “heteronymous”?], I’d probably put him off as long as possible. Or maybe, like other posters have suggested, do a couple of pages a day on the side of his books.

To get off to a good start, I’d begin with economics in one lesson and what has govt done to our money, and any book that has introduction in the title.

Bottom line, make it fun and as easy as possible.

And wow would I love to live next door to you.