Which videos best promote Libertarianism?

Miscellaneous Newbies
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1

Good Morning,

As a way to educate myself, and fellow members of my recently initiated Libertarian Society, I plan to recommend various books, websites and videos.

[Books]
• For a New Liberty, by Murray N. Rothbard
• The Ethics of Liberty, by Murray N. Rothbard
• Speaking of Liberty, by Lew Rockwell
• The Road to Serfdom, by Friedrich von Hayek

[Websites]
• http://mises.org/
• http://lewrockwell.com/
• http://economics.org.au/
• http://la.org.au/

[Videos]
• Free To Choose, a BBC Series hosted by Milton Friedman

Could you please help me refine my list, particularly the [Videos] section?

Thank you,

Samuel Marks

Degree: Bachelor of Information Technology
Emphasis: Majoring in Software Technology

Political Philosophy: Libertarian Laissez-faire Anarcho-Capitalism
School of Thought: Austrian

2

http://www.vforvoluntary.com/videos

3

I always recommend the videos of Milton Friedman on Phil Donahue’s show to people who are being newly introduced to libertarianism. They’re on YouTube.

4

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/73426.html Makes a great primer!

5

Hi Samuel,

Videos were an essential tool for me in learning about Austrian theory and Libertarian ethics. I’ve listed a bunch of links to great YouTube videos below.

But first I thought I’d make a few other suggestions:

I think the inclusion of the ‘Free To Choose’ series can be a good starting point for those who are unconvinced of the general case for free markets ( I own the video series and the book), but Friedman’s inconsistencies on applying free-market principles to money and banking were troubling for me (this is actually what lead me to discover the Mises Institute). Consequently, Friedman’s explanation of the Great Depression in ‘Free To Choose’ is way off-target. For me, the answers to the money and banking problems were easily explained in What Has Government Done to Our Money? by Murray Rothbard. For those concerned with understanding the recent financial-crisis, Meltdown by Tom Woods is excellent.

Videos:

Tom Woods: Applying Economics to American History - first 17 mins are really good. Explains how the real economy grows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-LJ3wZjD4I&feature=PlayList&p=CC603A7CA6542473&index=0

Time Magazine: How the Federal Reserve (doesn’t) Work - This is good for a laugh. This is how the Fed is historically portrayed in the Media.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3U3G2V9R44

Money Banking and the Federal Reserve (Mises Media). Made in the mid 1990s; explains fractional-reserve banking, the Fed, the gold standard, etc. About 40 mins long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLYL_NVU1bg

Is Limited Government an Oxymoron? - This helped push me from Minarchism towards Anarcho-Capitalism:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpmqy9tC4uI

Hans-Herman Hoppe - Economics and Law. This is an excellent starting point in understanding the basic logic behind Libertarianism and Anarcho-Capitalism:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI-RUPQ9RdA

Art Carden: Production and the Firm. Outstanding economics lesson. More of the basic logic behind libertarianism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMMPgBtOR8E

There are so many more videos I could suggest, but have to get going, so I’ll post more later! Hope these are helpful.

-Bob

6

“George Ought to Help” is a great little video. Extremely slick, and thought provoking. Asks the viewer a few questions on the morality of using the State as a means to helping others. Finishes by inviting the viewer to do a websearch on terms like “voluntaryism” “libertarianism” and “stateless society”.