Murphy’s study guides for Human Action and Rothbard’s Man, Economy and State.
My attitude toward the Mises Institute is a complex and nuanced thing. I am, fundamentally, a Rothbardian — and that means the Austrian school when it comes to economics. At the same time, though, I advocate applying libertarian political and economic theory with a “left sensibility” that embeds Rothbardian thought in anti-state libertarian socialism — an approach shaped by Carson’s historical revisionism. Even though Carson is not an Austrian economist, his work in that area doesn’t contradict Austrian theory.
So, yes, I generally support the Mises Institute’s work even though they habitually display “rightist” attitudes that make me want to wince. Even with all of its flaws, we need the Mises Institute — warts and all. They are simply without peer in the field of advancing Austrian economics. In the present economic crisis, in particular, the Mises Institute has done a great deal of the “heavy lifting” in popularizing the notion that the bailouts are basically a ripoff of the productive class by a parasitic elite; one already fat and bloated with wealth sucked vampirically from regular Americans via the Federal Reserve and its inflationary monetary policy.
Everybody has bills to pay and the Mises Institute is no different. Lew Rockwell recently published a new appeal for funds that showcases Robert Murphy’s new study guide for Mises Human Action. Human Action is an ox-stunner of a book, one which nobody has ever previously succeeded in writing a study guide for. Kudos to Murphy on the accomplishment.
What I would suggest for left libertarian readers who want to majorly delve into Austrian economic theory is that they may find Rothbard’s Man, Economy and State (complete with companion volume Power & Market in the Scholar’s Edition) more approachable and (simultaneously) more “developed” in subtle ways, having been written later by the anarchist Rothbard as opposed to the classical liberal Mises.
Not only is Man, Economy and State available free online, so is the study guide for it, also written by Murphy. If looking over the electronic version convinces you that a hardcopy of the book would be worthwhile, it’s available to buy in paperback for only $10.
If you’re looking for a lighter weight intro to Austrian economics, the Mises Institute makes Taylor’s An Introduction to Austrian Economics available free online.
Sophisticated readers capable of distinguishing between the concept of a completely free market economy and actually existing capitalism should find these books helpful, even if the authors don’t make such a distinction or do so incompletely.
Murphy, by the way, is also the author of the short, easy to read, eye-opening and highly recommended Chaos Theory: Two Essays on Market Anarchy.
If you agree with me that the Mises Institute is worthy of some support, you can click here to donate. Their Paypal button is at the very bottom, so scroll down on that page if it’s what you’re looking for. I slipped them $5 just now. Consider doing the same.
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I understand your feelings about the Mises Institute. I appreciate it a great deal, but I think I’ve evolved past it in some ways. At the same time, though, I don’t think I ever could have evolved without it.
You should also mention the very excellent Economics for Real People, written by Robert Murphy’s sometimes co-writer and blogging partner, Gene Callahan.
I’m personally not going to be giving any money, but I encourage anyone who feels to do so to do so, and to those who feel that they shouldn’t I encourage them to not do so.
Honestly there are no alternatives to the LvMI at the moment that put forward sound economic science, consistent political theory, and vast collections of free resources. At the moment.
[...] Why do you falsely say Mises habitually “displays” “rightist” attitudes that “make you wince”? They are libertarian, not conservative at all. What are you [...]