The European Economy since 1945: Coordinated Capitalism and Beyond (Princeton Economic History of the Western World)

The European Economy since 1945: Coordinated Capitalism and Beyond (Princeton Economic History of the Western World)
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The European Economy since 1945: Coordinated Capitalism and Beyond (Princeton Economic History of the Western World)
Barry Eichengreen
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Future of Europe: Reform or Decline

Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism, and the Economics of Growth and Prosperity

The Primacy of Politics: Social Democracy and the Making of Europe's Twentieth Century

Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and Creative Destruction

A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World (Princeton Economic History of the Western World)

ASIN: 0691127107

Book Description

In 1945, many Europeans still heated with coal, cooled their food with ice, and lacked indoor plumbing. Today, things could hardly be more different. Over the second half of the twentieth century, the average European's buying power tripled, while working hours fell by a third. The European Economy since 1945 is a broad, accessible, forthright account of the extraordinary development of Europe's economy since the end of World War II. Barry Eichengreen argues that the continent's history has been critical to its economic performance, and that it will continue to be so going forward.

Challenging standard views that basic economic forces were behind postwar Europe's success, Eichengreen shows how Western Europe in particular inherited a set of institutions singularly well suited to the economic circumstances that reigned for almost three decades. Economic growth was facilitated by solidarity-centered trade unions, cohesive employers' associations, and growth-minded governments--all legacies of Europe's earlier history. For example, these institutions worked together to mobilize savings, finance investment, and stabilize wages.

However, this inheritance of economic and social institutions that was the solution until around 1973--when Europe had to switch from growth based on brute-force investment and the acquisition of known technologies to growth based on increased efficiency and innovation--then became the problem.

Thus, the key questions for the future are whether Europe and its constituent nations can now adapt their institutions to the needs of a globalized knowledge economy, and whether in doing so, the continent's distinctive history will be an obstacle or an asset.

America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming our Wealth, Our Liberty, and Our Democracy

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Not particularly rousing or transforming
book for school
Required reading????
The View from the Far Left
Five Stars for Originality and Scholarship, Three for the Quality of Writing

America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming our Wealth, Our Liberty, and Our Democracy
Gar Alperovitz
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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After Capitalism (New Critical Theory)
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Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy

ASIN: 0471790028

Book Description

"Be prepared for a mind-opening experience."
-The Christian Century

"Highly readable; excellent for students. . . . A tonic and eye-opener for anyone who wants a politics that works."
-Jane Mansbridge, Adams Professor, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

"America Beyond Capitalism comes at a critical time in our history-when we all know our system isn't working but we are not sure what can be done about it. This book takes us outside the confines of orthodox thinking, imagines a new way of living together, and then brings that vision back into reality with a set of eminently practical ideas that promise a truly democratic society."
-Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States

"Succeeds brilliantly in taking the Jeffersonian spirit into the last bastion of privilege in America, offering workable solutions for making the American economy one that is truly of, by, and for the people."
-Jeremy Rifkin, author of The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream

"The kind of careful, well-researched, and practical alternative progressives have been seeking. And it's more-visionary, hopeful, even inspirational. I highly recommend it."
-Juliet Schor, author of The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don't Need

"A compelling and convincing story of the future."
-William Greider, author of The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy

Customer Reviews:

Not particularly rousing or transforming.......2007-07-11

The author is concerned that at this point in our history our ideals of liberty, equality, and democracy have been seriously eroding as never before. By far the most relevant development given by the author is the growing concentration of wealth in the US among the richest 1 percent and thereby their immense power to control the political-economic system. In this highly tilted environment, traditional popular political approaches are largely ineffective - systemic changes are needed. However, the author's proposals scarcely go "beyond capitalism," being reformist at best, and do little to enhance the little "d" democracy that is so important in a democracy.

Because wealth-holding is so central in our society, the author proposes changes in forms of ownership and the distribution of capital. He gives examples of ownership by municipalities, non-profits, and other non-government entities mostly in the areas of low-income housing and utility ownership, none of which are particularly economically transforming to the citizenry. He suggests that ESOPs are empowering to workers, yet he readily admits that most ESOPs do not even have voting rights. There have always been worker cooperatives and direct worker ownership in the US, but hardly at the level of being a countervailing force to huge for-profit corporations owned by anonymous stockholders. His suggestions to decentralize the US into regional political entities, like virtually all of his proposals, do not enhance participation for citizens.

The author notes that major crises in this nation, such as the Great Depression or WWII, have spurred the most profound changes. The author hints at the fact that it may well be the excesses of elites and corporations that will generate the next significant political-economic changes. Forces of globalization, the cheap labor afforded by immigration, growing perceptions of unreasonable inequality, a health care industry increasingly at odds with the health of the American public, the diminishment and jeopardization of retirement income, and perpetual war - all may well combine to stimulate profound changes. As the author acknowledges, it is likely that the situation may have to get worse before action is taken.

The book, though not particularly long, manages to be repetitious and tedious with excessive cataloging of various agencies, programs, and advocates. The book is hardly a far left treatise. Capitalism may get a strong rebuke, but that is the extent of it. His vaguely presented schemes to redistribute wealth are highly bureaucratic, bypassing worker control. Overall this book is a disappointment in its lack of specific suggestions for empowering citizens in all areas, public and private.

book for school.......2007-05-16

I bought this book for a class at college. I am really tired of this propoganda. I do not agree with the viewpoints.

Required reading????.......2006-09-21

The guy makes his liberal points like gangbusters. But why on earth is this type of material required reading in several colleges without an equally substantial pro-capitalist book to counter it?
Nowhere else in society are young people exposed to such raw indoctrination as they are in America's college campuses. Kids need to learn to think for themselves, not just repeat the rantings of their instructors.

The View from the Far Left.......2006-05-02

This book is an excellent summary of the thinking of the left wing of the Democratic party. He brings forth a good collection of ways that he sees our society declining. I believe the thing he laments most is that the rich are rich. From this he goes on to saying that the standard work week in the US should be shorter, there should be universal health care, the whole litany of the issues of the far left.

While many of us think that the far right wing has gone too far, the far left likewise has little appeal.

Another point that bothers me is that problems I forsee being the biggest problems that the country faces, he doesn't mention at all. For instance, we are at about the peak of oil production in the world and developing countries, especially China and India have increased their demand for oil, and the total production of oil is going to go down in the next few years.

Mr. Alperovitz is a Democratic Party activist. He doesn't though address what the Democratics need to do to be able to win on a national level. The old Democratic coalition of minorities, labor, women, the big Eastern political machines no longer has the pull it had. If he really wants to change things, how does he propose for the Democrats to counter the movement in our country to the South and West. Hint: When Kerry and Edwards left the campaign trail for a couple of days to go vote on a gun control measure they wrote off the South and West just to back up the left wing of their party.

I give the book five stars because it so clearly illustrates the feelings of the far left. As a practical plan for the future, it wouldn't rate that high.

Five Stars for Originality and Scholarship, Three for the Quality of Writing.......2005-11-12

I give this book five stars for orginality and scholarship and three for the quality of the writing.

The ideas presented here hold the key to future progressive political success. Unfortunately, most political activists on the Left are not aware of the rich history of democratic localism that progressives can draw on to win a progressive governing majority. This book is the antidote to this lack of awareness. By studying "America Beyond Capitalism" progressive thinkers and activists can learn how to develop popular policies that will earn the trust of the American electorate.

However, the quality of writing leaves much to be desired. The writing style too frequently degenerates into tiring catalogues of examples that could be easily summarized, allowing the curious reader to more easily absorb the main theme, while still having the option of researching examples by looking at the original sources cited. This is why I give it only three stars for the quality of the writing.

Overall, I give this book four stars and I highly recommend it to any progressive who is seriously interested in building a progressive governing majority in the 21st century.

Nation-Building: Beyond Afghanistan and Iraq (Forum on Constructive Capitalism)

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Welcome addition to the literature on nation-building
contributions to a vastly urgent subject
A sober testimony and very highly recommended

Nation-Building: Beyond Afghanistan and Iraq (Forum on Constructive Capitalism)

Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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Binding: Paperback

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The Beginner's Guide to Nation-Building

ASIN: 0801883350

Book Description

Bestselling author Francis Fukuyama brings together esteemed academics, political analysts, and practitioners to reflect on the U.S. experience with nation-building, from its historical underpinnings to its modern-day consequences. The United States has sought on repeated occasions to reconstruct states damaged by conflict, from Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War to Japan and Germany after World War II, to the ongoing rebuilding of Iraq. Despite this rich experience, there has been remarkably little systematic effort to learn lessons on how outside powers can assist in the building of strong and self-sufficient states in post-conflict situations.

The contributors dissect mistakes, false starts, and lessons learned from the cases of Afghanistan and Iraq within the broader context of reconstruction efforts in other parts of the world, including Latin America, Japan, and the Balkans. Examining the contrasting models in Afghanistan and Iraq, they highlight the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq as a cautionary example of inadequate planning.

The need for post-conflict reconstruction will not cease with the end of the Afghanistan and Iraq missions. This timely volume offers the critical reflection and evaluation necessary to avoid repeating costly mistakes in the future.

Contributors: Larry Diamond, Hoover Institution and Stanford University; James Dobbins, RAND; David Ekbladh, American University; Michèle A. Flournoy, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Francis Fukuyama, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; Larry P. Goodson, U.S. Army War College; Johanna Mendelson Forman, UN Foundation; Minxin Pei, Samia Amin, and Seth Garz, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; S. Frederick Starr, Central Asia--Caucacus Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; F. X. Sutton, Ford Foundation Emeritus; Marvin G. Weinbaum, University of Illinois at Urbana--Champaign

Customer Reviews:

Welcome addition to the literature on nation-building.......2007-09-15

This is an excellent edited volume. The well known conservative theorist, Francis Fukuyama, has pulled together a well integrated set of essays in nation-building, featuring detailed analyses of Iraq and Afghanistan. One positive aspect of this volume is the outstanding quality of contributors, including such well-known experts as Larry Diamond, James Dobbins, and Marvin Weinbaum, as well as, of course, Fukuyama himself. The editor has written two earlier works related to nation-building. This builds upon that previous work.

Fukuyama's introductory chapter lays out key concepts as well as the purpose of this volume. As in earlier works, he explains the slipperiness of the concept of "nation-building." He goes on to distinguish two aspects of this phenomenon, "reconstruction" (". . .the restoration of war-torn or damaged societies to their preconflict situation" [Page 5]) and "development" (". . .the creation of new institutions and the promotion of sustained economic growth. . . ." [page 5]). He laments the loss of American institutional memory on nation-building, noting that the Bush Administration essentially ignored the lessons from history as to how to carry out "nation-building." At the heart of this volume is a comparative case study of Iraq versus Afghanistan, and Fukuyama takes some time to distinguish these two interventions.

The first full section of the book examines the historical experience of and lessons from nation-building. The various authors consider post World War-II nation-building, the Ford Foundation's experience of the 1950s and 1960s, the American track record in the 20th century. Part II focuses on the Afghan experience of the United States. Starr's chapter suggests some potential "happy ending," as a result of the U. S. changing course in 2003 and 2004. He concludes that (page 124): "As of this writing, there is extensive evidence that the new approach is contributing directly and powerfully to nation-building in that long-suffering land." Weinbaum suggests that Afghanistan may actually be more likely to be a success story than Iraq, and indicates why. Goodson contends that the facts "on the ground" in Afghanistan may work out--but that the facts on the ground in Washington, D. C. undercut efforts in Afghanistan Iraq? Part II features essays exploring matters there. Larry Diamond's assessment is consistent with many others'--the US blew the nation-building after the successful military invasion, even though there is still the hope that matters will work out. Forman notes simply that (page 211): ". . .the mistakes made in the occupation of Iraq have made. . .the postconflict reconstruction program more difficult."

Fukuyama concludes the volume with suggested guidelines for future nation-building ventures.

In the final analysis, this is an important contribution to the relevant literature. One may not agree with all of the contributors or with various themes raised throughout the volume. But it is a thoughtful effort to address what is at stake in successful nation-building.

contributions to a vastly urgent subject.......2006-08-15

After watching events in Afghanistan and Iraq unfold over the past several years, you can't help but wonder exactly what the U.S. government was thinking. How could so many mistakes have been made? If you find yourself asking these questions, then Nation-Building should be the next book you read.

Fukuyama has put together a very good collection of articles that will help the reader put current nation-building projects in perspective by including a section at the beginning of the book that talks about nation-building in general. This section discusses what the U.S. has learned from its past foreign adventures, and unfortunately what it hasn't learned, and also what the Bush administration actively unlearned. This first section has a lot to offer in the way of historical analysis and explains how the U.S. got to where it is now, and all four of the articles contributed important perspectives.

The second section deals with Afghanistan. The imbalance of coverage between Iraq and Afghanistan in a more general sense is almost criminal, so any literature on the latter should be welcome. The first article by S. Frederick Starr is fantastic and will probably tell you more about Afghanistan than a year of reading the newspapers or watching relevent news shows. The other two articles on Afghanistan are not nearly as good as Starr's though. The content in these articles are important, but I felt Starr dealt approached them with more care and precision.

The final section about Iraq is also quite good. The chapters by Diamond and Dobbins are fantastic, but the Forman article did not compare. All three dealt with specific mistakes the U.S. has made in Iraq and how these mistakes could have been avoided. I believe Forman's weakness comes from the fact that she appears to be more of a Latin American specialist, rather than someone with experience in Iraq. That doesn't mean her comments aren't relevant, but when you're only going to put three articles about Iraq in a book called Nation-Building, I think a chapter by someone like Noah Feldman that had spent time as a CPA advisor would have been a much more appropriate choice.

Aside from these few minor weaknesses, this is a fantastic book. The more people that read this book the better. While not necessarily a book for beginners, it would be entirely appropriate for grad students, and an absolute necessity for any scholar that deals with the Middle East and/or nation-building in general.

A sober testimony and very highly recommended.......2006-03-03

Nation-Building: Beyond Afghanistan And Iraq is an anthology of essays by highly esteemed academics, political analysts, and skilled practitioners regarding the American experience with nation-building, from historical roots to modern-day issues. Examining the present cases of building Afghanistan and Iraq into nations in the context of reconstruction efforts in other areas of the world, including Japan, Latin America, and the Balkans, these writings particularly question the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq as an example of poor planning. A valuable resource filled with critical reflection and evaluation and offering valuable suggestions to reduce future mistakes and costs in human lives, Nation-Building is a sober testimony and very highly recommended.

Beyond Globalization: Capitalism, Territoriality and the International Relations of Modernity (Routledge/RIPE Studies in Global Political Economy)

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Beyond Globalization: Capitalism, Territoriality and the International Relations of Modernity (Routledge/RIPE Studies in Global Political Economy)
Hannes Lacher
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 041532193X

Book Description

Hannes Lacher seeks to rescue the study of globalization from globalists and sceptics alike by putting the globalization debate on a new foundation and offering a re-interpretation of the international relations of modernity.

In an age when so many of the myths of globalization have been shattered, and imperial power projection has eclipsed the anticipated multilateral system of global governance, it is necessary to reconceptualize world order politics, and the relationship between territorial states and global markets more generally. In this important book, Hannes Lacher traces the modern disjuncture of the spaces of economic organization and political governance to the territorial prefiguration of capitalism, and analyzes the distinctive strategies through which states and social forces sought to overcome this gap in historically changing socio-spatial regimes.

This essential new volume leads us towards a critical social theory of international relations that questions, more fundamentally thanever before, the prevailing conceptions of the modern international political economy as a collection of nationally bounded spaces.

This book will be of great interest to students and researchers of international relations, political science, historical materialism, political geography, and sociology.

Beyond Liberal Democracy: Political Thinking for an East Asian Context

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The conclusion of this book is impressive

Beyond Liberal Democracy: Political Thinking for an East Asian Context
Daniel A. Bell
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 069112308X

Book Description

Is liberal democracy appropriate for East Asia? In this provocative book, Daniel Bell argues for morally legitimate alternatives to Western-style liberal democracy in the region. Beyond Liberal Democracy, which continues the author's influential earlier work, is divided into three parts that correspond to the three main hallmarks of liberal democracy--human rights, democracy, and capitalism. These features have been modified substantially during their transmission to East Asian societies that have been shaped by nonliberal practices and values. Bell points to the dangers of implementing Western-style models and proposes alternative justifications and practices that may be more appropriate for East Asian societies.

If human rights, democracy, and capitalism are to take root and produce beneficial outcomes in East Asia, Bell argues, they must be adjusted to contemporary East Asian political and economic realities and to the values of nonliberal East Asian political traditions such as Confucianism and Legalism. Local knowledge is therefore essential for realistic and morally informed contributions to debates on political reform in the region, as well as for mutual learning and enrichment of political theories.

Beyond Liberal Democracy is indispensable reading for students and scholars of political theory, Asian studies, and human rights, as well as anyone concerned about China's political and economic future and how Western governments and organizations should engage with China.

Customer Reviews:

The conclusion of this book is impressive.......2006-12-23

The conclusion of this book is impressive, yet the way it approaches its conclustion is much less inspiring. I agree with all the positive reviews above, but I want to add some "negative ones."

1. there is a serious problem of excluding "rule of law" as one of the main pillars of democracy;
2. there is no central theory by the author or by which the author clearly employs to argue what he attempts to argue;
3. there is too much focus on the conventional "book culture" to approach Asian values;
4. the claim as a pluralist rather than a relativist calls for more normative philosophical discussions;
5. "Cultural revolution is a good idea badly implemented" is a mistaken statement;
6. there is obviously a lack of reality-check on the practice of the western democracy so as to better support the author's argument;

Beyond Continuity: Institutional Change in Advanced Political Economies

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Beyond Continuity: Institutional Change in Advanced Political Economies

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Microeconomics | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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How Institutions Evolve: The Political Economy of Skills in Germany, Britain, the United States, and Japan (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics)
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Inequality and Prosperity: Social Europe Vs. Liberal America
Capitalism, Democracy, and Welfare (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics)

ASIN: 0199280460

Book Description

Debates surrounding institutional change have become increasingly central to Political Science, Management Studies, and Sociology, opposing the role of globalization in bringing about a convergence of national economies and institutions on one model to theories about 'Varieties of Capitalism'. This book brings together a distinguished set of contributors from a variety of disciplines to examine current theories of institutional change. The chapters highlight the limitations of these theories, finding them lacking in the analytic tools necessary to identify the changes occurring at a national level, and therefore tend to explain many changes and innovation as simply another version of previous situations. Instead a model emerges of contemporary political economies developing in incremental but cumulatively transformative processes. The contributors show that a wide, but not infinite, variety of models of institutional change exist which can meaningfully distinguished and analytically compared. They offer an empirically grounded typology of modes of institutional change that offer important insights on mechanisms of social and political stability, and evolution generally. Beyond Continuity provides a more complex and fundamental understanding of institutional change, and will be important reading for academics, researchers, and advanced students of Political Science, Management Studies, Sociology, and Economics.

Babylon and Beyond: The Economics of Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Globalist and Radical Green Movements

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Babylon and Beyond

Babylon and Beyond: The Economics of Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Globalist and Radical Green Movements
Derek Wall
Manufacturer: Pluto Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World?
Confronting Capitalism: Dispatches from a Global Movement
A Brief History of Neoliberalism
A Movement of Movements: Is Another World Really Possible?

ASIN: 0745323901

Customer Reviews:

Babylon and Beyond.......2006-03-01

This is a very enjoyable clear read full of humour and literary reference which explains what anti-capitalists believe and looks at working alternatives to our present economic system. Dr Wall shows that it is pretty much impossible for capitalism to continue without the complete wrecking of the planet unlike Jonathon Porritt who seems to have given up most of his radical green ideas. Babylon and Beyond shows us how community based grassroots economics can be based on social sharing. Here we find Marx for beginners plus billionaire George Soros to radical green localists and reformers. Many alternatives are given This book is a must for all who care about our planet and justice, I strongly urge you to read this book, great photography too.

Average customer rating:

An unrealistic utopia, to this blue-collar liberal.

Realizing Hope: Life beyond Capitalism
Michael Albert
Manufacturer: Zed Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Parecon: Life After Capitalism
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Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy

ASIN: 1842777211
Release Date: 2006-02-16

Book Description

"What is the alternative to capitalist globalization?" is a question challenging activists around the world. Michael Albert has wrestled with this question for many years, and his answer has captured the imagination of many. Participatory Economics--"Parecon" for short--is Albert's proposal for an economic system which offers a real alternative to capitalism, built on familiar values including solidarity, equity, diversity. In this ambitious new book, Albert goes further. Realizing Hope offers a vision of how whole areas of life might be transformed in a post-capitalist society, one where communities rather than profits are placed firmly at the center.

Customer Reviews:

An unrealistic utopia, to this blue-collar liberal........2007-08-25

I ordered this book when I saw the first half of a two part program on PBS by the author, Michael Albert, but missed the second half. He spoke about how liberals (and liberal organizations) often research and describe problems of governance or poverty, etc., but the way we often try to fix these problems is by reiterating what they are, over and over again, accomplishing little. Thus we are at a disadvantage to the operators of the politics of greed, in which the ends justify the means, and self-interest rules. In the second half of his program he was to show how to get out of this circle of non-action. So I bought this book, hoping to find out what I'd missed on PBS.

While the book contained a few interesting ideas, such as getting rid of class structure and attitudes in liberal organizations as well as in everyday life, overall the book seems to me to describe the hyper-liberal fairy tale of a communist utopia (with emphasis on a small 'c'.) As such, Realizing Hope was of little interest to me, as it is both impractical and unrealistic. I'd be fascinated to hear if someone got anything of value from Realizing Hope, but I didn't.

Beyond Capitalism: The Japanese Model of Market Economics

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Beyond Capitalism: The Japanese Model of Market Economics
Prestowitz Jr.
Manufacturer: University Press of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0819190624

Book Description

Has Japan developed its own unique economic model? For years, Americans concerned about the Japanese economic challenge have heatedly debated this question. Now, a senior Japanese government official weighs in with a resounding "Yes." In this work, Eisuke Sakakibara of the powerful Japanese Finance Ministry describes the fundamental, structural differences between the American and Japanese economies, defends the Japanese approach, and warns that U.S. policies seeking to Americanize our strongest competitor are doomed to fail. This ground-breaking study is vital reading for anyone concerned about the world's two economic superpowers and the global economy being shaped by their rivalry. Co-published with the Economic Strategy Institute.

Philosophers of Capitalism: Menger, Mises, Rand, and Beyond

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The Ethics and Methodology of Capitalism
A Convincing Synthesis of Two Major Defenses of Free-Market Capitalism
A Great Follow-up to Younkins' 2002 Classic Book " Capitalism and Commerce"

Philosophers of Capitalism: Menger, Mises, Rand, and Beyond
Edward W. Younkins
Manufacturer: Lexington Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Capitalist Manifesto: The Historic, Economic and Philosophic Case for Laissez-Faire
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Actual Ethics
An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought (2 Vol. Set)

ASIN: 0739110772

Book Description

Philosophers of Capitalism provides an interdisciplinary approach, attempting to discover the feasibility of an integration of Austrian Economics and Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. Edward W. Younkins supplies essays presenting the essential ideas of Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, and Ayn Rand, as well as scholarly essays discussing the theorists and the interaction of their theories.

Customer Reviews:

The Ethics and Methodology of Capitalism.......2007-02-03

The two most prominent schools of thought for those committed to laissez-faire capitalism are Objectivism (the neo-Aristotelian philosophy of Ayn Rand) and the Austrian School of Economics founded by Carl Menger.

An essential difference between these two schools is that Objectivism is a full-orbed philosophy which contains an explicit political and ethical justification for capitalism. Austrian Economics, on the other hand, presents itself as an explicitly value-free system of thought. Austrians argue that while capitalist economies will increase wealth and benefit the public at large, any ethical justification for capitalism is not intrinsic to the Austrian method. For example, Ludwig von Mises considered ethics outside the domain of science and made his ethical case (to the extent one could call it that) for capitalism on utilitarian grounds. In addition, Mises was explicitly Kantian in his epistemology and considered his methodology (which he called praxeology) to be based on Kantian assumptions. And while we tend to associate Austrian Economics with laissez-faire capitalism, some Austrians have not been consistent defenders of free enterprise. One thinks of Friedrich von Hayek, whom Rand bitterly opposed.

Nonetheless, Rand praised the economic writings of Mises while noting her disagreements with the philosophical sections of her work. However, as her posthumously published Marginalia indicate, she was in fact downright hostile to his ethical and epistemological theories. Rand believed that Mises' utilitarianism and Kantianism could not provide the appropriate methodological foundation for economics or provide a philosophical foundation for a free society. In fact (if her Marginalia constitutes her reasoned evaluation of Mises) she considered him a "neo-mystic" because of his Kantian approach. One need not be an expert on Rand's thought to know that "mystic" was one of the harshest terms in the Randian lexicon. Things went from bad to worse in her eyes with Mises' American follower Murray Rothbard. Although Rothbard was an Aristotelian whose ethics shared similarities to Rand's, he helped launch the modern libertarian movement and advocated anarcho-capitalism. Rand's hostility toward libertarianism has continued in much of the Objectivist movement today, and some of it has spilled over into hostility toward Austrian Economics as such.

The Austrian attitude toward Objectivism is less uniform. Many Austrians appreciate Rand an important advocate of capitalism and are grateful for her advocacy of Mises' books, but consider her thought insufficiently rigorous to be considered philosophy. Others, such as George Reisman, have sought to combine Austrian Economics and Objectivism, as in his magisterial work Capitalism.

Professor Edward Younkins thinks its time for a détente if not a rapprochement. By looking back toward the Aristotelianism of Carl Menger and forward to a potential synthesis of Rand and Austrianism, he thinks he can break the impasse. If Austrians understand their Mengerian (and therefore Aristotelian) roots better, and if Objectivists do a better job of understanding Austrian methodology, perhaps some of the distrust that has placed these two schools at loggerheads can be broken.

A Convincing Synthesis of Two Major Defenses of Free-Market Capitalism.......2005-12-29

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the critical and inextricable relationships between the economics and the philosophy of the free society. Only a person like Younkins, who has a broad transciplinary understanding of the social order, could have written such an integrative work. The author expertly links the work of Aristotle, Menger, Mises, Rand, and others to argue in favor of the free society. Younkins persuasively argues that the study of human action, when properly grounded in natural law, reveals the connection between economics and morality. This book is consistent with his popular classic, Capitalism and Commerce, and offers a
powerful, emergent libertarian synthesis of tremendous promise.

A Great Follow-up to Younkins' 2002 Classic Book " Capitalism and Commerce".......2005-12-21

In this excellent, well-organized, and easily readable book, Younkins makes a convincing case that the Austrian value-free defense of capitalism and the moral arguments of Objectivism and the Aristotelian philosophy of human flourishing are complementary and compatible. In this thought-provoking book, Younkins presents 12 relevant essays from a variety of philosophers and economists and frames them within his own four insightful essays. His chapters alone are worth the price of the book! His first three essays clearly introduce the readers to the basic arguments of Menger, Mises, and Rand. Then, after presenting the 12 fine essays by other scholars, he provides a framework or architectonic of a potential Austrian-Objectivist paradigm for a free society. Younkins shows that no field is totally independent of all other fields and that there really no discrete branches of knowledge. He understands that any real truth is always compatible with other truths.

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