This was posted yesterday on a forum. It begins with one of my
observations on what I must re-read before I finish writing the manuscript of
my projected magnum opus, Christian Economics: Scholar's Edition.
"Then I will have to re-read
the basics of Austrian economics. There are at least a dozen major books."
Predictable question! What are they?
The list begins with books that are easier to read. The list gets
progressively more rigorous.
1. What Has Government Done to Our Money? (1964),
by Murray Rothbard. This is an easy to read book. It is short: a long article.
It introduces a crucial topic, one which is central to Austrian school
economics: money. Rothbard's presentation sets forth his view of how central
banking has undermined reliable, predictable money.
2. The Case for a 100% Gold Dollar (1962), by
Rothbard. This extends his discussion in the first book. It is another long
article.
3. Mises on Money (2012), by Gary North. This
presents the main ideas of the Austrian theory of the business cycle, as first
presented by Mises.
4. America's Great Depression (1963), by
Rothbard. This book presents the case against the Federal Reserve in the 1920's
and against Herbert Hoover's interventions, 1930-33.
5. Bureaucracy (1944), by Ludwig von Mises. This
short book shows the differences between profit management (free market) and
bureaucracy (state). It is about 130 pages. It is easy to read. It shows why
business techniques of efficiency are useless for reforming government. The
funding is different.
6. The Road to Serfdom (1944), by F. A. Hayek.
This is the most widely known book from an Austrian standpoint. It was a
best-seller. It presents the case against government intervention in the name
of liberty, not efficiency. Chapter 10 is great: "Why the Worst Get on
Top."
7. Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth (1920),
by Mises. This short book converted a generation of young socialists to the
free market. Hayek was one of them. Mises showed how socialism is inherently
irrational, for it has no rational pricing system.
8. Socialism (1922), by Mises. This extended his
discussion in the previous book. It is the classic book ever written against
all forms of socialism.
9. Human Action (1949), by Mises. This is his
magnum opus. This was the first book to defend free market economic theory
consistently in every area of the economy that is governed by the price system.
It is comprehensive as no previous economics book had been.
10. Man, Economy, and State (1962), by Rothbard.
This presents Human Action with the paraphernalia of
college-level economics. It has lots of graphs. It has lots of footnotes. It is
well organized. It is clear, as Rothbard's books always are.
11. Economic Logic (3rd ed.), by Mark Skousen.
This is an Economics 1 college textbook. It covers the basics. If you ever have
to take a beginning course in economics, read this book in the month before you
enroll.
12. Individualism and Economic Order (1948), by
Hayek. This is a collection of his articles. The key article is Chapter 4 on
decentralized economic knowledge.
Not for the fainthearted:
13. Market Theory and the Price System (1963), by
Israel Kirzner. This is an upper division college textbook in price theory. It
is tough slogging. It went out of print half a century ago. He never revised
it. He later abandoned all traces of the #1 methodological tool of analysis of
all such textbooks: equilibrium. The idea of equilibrium is based on a
hypothetical and inherently misleading assumption, perfect foreknowledge. Far
better is this book:
14. Competition and Entrepreneurship (1973), by
Kirzner. He made his academic reputation with this book. It distinguishes
between risk and uncertainty, a distinction that goes back to Frank Knight's
greatest book, Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit (1921). Mises
favorably cited Knight's book in Human Action. Kirzner's book
undermines all of the graphs in Market Theory and the Price System.
Textbook graphs assume equilibrium. There is no better book refuting
equilibrium than Competition and Entrepreneurship. There is not one
graph and not one mathematical formula in the book.
Most of these books are available from the Mises Institute, either
as printed books or as free PDF's. Skim each one online. If you like it, order
a printed version. Then read it, pencil or highlighter in hand.
