Thinking about the world

Since I have been spending so much time reading about Austrian economics (and libertarianism as well), I find my way of looking at and thinking about the American political and economic system is changing.

I am much more for pulling American troops out of foreign countries, all of them. For getting rid of useless (okay they are all mostly useless but still..) government and quasi-governmental agencies, like the Christopher Columbus Foundation, set up to celebrate his 500th anniversary of discovering the New World. Of course, that was 18 years ago and we are still funding it??!?!? That is just ridiculous and I am sure there are many more examples like that. I think drugs should be legalized or if most people aren't ready for that step, then decriminalized at least. This 'war' on drugs is a waste of time and money.

I really enjoy knowing that my thinking can be expanded still. Keep on learning!

More things to read

I've found another great resource for online books on liberty and more reading lists. It's The Online Library of Liberty. It has a Great Books reading list, different than most, along with biographies of those mentioned.

I have also found a lot free online books, to read online or in pdf format. Some of those I'm adding to my reading list:

Bruce Frohnen, The American Republic: Primary Sources
Ludwig von Mises, The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science: An Essay on Method [1962]
Ludwig von Mises, Liberalism: The Classical Tradition

Some links for you to look into, to continue your learning.

Second Lecture of Home Study Course

I've listened to the second lecture of the home study course. It's called Marginalist Revolution by Joseph Salerno. He starts out with the information that the law of marginal utility was discovered at almost the same time by three men: Carl Menger, an Austrian, an Englishman, William Stanly Jevons and a Swiss, Leon Walras.

Carl Menger is considered by Salerno to be the sole founder of the Austrian School. He then talks about the classical school of economics and it's differences with the Austrians. He spends a large amount of time discussing marginal utility, using the common cow/horse scenarios.

All in all, an interesting lecture. It was obvious he was writing on a board to the audience, which of course you cannot see. I'm looking forward to listening to the next one.

Mises University 2009

Yet more resources from the amazing mises.org. Last year at Auburn University, a week long gathering called Mises University 2009 occurred. Here is an article about it written by a participant, and all of the talks mentioned and more are freely available at this link.

I am constantly amazed at the quantity and quality of information available online for free. Even the website is open source and free. For information on all that mises.org does to promote the cause of freedom, check out this article "Mises.org joins the fight for liberty".

The Concise Guide to Economics

I've recently finished reading The Concise Guide to Economics. It's a good primer on economic principles. There are a lot of chapters, but don't let that scare you off. Each chapter is very short, but to the point.

This is a good starting point, because if you want to know more about any of the topics covered, there is a bibliography at the end of each chapter and most of the citations are linked online. So it lets you continue learning and exploring on these topics.

Overall, a good basic collection of Austrian economics principles.

Getting the Basics

After spending a couple of weeks so far studying Austrian economics, I am starting to get the basics. What I really like about this is that it is intellectually sound and complete. It all hangs together and makes sense in all the different parts of economics. Money, credit, prices, I am enjoying how it all comes together.

First lecture of Home Study course

I've listened to the first lecture in the Mises Home Study course. It's by Jorg Guido Hulsmann and it is titled "Mises and the Foundation of Austrian Economics". It is 42:29 in length. It's a general overview of Mises' life. It goes over his major works and brings up overviews of his major theoretical contributions. It is a good introduction to Mises' work.

I have been continuing my reading. I'm almost finished with Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson, and I have finished The Concise Guide to Economics, both of which I will review shortly.