The Austrian School is the most consistently free enterprise school of economic thought.Its most outstanding representative was Ludwig von Mises and its leading thinker in recent memory was Murray Rothbard.Both von Mises and Rothbard wrote substantial treatises on economics.However, there haven't been many introductory works.(Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson focuses more on government intervention than prices, the evenly rotating economy and capital theory.)Gene Callahan has remedied that situation with this excellent introductory work.Written in the style of Rothbard, Callahan provides a primer on methodology, economic theory, and a critique of government intervention. The examples are always vivid and at times humorous.
After finishing this book, the reader should tackle Rothbard's Man, Economy and State.Then he should try von Mises's Human Action.Human Action isn't easy, but it will present the reader with the acedmic and theoretical rigor of the Austrian school's greatest exponent.For an introductory work that is more basic that Callahan's, David Gordon's An Introduction to Economic Reasoning is excellent.
Product Description
At last, a fun and fascinating guide to the main ideas of the Austrian School of economics, written in sparkling prose especially for the non-economist. Gene Callahan shows that good economics isn't about government planning or statistical models. It's about human beings and the choices they make in the real world.
This may be the most important book of its kind since Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson. Though written for the beginner, it has been justly praised by scholars too, including Israel Kirzner, Walter Block, and Peter Boettke.
Israel M. Kirzner (New York University): "Even a cursory examination of this book is sufficient to impress the reader that we have here a remarkably well-written exposition for the layman of the highlights of Austrian Economics."
Peter J. Boettke (George Mason University): "Written in a jargon-less and engaging style, Callahan's work provides the most comprehensive introduction to modern Austrian economics currently available to the intelligent layman."
Walter Block (Loyola University, New Orleans): "I don't toss around compliments like this lightly, but the passion, eloquence and sheer witty writing style of this author is also reminiscent of Rothbard. I plan to use it in all of my future intro courses."
About the Author
Gene Callahan is a software-technology professional in Connecticut, an adjunct scholar of the Mises Institute, and a commentator on economics issues in venues such as Marketplace and The Free Market. This is his first book.
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