A List of Books

What follows is a small list of the books I read in 2007 that I thought were particularly good. Enjoy!

1. The Costs of War, edited by John V. Denson

This is without a doubt in the top five books I read in 2007. Denson brings together some of the best essays written on war by some of the best historians, economists, and sociologists available. Often times, if people think of the costs of war at all, it usually takes the form of the casualties. Most people either ignore or simply don’t realize the effect that war has on the economy, and the culture of both the winner and loser. This book will slap them firmly into the real world, where actions of consequences. The historical analysis, too, was breathtaking. Specifically, Murray Rothbard’s essay on WWI, entitled World War Fulfillment: Power and the Intellectuals (which can be read online here), detailing how it was the left that wanted war and not the right, and Professor Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s controversial and astonishing essay Time Preference, Government, and the Process of De-Civilization: From Monarchy to Democracy, which I won’t even attempt to describe here but suffice to say is entirely convincing in it’s case that monarchy is superior to democracy.

2. Hegemony or Survival, by Noam Chomsky.

Noam Chomsky, one of America’s most controversial authors and intellectuals, has never been known to hold back his hatred of America’s foreign policy. Agree or disagree, he makes a strong case for whatever he argues for, and anyone defending America’s foreign policy will definitely need to deal with the arguments Chomsky makes in this book. Although I agree with him for the most part, I do disagree with his economics. A self-professed anarcho-syndicalist (whatever that means), his economics are leftist and at times entirely silly. He fails to distinguish between actual free-market capitalism, and state-sponsored corporatism when arguing against America’s entirely unjust actions of economic imperialism in South America and other countries. But all in all, an important book in realizing and analyzing American imperialism.

3. Terrorism and Tyranny, by James Bovard.

James Bovard has been criticized by just about every Federal Agency in existence. This probably means Bovard is right, and the government knows they are wrong. At any rate, this book is an important analysis of the post-9/11 American response to terrorism. Bovard pulls no punches in detailing the excessive abuse of rights, the gross incompetence of the government, and the way Americans naively assume the government is on their side. Also includes a great look at the Israeli response to terrorism, and the Iraq war.

4. By what Standard, By R.J. Rushdoony.

The is really a brilliant evaluation of the philosophy of the late Christian thinker Cornelius Van Til. Rushdoony (a dreadfully boring speaker, but engaging writer) does a nice job of bringing the complex writing style and difficult ideas of Van til to a level probably anyone could understand. Van Til is the “creator” of what is termed “presuppositional apologetics”. Now, I hate the term “apologetics”, and can’t stand calling Van Til’s philosophy “presuppositional apologetics”. Maybe one day I’ll write a post on why, but I simply prefer something like Christian philosophy. At any rate, Van Til’s philosophy states (to put it very simply) that when it comes to claims of ultimate reality, there is no neutrality. Often times, atheists will make the claim that Christian’s “don’t use reason, but instead rely on an appeal to authority, like the Bible”. But this is a very naive accusation. Why assume that “reason” is the final authority on matters of truth? As Greg Bahnsen, one of Van Til’s students, has said, it really comes down to “a question of ultimate commitment.” To think that atheists (or whatever the belief system may be) start off as neutral, and reason their way to truth, is to be incredibly mislead. Reason becomes the final authority, the god ironically enough, of the atheist, and all facts and experience are interpreted through that lens. Anyways, definitely a must read.

5. For a New Liberty, by Murray Rothbard.

If there is any book to read as an introduction to libertarianism and austrian economics, this is the one. I cannot recommend this book enough. Rothbard’s entertaining and clear writing makes this book an easy, fun read, but his provocative ideas really challenge the reader intellectually. Rothbard’s ability to carry concepts out to their logical ends means that not everyone will be comfortable with his ideas, but anyone will be hard pressed to refute them. And of course, when it comes to economics, Rothbard is king. Seeing as his strongest subject was economics, and he contributed a large amount to Austrian theory, the economics he puts forward in For a New Liberty are undeniable in that everything he says is so true. Ok, maybe thats my bias showing, but I challenge anyone to read this book and not come away feeling the same. Also, Rothbard was also a great historian and his analysis of the Soviet foreign policy was a real eye opener for me. Buy it!

A Book I am Reading

Man, Economy, and State the Scholar’s Edition with Power and Market, by Murray N. Rothbard

Admittedly, I’m already having a hard time getting through this book. It is the book to own on Austrian economics, and a clear repudiation of socialism, keynesianism, and any form of economics that advocates government intervention into the economy. Wish me luck!