Liberty Classics: The Rise and Fall of Society by Frank Chodorov With Jeffrey Tucker
Philosophy & Economics
Keynesianism & Monetarism
Libertarianism, Agorism, & Voluntaryism
Religion & Atheism
Socialism, Marxism, & Communism
B.K. Marcus
25 Life-Changing Classics of Liberty
25 Life-Changing Classics There are books that change your life — the kind you try to get all your friends to read as soon as you're finished (or sooner). Here Jeffrey Tucker lists 25 such books, classics of liberty: fiction, history, economics, philosophy. And each book-specific chapter links to your free copy of the book in the Liberty.me Library. (And look for Jeffrey's 25-week course on these classics at Liberty.me U!) Questions, comments, observations or elaborations? Either reply here or create a new discussion using the tag Library_25-life-changing-classics
The Rise and Fall of Society
The Rise and Fall of Society This book is one of the best expositions of economics and politics ever written. It was Chodorov's last book and the one most overlooked. It's tragic. It's great. It explains central economic ideas from the Austrian tradition, and offers up a highly sophisticated theory of the state and its operations. It is one of the books that cannot be overlooked. Kick off the discussion! Questions, comments, observations or elaborations? Either reply here or create a new discussion using the tag Library_The Rise and Fall of Society
Whence the State?
I'm just reading Clarence Darrow's 1902 book Resist Not Evil for the first time. The first chapter is a powerful opening, but Darrow seems to imagine a different origin for the state than we learn from the tradition of Oppenheimer, Nock, Chodorov, and Rothbard. For Darrow, the state begins when a local thug takes over his tribe. Whereas, if I recall correctly, for Oppenheimer, et al., the state begins when a tribe of nomads has been raiding a settled group for a while, then decides to settle in with them and become a ruling class over the conquered people. (This, by the way, is also the version of events described by the socialist utopian H.G. Wells in his Short History of the World (1922) — where, a little surprisingly, he sees the invaders as injecting some virility into the stagnant culture of the conquered people. An unexpected interpretation from a pacifist. Is Darrow just speculating, or were there competing theories at the time? And are there competing theories now? In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond describes states as beginning when a settled group has a centralized and unmovable source of surplus wealth, making it easier for a "kleptocratic" takeover. I can't recall however if he distinguishes between local thugs and outside invaders becoming the kleptocratic class. Anyone able to update us on current theories of the state's origins? @lawrencereed @srichman @berserkrl @bobhiggs @anthonygregory @riggenbach @jacobhuebert @albertlu @thomasmichie @mattgilliland (Who am I forgetting to ask?)
Between the Covers — Broken Worlds
Tracy interviews Mike Ghere, author of the Broken Worlds series: "Classic Fantasy with a Techno-Twist!" Innocent blood is spilled, unfathomable magic is called, and lightning arcs across the sky. The boundary between worlds is broken and a teenaged boy falls through the crack.… Check out the first book in the series right here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0093KDUXC
UA spotlight with David J. Shestokas: Constitutional Sound Bites Part IIII
David J. Shestokas, author of Constitutional soundbites will Join Will Ricciardella of Unbiased America to discuss what the constitution means and why it still matters. The topics in part IIII will deal with Volume III of his book and many of the questions and topics he covers (like the Bill of Rights) and ending with the epilogue. Buy the book and follow along!
UA spotlight with David J. Shestokas: Constitutional Sound Bites Part III
David J. Shestokas, author of Constitutional soundbites will Join Will Ricciardella of Unbiased America to discuss what the constitution means and why it still matters. The topics in part III will deal with his books introduction to volume II and Volume III and many of the questions covered in the second and third volume of his book. Buy the book and follow along!
May 24, 8 pm EST
Between the Covers — Liberty Fiction Jamboree
Tracy Lawson welcomes George Donnelly, Lyssa Chiavari and Mike DiBaggio to celebrate the GIANT 99-cent libertarian book sale
Unbiased America #46—Charles Peralo
Charles Peralo is running for Chairman of the Libertarian National Committee. The Unbiased Americans talk to Peralo about his campaign, his plans to grow the libertarian movement, and his positions on philosophy + policy.
Free Association — Voting, Democracy, and Other Ills
Lucy Steigerwald and Sheldon Richman are back again to engage in many thoughtful tangents coming off of the issue of voting. Steigerwald rants about bathroom bills and praises Trump, Richman once voted for a man named Elvis Presley, and they both flirt with anarcho-monarchism, if only for a minute or two.
Unbiased America #45 — Mohammed Shaker
Wednesday, April 27, 8 pm Eastern
We the Individuals — Christopher Chase Rachels
Scotch and Scholars — Walter Block: Libertarians for Trump?
Tune in for the latest shock from Block. Prolific scholar Walter Block has founded Libertarians for Trump, with the goal of "mobilizing massive support for Donald Trump." What is the likely outcome of hitching a libertarian wagon to Trump? Is supporting Trump significantly better or worse than supporting the other candidates in the major parties, or in the Libertarian Party, or just abstaining from the process altogether this cycle?
Free Association — Let's Talk About Trump
Trump's narrative paints the US as a victim. But this aggrieved-nation shtick is not new. Read more
Between the Covers with Tracy Lawson — Radio Sphere
Devin terSteeg's writing is influenced by Ray Bradbury, George Saunders, Miranda July, Feodor Dostoevsky and the incredible Orson Welles. Radio Sphere, his 2015 novella, is set two hundred years into a post-apocalyptic world, where humanity struggles with diminished resources and shrinking ambitions. Radiation has poisoned minds as well as matter, and people are running out of the critical supplies of civilization. (http://www.amazon.ca/Radio-Sphere-Devin-terSteeg-ebook/dp/B0121JTRG0) Meanwhile, a mysterious alien race observes the ruins of humanity and tries to make sense of what it sees. Join Devin with me, Tracy Lawson, Wednesday night. I can't wait to find out how TerSteeg built the world of Radio Sphere.
Jeffrey Tucker - What Has Government Done to Our Money?
Jeffrey Tucker returns, ready to explore one of the biggest little books in liberty: Murray Rothbard's What Has Government Done to our Money? Innumerable economists, investors, commentators, and authors have learned from this book through the decades. After fifty years, it remains the best book in print on the topic, a real manifesto of sound money. Rothbard boils down the Austrian theory to its essentials. The book also made huge theoretical advances. Rothbard was the first to prove that the government, and only the government, can destroy money on a mass scale, and he showed exactly how they go about this dirty deed. But just as importantly, it is beautifully written. He tells a thrilling story because he loves the subject so much.
Jeffrey Tucker – Liberty Classics: The Rise and Fall of Society
Jeffrey Tucker knows what's up. He's read every liberty book out there and he can tell you exactly which ones are good and which ones aren't. In his weekly Liberty Classics show, he shares all about some of his favorites. Tune in this week for a discussion about Frank Chodorov's The Rise and Fall of Society! It might be the greatest book you have never heard of. It is a full-scale manifesto of political economy, one that follows a systematic pattern of exposition, but never slows or sags from beginning to end. The book is not a difficult read in any sense. But there is so much wisdom in its pages that it cannot possibly be fully absorbed in one reading. It covers economic theory, ancient history, political theory, American history, social theory and political reality and has so many asides and pithy statements that you find yourself absolutely stopping as you read.
Jeffrey Tucker – Liberty Classics: Socialism
Everyone's favorite Chief Liberty Officer, Jeffrey Tucker, is back for another dose of Liberty Classics. This week, he's chatting about Ludwig von Mises's great work, Socialism. This book is a legendary classic. This is not a book for the shelves. It is a book to read and engage right now, right where you are. It is a book that explains vast amounts of the reality we are living right now. It was written in 1922, but it works as a decoder to today's headlines. How can that be? Most people assume that socialism has somehow been defeated. Not so. It has spread out all over the world in different forms. Mises's book addresses every conceivable form of the socialist idea. He shows you how to find the errors in Obamacare, QE3, the education bubble, the U.S. imperial wars, environmentalism, and so much more. There are insights on every page.
Liberty Classics: Against Intellectual Property
In this episode of Liberty Classics, Jeffrey Tucker and Stephan Kinsella discuss Against Intellectual Property. "Mises had warned against patents, and Rothbard did too. But Kinsella goes much further to argue that the very existence of patents are contrary to a free market, and adds in here copyrights and trademarks too. They all use the state to create artificial scarcities of non-scarce goods and employ coercion in a way that is contrary to property rights and the freedom of contract." For more by Jeffrey Tucker, check out his book, 25 Life-Changing Classics. Make sure you also check out Stephan Kinsella's Liberty.me guide, Do Business Without Intellectual Property!
Liberty Classics: Resist Not Evil by Clarence Darrow
This remarkable book is the most comprehensive, sweeping, compelling, and unsettling case ever penned against what is laughingly called the "criminal justice" system. It is a classic, devastating at its core, that is made newly available to speak to us in our times in which the state is completely out of control. Clarence Darrow is best known today as the Chicago lawyer who defended John T. Scopes in the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925. But that case actually played a minor role in his life. He was an attorney by training who, from experience, learned that the entire state apparatus of courts, trials, and prisons was the worst single feature of the state. He saw the entire machinery as a gigantic fraud, a purveyor of injustice, a producer of criminality itself, as has noted by many in the legal treatment of the Eric Garner murder. Join Jeffrey Tucker on December 28th at 8pm EST for this session in our Liberty Classics series. Jeffrey Tucker will guide you, week by week, through 25 of the most important works in the classical liberal and libertarian tradition, all of which are available free with your subscription to Liberty.me!
Liberty Classics: Essentials of Economics by Faustino Ballvé
The enduring power of this book is due to the enduring power of economic logic. If it is done well, it applies in all times and places. And this book does economics extremely well. In times when economics is subject to vast political manipulation, when people have abused the science to push political agendas contrary to everything economics stands for, this book stands out as a clear, objective, and rational statement of the core of what economics teaches. Join us Sunday, December 14th at 8pm EST for Liberty Classics, as Jeffrey Tucker guides you, week by week, through 25 of the most important works in the classical liberal and libertarian tradition, all of which are available free with your subscription to Liberty.me!
Liberty Classics: The Politics of Obedience by Étienne de La Boétie
Why does the state have power and why does it persist? Renaissance philosopher and public intellectual Étienne de La Boétie explained that it is due to public tolerance. Despite all the coercion used by the government, it is the deference of the people toward public authority that gives tyrants their power. His plea is for people to withdraw that consent and deny the tyrant his authority. This is the way we see state's collapse. Jeffrey Tucker explains that this is precisely what is happening in our time Sunday, November 9th at 8pm ET!
The Man of the Century: Mises and His Works, Session #7
If you were going to name the single greatest book in the social sciences from the 20th century, it would be Mises's Human Action. Jeffrey Tucker discusses the history of how it came to be written and its main themes. Human Action is a book that you can never stop reading. No matter how many times you read it and reference it, there always seems to be more to discover. Join Jeffrey for a discussion of this book and its legacy Thursday, October 30th at 2:30pm ET!
Liberty Classics: The Art of Being Free by Wendy McElroy
Can we live full, free, and prosperous lives in these times, starting now? McElroy says that we can and we must. She presents a new way of thinking about how to build civilization even when it is so under attack. In her view, the worst mistake we can make is to allow our lives to be consumed by politics and the awful realities that surround us. We must instead surround ourselves by people and things we truly love. The best way to fight back, she says, is to find and build freedom for ourselves. We must discover the art of being free. Join Jeffrey Tucker for a discussion of this book Sunday, November 2nd at 8pm ET and learn how you too can live a freer life!
Liberty Classics: Economics of Illusion by L. Albert Hahn
L. Albert Hahn's 1949 book, The Economics of Illusion, was a blistering attack on the Keynesian paradigm which then dominated academia. A prominent German banker and economist, Hahn immigrated to the U.S. from Germany in 1940 as World War II threatened to expand. As Hahn was a former Keynesian himself, he possessed a keen understanding of the true perils of that system, particularly during war, and sought to tear it down from its foundations. Join Jeffrey Tucker as he discusses this book Sunday, October 19th at 8pm EDT!
Liberty Classics: Freedom, Inequality, Primitivism, and the Division of Labor by Murray Rothbard
Murray Rothbard's classic essay makes the case against egalitarianism, communism, primitivism, and romanticism, and makes the case for liberty, inequality, and the division of labor. In a time in which government policy drives us ever further back, we can look on Murray Rothbard's strong argument for freeing the private sector to push us forward. Join Jeffrey Tucker to discuss this controversial liberty classic Sunday, September 28th at 8pm ET!
Liberty Classics: The Use of Knowledge in Society by F.A. Hayek
Knowledge is a good, perhaps the most important good, something vastly more important than all physical property combined. It is the driving force of history, the immortal, sharable, reproducible, malleable substance that has built our world and makes possible the forward motion of history. This essay shows why it is not possible for this knowledge to be produced or used by centralized agents in the civic order; rather, knowledge must be generated, extracted, and put to use by real actors using real property and interacting with the world around them. Social complexity grows organically from experience of time and place, and this can never be produced from the outside regardless of the supposed intelligence of the the planning class. Tune in to Liberty.me LIVE Sunday, September 21st at 8pm EDT to join Jeffrey Tucker in exploring this brilliant essay.
Liberty Classics: Conscience of an Anarchist by Gary Chartier
Professor Gary Chartier's concise, yet beautiful, introduction to the philosophy of anarchism is a modern anarchist manifesto, written to appeal to even the most ardent of statists. This simple but powerful book explains why the state is illegitimate, unnecessary, and dangerous, and what we can do to begin achieving real freedom. Join Jeffrey Tucker to discuss "The Conscience of an Anarchist" Sunday, September 14th at 8pm EDT!
Liberty Classics: Socialism by Ludwig von Mises
When he wasn't laying the foundations of the Austrian school of economics or predicting the Great Depression, the greatest economist of the 20th century, Ludwig von Mises, was demolishing the concept that was sweeping the world: Socialism. Join Jeffrey Tucker to discuss Mises's powerful and in-depth discussion of Socialism Sunday, September 7th at 8pm EDT!
Liberty Classics: As We Go Marching by John T. Flynn
This 1944 classic by John T. Flynn describes the effect that war has on the rest of society. Historically, wartime planning is often accompanied by fascism at home, with restrictions on economic and civil liberties. Join Jeffrey Tucker for a journey through this essential book Sunday, August 31st at 8pm EDT!
Liberty Classics: The God of the Machine by Isabel Paterson
What is the machine that enables human progress and civilization? Capitalism, individualism, and liberty are all boldly defended in this insightful 1943 book by Isabel Patterson. Join Jeffrey Tucker to discuss one of the most influential liberty texts of all time Sunday, August 24th at 8pm EDT!
Liberty Classics: The Law by Frederic Bastiat
"The Law" is one of the oldest, yet one of the most influential, classically liberal texts. Frederic Bastiat's works are still repeatedly cited today. Why is "The Law" still so influential and what can you learn from it? Join Jeffrey Tucker for a discussion of this book and its legacy August 17th at 8pm EDT!
Liberty Classics: Anthem by Ayn Rand
Before Atlas Shrugged, before Fountainhead, was Ayn Rand's 1938 dystopian novella, Anthem. In a world where "I" is replaced with "we," what happens to the freedom of the individual? Join Jeffrey Tucker as he discusses this classic and brilliant novella written by one of the most successful fiction authors of the 20th century Sunday, August 3rd at 8pm EDT.
Liberty Classics: The Cinder Buggy by Garet Garrett
"The Cinder Buggy" chronicles the transformation of America from the age of iron to the age of steel. Garret beautifully portrays a battle over technology and innovation during a crucial time in American history. It is a wonderful novel for anyone who is intrigued by American history, economic theory, and the place of technology in the progress of society. Join Jeffrey Tucker as he explores this idea-filled story Sunday, July 20th at 8pm EDT.
Liberty Classics: Denationalization of Money by F.A. Hayek
What if the government let anyone use a currency of his or her own choosing? What if the government permitted entrepreneurs to innovate in the monetary sector, such as by creating digital currencies or minting commodity money? This is precisely what F.A. Hayek argues in this book written in 1974. Join Jeffrey Tucker for a discussion of this book, and of current innovations in monetary denationalization, June 6th at 8pm EDT!
This remarkable book is the most comprehensive, sweeping, compelling, and unsettling case ever penned against what is laughingly called the criminal-justice system. It is a classic, devastating at its core, that is made newly available to speak to us in our times in which the state is completely out of control. Clarence Darrow is best known today as the Chicago lawyer who defended John T. Scopes in the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925. But that case actually played a minor role in his life. He was an attorney by training who, from experience, learned that the entire state apparatus of courts, trials, and prisons was the worst single feature of the state. He saw the entire machinery as a gigantic fraud, a purveyor of injustice, a producer of criminality itself. Join Jeffrey Tucker on May 25th at 8pm EST for this session in our Liberty Classics series. Jeffrey Tucker will guide you, week by week, through 25 of the most important works in the classical liberal and libertarian tradition, all of which are available free with your subscription to Liberty.me!
It might be the greatest book you have never heard of. It is a full-scale manifesto of political economy, one that follows a systematic pattern of exposition but which never slows or sags from beginning to end. The book is not a difficult read in any sense, but there is so much wisdom in its pages that it cannot possibly be fully absorbed in one reading. It covers economic theory, ancient history, political theory, American history, social theory and political reality and has so many asides and pithy statements that you find yourself absolutely stopping as you read: I must reflect on this; I must remember this. Join us May 7th at 9pm EST for the first session in our Liberty Classics series. Jeffrey Tucker will guide you, week by week, through 25 of the most important works in the classical liberal and libertarian tradition, all of which are available free with your subscription to Liberty.me!
Frank Chodorov (1887–1966) late in life was a man too wise, too experienced to be surprised or professionally disoriented by the terrible fate of his career and his ideals. The war he had opposed had ended, and he was opposed to the new Cold War too. He had lost every intellectual battle he had ever…
25 Life-Changing Classics: The Best Liberty Books
Has a book ever changed your life? These books can be few and far between. You could spend years reading, searching for a book that lets you see the world in a whole new way. In this Liberty.me exclusive collection, Jeffrey Tucker takes the reader on a journey through his top 25 liberty books and…