Potpourri
I am back from the Contra Cruise but have to catch up on my day job stuff. In the meantime:
==> On November 1st I’ll be at American University.
==> The episode of Contra Krugman taped in front of a live audience on the Contra Cruise turned out awesome, if I do say so myself. It sounds like the laugh track from “Cheers.”
==> The finished version of my Cato study on a carbon tax (with co-authors Pat Michaels and Chip Knappenberger, both of whom are climate scientists).
==> I don’t have time to write it up now, but check out this Scott Sumner post on trade (actually current account) deficits at EconLog. It’s important for you to think through the examples he brings up, but I also think he overstates his case. In particular, it sounds like Sumner is arguing, “So long as U.S. GDP exceeds U.S. consumption, then it can’t possibly be the case that Americans are ‘living beyond their means’ by racking up a debt to foreigners.” Do you guys agree that’s what Sumner is arguing? If so, see if you think that’s an airtight claim. Counterexample coming soon…
The Trial Is Over
I was listening to Vernon McGee and he said something interesting, which I will paraphrase:
Contrary to the opinion of many non-believers, the gospel’s message is NOT: “You are about to go on trial.” Rather, the gospel’s message is, “You are already convicted and in prison, waiting for your execution, and you are offered a full pardon. Do you want it?”
The Race Between Tyranny and Liberty
I’m not sure if I already posted this? Anyway it was from last summer for an Independent Institute event.
Before We Go Now
The Contra Cruise departs this Sunday, and I probably won’t be able to blog for a good 10 days. (Some of you will have to troll Scott Sumner in my absence. Don’t let him get away with winning via definitional fiat.)
Here are some links:
==> Rob Bradley explains the corner into which James Hansen has painted himself, with his climate catastrophism.
==> Rob links to James Lovelock talking about the future and his changing thoughts on climate catastrophe.
==> SlateStarCodex linked to this fascinating history of the crisis in experimental psychology. I think something like this may unfold in economics over the next 15 years.
==> Mark Spitznagel evaluates various safe haven investments.
==> For the policy wonks, McCulloch at Independent Institute evaluates Jerry Taylor vs. my team on the carbon tax.
And now…
More Praise for *Choice*, Part 3 of 3
For a different project (details forthcoming), I had to type up the blurbs that praise my book on Mises, namely Choice: Cooperation, Enterprise, and Human Action. I suspect that some of you are thinking, “I’m sure it’s a fine book, but I feel no reason to order it.”
Well, that would be a serious mistake. So over the next few days I’ll run some of the blurbs here, to prod you into human action.
=======================
“In Choice, Robert P. Murphy’s achievement is extraordinary. He not only makes Human Action more easily understandable, but also does what Mises could not do. He relates Mises’ ideas to late twentieth and early twenty-first century developments in economics and other fields and shows how these ideas are so vitally important for both economists and the general public alike.” – Mario J. Rizzo, Professor of Economics and Director of the Program on the Foundations of the Market Economy, New York University
“Robert P. Murphy is a gifted expositor and one of the greatest teachers of Austrian School economics…Murphy’s thorough, engaging, and funny book Choice will help spread Mises’ message far and wide.” – Peter G. Klein, Professor of Applied Social Sciences, University of Missouri
“Economics is never a dismal science when Robert P. Murphy writes about it.” – Lawrence W. Reed, President, Foundation for Economic Education.
“Choice also provides an excellent introduction to the Austrian School in general. It deserves to be read, and read widely, and will contribute significantly to fulfilling Mises’ own desire that everyone should know economics, not just experts.” – Steven G. Horwitz, Charles A. Dana Professor and Chair, Department of Economics, St. Lawrence University
“I expect [Choice] will be the go-to text used by the next generation of students to discover the importance of market processes for human flourishing.” – Robert A. Lawson, Jerome M. Fullinwider Chair in Economic Freedom, O’Neal Central for Global Markets and Freedom, Southern Methodist University
“Well, this is a delight. After some 65 years of failed attempts to present Ludwig von Mises’ grand treatise Human Action in a digestible and accessible format, Robert P. Murphy has finally succeeded.” – Jeffrey A. Tucker, Founder and Chief Liberty Officer, Liberty.me; former Editorial Vice President, Ludwig von Mises Institute
More Praise for *Choice*, Part 2 of 3
For a different project (details forthcoming), I had to type up the blurbs that praise my book on Mises, namely Choice: Cooperation, Enterprise, and Human Action. I suspect that some of you are thinking, “I’m sure it’s a fine book, but I feel no reason to order it.”
Well, that would be a serious mistake. So over the next few days I’ll run some of the blurbs here, to prod you into human action.
=======================
“Choice is a welcome book—a well-written, penetrating presentation of Ludwig von Mises’ economic analyses and insights. A most compelling read.” – Steve H. Hanke, Professor of Applied Economics and Co-Director of the Institute for Applied Economics and the Study of Business Enterprise, Johns Hopkins University
“Robert P. Murphy is a master communicator. In Choice he makes the main ideas from the most important economics book of the twentieth century, Human Action, accessible to the average person.” – Benjamin W. Powell, Director, Free Market Institute, Texas Tech University
“[T]hanks to Robert P. Murphy in his important book Choice, we have the essentials of Mises’ famed treatise well tailored for twenty-first century readers together with revealing comparisons of Austrian economics with the modern-day mainstream alternative.” – Roger W. Garrison, Professor Emeritus of Economics, Auburn University
“With the publication of Choice, Robert P. Murphy joins Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard in the ranks of master teachers. His complete command over the entire discipline of economics…makes him the ideal guide into the origin, nature, theorems, and applications of economics in the tradition of Carl Menger…Choice is a master class in economics, open and accessible to all.” – Jeffrey M. Herbener, Chair and Professor of Economics, Grove City College
More Free Market Economists Who Are Pro-*Choice* Part 1 of 3
For a different project (details forthcoming), I had to type up the blurbs that praise my book on Mises, namely Choice: Cooperation, Enterprise, and Human Action. I suspect that some of you are thinking, “I’m sure it’s a fine book, but I feel no reason to order it.”
Well, that would be a serious mistake. So over the next few days I’ll run some of the blurbs here, to prod you into human action.
=================================
“In Choice, economist Robert P. Murphy has achieved the much-needed idea of rendering Ludwig von Mises’ masterwork, Human Action, in prose that is user-friendly to twenty-first century readers of English with no prior training in economics.” – Gene Epstein, Economics and Books Editor, Barron’s
“Students will benefit greatly from a careful reading of Murphy and it will prepare them to better appreciate the depth of Mises’ contributions. Highly recommended!” – Peter J. Boettke, University Professor of Economics and Philosophy; Director, F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study, George Mason University
“In Choice, Robert P. Murphy brings this masterwork [Human Action] down from the summits of theory and history into the hands of today’s citizens in the form of a pithy text as topical as headline news and as trenchant as the original work of the Austrian titan himself.” – George Gilder, author of Knowledge and Power, Wealth and Poverty and other books; Co-founder, Discovery Institute
“Choice is one of the best introductions to the foundations of modern Austrian School economics that I have ever read…We owe Murphy a great debt for Choice, and one can only hope that it will be a smashing success both as a textbook and a book read by the general public. I highly recommend that you get a copy and read it.” – Robert D. Tollison, J. Wilson Newman Professor of Economics, Clemson University
Trolling Update
Scott has playfully pushed back against my nomination of myself as Best Troll of an Economics Blog 2016; you can read that and the comments if you are really committed to doing nothing productive for the next 15 minutes.
After that, I encourage you to consider just one more example of my trolling, on an EconLog post where Scott defended Gary Johnson’s “brain freeze”:
Charley Hooper wrote:
“Asking a libertarian to name their favorite world leader is like asking a vegan to name their favorite steakhouse.”
…and Scott applauded the analogy.
OK guys, that’s fine insofar as it goes, but let me make it more analogous to what actually happened:
(1) Two guys are running on the Vegan ticket. Chris Matthews asks them, “Name your favorite steakhouse.”
(2) The Vegan running for president is having a brain freeze. His VP says, “Ruth’s Chris” right away.
(3) The Vegan running for prez has recovered somewhat. “It’s um, the one that sounds like Willie Horton, but that’s not it…” Then the VP bails him out by prodding, “Morton’s.” The prez candidate lights up. “MORTON’S STEAKHOUSE, that’s what I was trying to come up with.”
(4) A day later, on Twitter, the Vegan running for president tweets out, “24 hours later, I still can’t think of a steakhouse I like.”
(5) People on leading vegan (small-v) websites applaud the honesty of their candidate.
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