Free Market Economics: A Basic Reader

The 81 readings in this basic reader have been selected to accompany and to supplement free market economics: a syllabus. They are arranged here in broad subject categories so that they form in effect a “course of study” in and of themselves. A substantial understanding of free market economics may be gained by reading this volume systematically from beginning to end. However, anyone seriously interested in a full and logical explanation of the theories illustrated by these readings should also refer to the syllabus.

The compiler of this anthology studied for many years with the leading spokesman of the so-called “Austrian School of Economics,” Ludwig von Mises, and acknowledges a tremendous intellectual debt to him personally as well as to his many works. Several excerpts from his writings are included in this collection, along with those by many other authors. Each reading was chosen to help explain or to illustrate some aspect of the theory of free market economics.

The majority of these readings have been reprinted from The Freeman, the monthly journal of The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). This may be explained not only by the compilers long association with FEE (since 1951) but also by the fact that FEE, since its founding in 1946, has been one of the major consistent publishers of materials dealing with the free market, individual freedom, private property and the detrimental effects of governmental intervention.

A glossary of terms used here and in the syllabus appear in the back of this volume.

Bettina Bien Greaves