Book Reviews

Philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe questioned the legitimacy of the state, but left open a possible justification for its existence. Dr. David Gordon examines Anscombe’s argument and finds it interesting but wanting.

In this week’s Friday Philosophy, Dr. David Gordon reviews Liberating Liberty; Life, Liberty, the Pursuit of Happiness and the Creator of Man by Bert Schwitters, praising the author's insights into the founding of the United States.

Greg Kaza reviews Ben Bernanke's 21st Century Monetary Policy: The Federal Reserve from the Great Inflation to COVID-19. The book is a candid yet self-justifying defense of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy that refuses to acknowledge how stimulus has driven inflation.

Peter Earle reviews Money and the Rule of Law: Generality and Predictability in Monetary Institutions. This edited volume delivers a timely critique of the Federal Reserve's discretionary monetary policy, arguing that a binding legal structure is needed to check its mission creep.

Chris Calton reviews Michael Sonenscher's Capitalism: The Story Behind the Word. The book meanders through abstract associations to claim that the division of labor is “worse” than capitalism without providing context or engaging with real historical developments.

Mark Thornton reviews Thomas Piketty's A Brief History of Equality. The book is the siren song of communism: “economic justice” without any cost or noteworthy harm to society. In reality Piketty's solutions are implicitly violent and destructive.

David Gordon reviews Shawn Ritenour's The Economics of Prosperity. The book shows how economic growth stems from entrepreneurship, the division of labor, and investments in capital and technology. These factors, Ritenour argues, are the key to prosperity in underdeveloped countries.

Greg Kaza reviews Brian Domitrovic's The Emergence of Arthur Laffer. Alienated from academia during the stagflation era, Laffer was able to reach policymakers by presenting his ideas in a simple way, such as with his famous napkin Laffer curve.

Brendan Brown reviews Ben Bernanke's 21st Century Monetary Policy. Bernanke gives a blow-by-blow account of his actions as Fed chair and justifies them as the "evolving" nature of the Fed. Unsurprisingly, he refuses to recognize the malaise of monetary inflation.

David Gordon reviews Quinn Slobodian's Crack-Up Capitalism. Slobodian’s obsession with the evils of competition, which he considers a race to the bottom, is so great that it leads him to dismiss commonplace observations that everyone knows to be true.