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(More customer reviews)Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard were not only great theoretical economists, but also excellent popularizers. In particular, von Mises hasn't received the credit he deserves for his outstanding popular presentations of the case for individual freedom. Their work is continued today by Llewellyn Rockwell, the founder of the Ludwig von Mises Institute.
The Institute has published this collection of Rockwell's speeches in which Rockwell brilliantly makes the case for free enterprise and individual freedom. Rockwell has a knack for taking an insight of Mises's or Rothbard's and applying it to current events. For example, why is the Federal Reserve only criticized when it raises interest rates? If politicians were truly concerned about the economy, they would worry about the Fed lowering interest rates and creating artificial booms. There is a particularly powerful chapter concerning the negative effects of "civil rights" (anti-discrimination) laws and how such laws impede individual freedom and probably don't do much to help their intended beneficiaries (although they always increase the power of the state). Rockwell is prescient as well. He pointed out in the 90s that the "new era" boom couldn't continue, and when I was reading his 1998 article on Iraq I almost forgot that he was writing about Clinton and not George W. Bush. One of the best chapters concerns the presidency. Rockwell shows that both the left and the neocon "right" embrace the imperial presidency with almost equal enthusiasm.
SPEAKING OF LIBERTY also contains two interviews with Rockwell. He explains the rise of the modern libertarian movement and its relationship to conservatism (although I don't think he is completely fair to Russell Kirk). The bibliography, which contains a list of recommended books on liberty (not a few of which I've reviewed), is also excellent.
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Ludwig von Mises said that teaching the public was just as important as addressing scholars — maybe more so. That is what Lew Rockwell specializes in: history and theory and analysis in defense of the free society, written in clear prose to reach a broad audience. Rockwell's new book is as pro-liberty as it is brutally critical of government. It is relentlessly forthright yet hopeful about the prospects for liberty. It is rigorous enough to withstand the enemy's closest scrutiny, and chock full of the energy and enthusiasm that will keep you reading. Speaking of Liberty is a collection of speeches delivered by Rockwell over a period of ten years. The book begins with economics, and explains why Austrian economics matters, how the Federal Reserve brings on the business cycle, why we need private property and free enterprise, the unrecognized glories of the capitalist economy, and why the gold standard is still the best monetary system. Other sections deal with war, Mises and his work, other important thinkers in the libertarian tradition, and the culture and morality of liberty. The book is united by a set of fixed principles: the corruption of politics, the universality and immutability of the ideas of freedom, the centrality of sound money and free enterprise, the moral imperative of peace and trade, the importance of hope and tenacity in the struggle for liberty, and the need for everyone to join the intellectual fight. We all have searched for the book we could give to friends and neighbors, business associates and family members, to explain why we believe in the cause of liberty. Speaking of Liberty is that book.
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