MRV watch

I think your link to the list is broken.

Thanks for the list and links, Arnold. I just finished Radicals for Capitalism this week, and very much enjoyed it. A great read. Well, for a certain demographic, that is. I noted many gems, including:

Libertarians do enjoy their badboy reputation, especially among conservative ranks, for taking the personal liberty thing as far as it can go. As an old movement joke goes, "You libertarians are the types that would allow fornication in public parks!" What do you mean, public parks?" (p. 585)

I hadn't considered reading Goldberg, but maybe now I will reconsider.

De Soto's book is also a masterstroke. He gives the argument for decentralized markets and freedom as the only way to actually help people. Its brilliant.

Putting Liberal Fascism on top of the list suggests that Arnold Kling puts a high value on the history of bad ideas. I share that value judgment, but in my opinion the greatest book of this kind in the last decade was The Lost Literature of Socialism, by George Watson.

Granted, Watson's book has not been as influential as Goldberg's book. Also, the 2 books cannot be directly compared, as they deal with different bad ideas. Still, The Lost Literature changed the way I understand politics more than any other book I have read, except perhaps Il Principe (by Machiavelli), The Peter Principle, The Open Society, and The Black Swan. (The last is another strong candidate for pro-liberty book of the decade.)

I would add America Alone by Mark Steyn. The demographic change and transformation of Europe will be a hallmark of the first half of the 21st century.