A Few Literary Diversions

One of the advantages of being a retiree is that I get to spend hour after hour tracking down obscure references in one book that, in turn, sometimes lead to something that is well worth reading. Today I would like to share with you my latest additions to what I have come to call my "Ever-expanding List of Books that Liberals Wish You Wouldn't Read."

I trust you will enjoy them as much as I.

Robert L. Schuettinger and Eamon Butler. Forty Centuries of Wage and Price Controls: How Not to Fight Inflation. Washington: Heritage Foundation, 2002.

If you have been searching for some sign that the incumbent presidential administration might actually know what it's doing, you won't find it in this book. You can, however, find enough historical precedents to raise the probability to a near-certainty that whatever strategy is being touted as the "cure" for some "crisis" is gloriously wrong.

John T. Flynn. The Roosevelt Myth. New York: Devin-Adair, 1948.

The Roosevelt Myth is a "must read" for both beginning as well as experienced Roosevelt-haters. Written in the formative years of the "FDR as God's Other Son" movement, this book chronicles how Franklin Delano Roosevelt skillfully exploited the "liberal guilt trip" while he played fast and loose with the Constitution. After about 10 pages of this book you will come to realize that Mark Twain had it right when he commented that "history does not repeat itself, but it echoes."

William Graham Sumner. The Forgotten Man, and Other Essays, Albert G. Keller, Ed. New Haven (CT): Yale, 1918.

Ok, this particular title is a big download (> 70 Mb), but well worth your time.

In an essay originally titled "On the Case of a Certain Man Who Is Never Thought Of," William Sumner's "Forgotten Man" is described in the context of late 19th Century liberalism / social Darwinism:

"The type and formula of most schemes of philanthropy or humanitarianism is this: A and B put their heads together to decide what C shall be made to do for D. The radical vice of all these schemes, from a sociological point of view, is that C is not allowed a voice in the matter, and his position, character, and interests, as well as the ultimate effects on society through C's interests, are entirely overlooked. I call C the Forgotten Man."

If you want a quick read about Sumner's social views, again in the context of the era, check out What the Social Classes Owe Each Other. In that short book, Sumner completely destroys the "class struggle" (later, "class warfare") school of social and economic dynamics. Take it from me, Sumner says more in this one volume than can be found in a lifetime of literary output by the Obama, Clinton, and Kennedy families combined.

Finally, I call your attention to The Bailout Reader Web site. It's maintained by the Mises Institute and is thus a bit heavy on the "Austrian School" interpretation of the current economic quagmire. But, if approached with an open mind, it offers some very interesting interpretations of recent events.

Sources:

www.mises.org/books/forgottenman.pdf
mises.org/books/socialclasses-web.pdf
mises.org/story/3128
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_School
mises.org/books/rooseveltmyth.pdf
www.mises.org/books/fortycenturies.pdf