Current reading – late Jan 09
Last you heard, I was reading Novak’s Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, Bahnsen’s Homosexuality, and Woods, A Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. Presently I’m deep into the following:
- Thomas Sowell, Marxism. I’m about halfway through this. Sowell here bypasses 20th century Communism and expounds and summarizes the actual thought of Marx and Engels – rather interesting, as it turns out to be quite different from later “Marxism,” although certainly flawed in its own right. (Sowell does not critique throughout; he leaves that to the end.) Interestingly, the result seems to be that the Western democracies really are becoming genuinely Marxist in many respects.
- Thomas Sowell, Basic Economics. Yes, I’m reading two books by Sowell simultaneously. I’m roughly 65% of the way through this one, I think. It’s a very substantial hardcover textbook, but it’s not nearly as tough sledding as you might think. The examples are usually real historical ones, and the thorough use of statistics nonetheless doesn’t bog the book down. An absolute must if you want to understand how interference in the market ends up destroying wealth, not just for the few at the top, but for all.
- Patrick Buchanan, Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War. I’m about three quarters through this fascinating (albeit sometimes repetitive) read. Without excusing Hitler whatsoever, Buchanan convincing shows how the Western nations, and Great Britain in particular stumbled into two wars devastating in effect – through bad judgment. If you regard Winston Churchill as a great upright statesman who saved the West, this book may well change your mind….