This  is Milton Friedman on the concepts that are defended in Hayek's "Road to Serfdom." Hayek's thesis is interesting but also dated. He warns against top-down planning in the place of market control of prices, both by Socialists and Fascists of the time. George Bernard Shaw introduced me to Socialism 101  (" A Practical Woman's Guide to Socialism )." It dates from approximately the same period but is concerned with social justice. There is little consideration of how social justice would be achieved. We must assume a major reorganization of the economy according to some master plan. As Hayek pointed out, both Socialists and Fascists assumed this with little pushback. During World War II, economies became "planned" by necessity. It turns out that " Road to Serfdom " is a free Audiobook. See these videos for discussions. General Impression:  Hayek goes to great lengths to defend his thesis that totalitarian "planning" is ...

To my Daughter, Kerri, July 2022--slightly edited) One thing I have noticed as I get older is that the pile of things I didn't know I didn't know gets higher and higher at a frightening rate. I try to be efficient in my effort to deal with the situation. "Thinkers" come to my attention through a variety of links, including podcasts (of which I follow a dozen or so) and references from other "thinkers." I have always at least considered recommendations from anyone. I cast a wide net (For example, I often check in on Robert Reich on your recommendation). My Kindle library has over 600 books, many of which are "samples." The sample is a good way to find out if the book is worth reading. My "hard copy" library brings the total to about 1,000 books after a "cull" of more than 100 simply occupying space. As you know, I tend to give away books to anyone interested. If I am interested in someone, I usually see if I can find a talk, deba...

This map sketches some ideas in play when we discuss "economics". Many maps could be drawn. The object is to aid thinking about issues. When we move from box to box and elaborate relationships we "drill down" on the concept of "economy", often discovering concepts that are not obvious or are often omitted when discussing the subject. The economic role of biodiversity is a good example. Another is the tendency to regard different compositions of individuals as separate kinds of actor - consumers, workers, owners, corporations, nations ... Agent An "agent" is a person or entity that acts like a person, showing things like agency and ownership. It is useful to regard all agents, not just individuals, societies, etc the same way. There is a connection to " dragon theory " here since actors can be "dragons". The corporation and the military are examples. Lately, we have begun to see the environment as an active participant in the ...