Direct Democracy Forum

Direct Democracy Forum

Economics texts

for the education of the direct democratic citizen ...

Those of you reading this, I think I would not be wrong in believing, you want to have personal input into the responsible decision-making of your local, regional (provincial or state), or national government, or an international or supranational body. Those of you who are not reading this are presumably staring blankly at the screen with little comprehension (as usual) and it would make little difference what I wrote, unless I grab your attention with bright colours or moving images! ;) But it is okay to read this sitting on your daddy's lap! Hopefully it will not take too much time, and then you can be off to Disney or somewhere. :) [Now back to the topic!]

The following texts I feel will help people be more constructive in their criticism and beneficial to the greater community so far as economic policy and anything else touching the economic welfare of the people. This is by no means a complete list, and is not to be interpreted that you should avoid ever reading anything by Karl Marx or John Maynard Keynes, if only for a broader understanding and for comparison. (For an enormous list of economics works, try this mirror of the History Of Economics, at Melbourne University.)

• England's Great Happiness by Anonymous, 1677.
• An Inquiry Into The Nature And Causes Of The Wealth Of Nations By Adam Smith, 1776. The foundational text in economics! The origin of such fundamental concepts as the (mutual) benefits of specialization and trade.
• The Foundations of Morality by Henry Hazlitt, 1964. Discusses the rational basis of morality. Hazlitt draws on the contributions of philosophers and economists ranging from Aristotle to Ludwig von Mises and F.A. Hayek and covers topics as seemingly diverse as law and manners.
• The Conquest of Poverty by Henry Hazlitt, 1973. Drawing lessons from history and economics, Hazlitt shows how the Western world has nearly eradicated poverty. But "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
• The Wisdom of Henry Hazlitt. A large, diverse collection of Henry Hazlitt's best essays.