FormerFulhamFan Posted December 23, 2013 Report Share Posted December 23, 2013 Hello, I'm posting this thread of a variety of political forums, ranging from objectivist online to rev left. I want to broaden my knowledge and thus would like you to recommend me three books to read on issues such as politics, philosophy and economics. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenelli01 Posted December 23, 2013 Report Share Posted December 23, 2013 Economics: Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt. Ethics: The Virtue of Selfishness by Ayn Rand Politics: Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand All are books with short chapters, so it won't be exhaustive reading. I think those are a good place to start. FormerFulhamFan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FormerFulhamFan Posted December 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2013 Economics: Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt. Ethics: The Virtue of Selfishness by Ayn Rand Politics: Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand All are books with short chapters, so it won't be exhaustive reading. I think those are a good place to start. Thanks, I'll tally up the responses and buy them in the Christmas sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted December 23, 2013 Report Share Posted December 23, 2013 The nelli01's recommendations are great. I'll add three more: Modern Times - Paul Johnson (A tour of World History from 1919 to about 1980) -- Important context to any thinking about politics The Making of Modern Economics - Mark Skousen (A history of economic thought) -- Understanding how different economists had different takes on fundamental questions gives one a better grounding. Five great philosophies of life - William de Witt Hyde (Stoicism, Epicureanism, Plato, Aristotle, Christianity) -- [this one is free on Gutenberg]. Understand the fundamental question that runs through ethics. Though this book only covers western thinkers, its a good start. If you're also interested in wider history or psychology, I can add a few more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FormerFulhamFan Posted December 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2013 The nelli01's recommendations are great. I'll add three more: Modern Times - Paul Johnson (A tour of World History from 1919 to about 1980) -- Important context to any thinking about politics The Making of Modern Economics - Mark Skousen (A history of economic thought) -- Understanding how different economists had different takes on fundamental questions gives one a better grounding. Five great philosophies of life - William de Witt Hyde (Stoicism, Epicureanism, Plato, Aristotle, Christianity) -- [this one is free on Gutenberg]. Understand the fundamental question that runs through ethics. Though this book only covers western thinkers, its a good start. If you're also interested in wider history or psychology, I can add a few more. Please do, are all this books from a right wing perspective? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted December 24, 2013 Report Share Posted December 24, 2013 ...are all this books from a right wing perspective? Paul Johnson is an English journalist who started on the left and switched to supporting Thatcher. So, he probably is a typical neo-con, who thinks that free-economies are good because of utilitarian reasons. I believe he is conservative on social issues. I doubt he is libertarian. Mark Skousen seems to be some variant of libertarian. Both their books are fairly non-ideological, and non-prescriptive. The philosophy book is from 1911, and I don;t know much about the author. In the book, he argues for a synthesis of Aristotle and Christ. I would say he is as secular, non-ritualistic and deist as a Christian could be. Wikipedia has only a brief entry. Other books: The Mind's Best Work - David N. Perkins (A survey of studies that ask whether creativity is structurally different from other types of thinking) Influence - Robert Cialdini (A brief study of thinking bias, with explanations of causes and corrective mechanisms) The Mystery of Capital - Hernando de Soto (The impact of concrete aspects of property rights, applied to countries like Brazil) From Dawn to Decadence - Jacques Barzun (A history of ideas, from the Renaissance to modern times) I'm not sure if any of these authors are "right" wing. Perhaps some people might consider de Soto "right" because he wants squatters in Rio to be given title to their property. Barzun might be conservative, based on the equation of the modern intellectual condition with "decadence". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theestevearnold Posted December 24, 2013 Report Share Posted December 24, 2013 Hello, I'm posting this thread of a variety of political forums, ranging from objectivist online to rev left. I want to broaden my knowledge and thus would like you to recommend me three books to read on issues such as politics, philosophy and economics. Thank you. To understand Objectivist political and economic principles, validated by the ethics that guide them, begin with Virtue of Selfishness, then read Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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