Install
The Economy books
Alexander Hamilton Ron Chernow's 2004 biography of the first Treasury secretary, who built the financial system of the republic, and the source of a Broadway musical. Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand's 1957 novel in which the creative minds of a nation go on strike, an epic dramatization of her philosophy of rational self-interest. Basic Economics Thomas Sowell's plain-language economics for non-economists, built on scarcity, incentives and trade-offs, without graphs or equations. Capitalism and Freedom Milton Friedman's 1962 case that economic freedom is a condition of political freedom, with proposals from school vouchers to floating exchange rates. Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy Joseph Schumpeter's 1942 classic describing creative destruction and predicting that capitalism's success would erode its own support. Economics in One Lesson Henry Hazlitt's 1946 primer that teaches readers to look past the visible effects of a policy to its unseen and long-term consequences. Free to Choose Milton and Rose Friedman's 1980 popular defense of markets and limited government, written with a ten-part television series. Human Action Ludwig von Mises's 1949 treatise founding economics on the logic of purposeful action, with a rigorous argument that socialism cannot calculate. Reagan, in His Own Hand The radio commentaries Reagan wrote himself in 1975 to 1979, which show his thinking before the presidency. Reflections of a Neoconservative Essays by Irving Kristol, the founder of neoconservatism, on capitalism, culture, foreign policy and the failure of the liberal faith. The Constitution of Liberty Hayek's 1960 case that freedom means freedom from coercion under general law, and that planning and the welfare state quietly erode it. The Downing Street Years Margaret Thatcher's 1993 memoir of her eleven years as prime minister, covering privatization, the Falklands, the Cold War and her fall. The Fatal Conceit Hayek's last book, arguing that socialism rests on the illusion that reason can design an order better than traditions and markets that evolved. The Forgotten Man Amity Shlaes's 2007 revisionist history of the Depression, arguing that New Deal experiments prolonged hardship. The Road to Serfdom F. A. Hayek's 1944 warning that economic planning leads, step by step, to the loss of political and personal freedom. The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism Michael Novak's 1982 defense of capitalism as part of a three-part system of free economy, democratic politics and a moral-cultural order. The Theory of Moral Sentiments Adam Smith's first book, which grounds morality in sympathy and the impartial spectator, and gives the moral context for his later economics. The Wealth of Nations Adam Smith's 1776 foundation of modern economics: division of labor, free exchange and limited government as the sources of national prosperity. Wealth and Poverty George Gilder's 1981 argument for supply-side economics and a moral defense of capitalism as an economy of giving and risk.