Books that demonstrate what liberalism hath wrought
I'm like a kid in a candy store during political conventions. As I've been watching the Democratic National Convention I've been thinking about what moved me in a different direction. Here are the books that I recommend for understanding why government solutions never work as designed:
Losing Ground: American Social Policy 1950 - 1980 - Charles Murray - Murray dissected the liberal welfare state with the precision of a surgeon, from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to the increase in crime and out-of-wedlock births correlating directly with welfare to The Law of Net Harm. "The less likely it is that the unwanted behavior will change voluntarily, the more likely it is that a program to induce change will cause net harm." Murray's brilliant work changed the way I looked at solutions.
Wealth and Poverty - George Gilder - Gilder always said things that you weren't supposed to say: Have a mother and father in the family and you are infinitely less likely to be poor. Wealth and Poverty popularized the concept that higher tax rates result in lower revenue as businessmen and women deflate activity and individuals engage in income protective behavior (men are smarter than laws). The concept - and book - was a key part of the Reagan administration tax policy. Seek first to understand wealth and poverty.
The Tragedy of American Compassion - Marvin Olasky - A wonderful history of the devolution of charity in the U.S. from a private, highly-accountable, short-term injection of assistance to a bureaucratic, "guilt-free" system of wealth transfers. You can't mimic true compassion.
The Closing of the American Mind - Allan Bloom - A depressing story but a motivating one. A condemnation of the state of our collective souls. A great timeless read.
The Liberal Crack-Up - R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. - Great stuff. He lampooned extreme feminism, anti-nukers, environmentalism and Jimmy Carter. And when the time came (starting with a retreat from Robert Bork - helped by none-other-than liberal, Joe Biden) he published the Conservative Crack-up.
Parliament of Whores - P.J. O'Rourke - a hilariously truthful look at how things really work in government.
Witness - Whittaker Chambers - One man's journey through the U.S. communist system.
The Road to Serfdom - F.A. Hayek - Hayek's denunciation of central planning is just as applicable today as it was in 1944. Many of his passages on socialism could just as easily apply to the new religion of environmentalism.
The Death of the Grown-Up - Diana West - The ultimate result of modern liberalism is that there is no need for grown-ups. Government will take care of everything.
National Review - When I went away to college, either my parents or my grandmother bought me a subscription to National Review. Every two weeks, I read that magazine cover-to-cover and infuriated liberals with another perspective. It was one of the best things that anyone ever did for me because it taught me to think about big issues differently and have a sense of humor. It endlessly poked holes in liberalism's orthodoxy.
Losing Ground: American Social Policy 1950 - 1980 - Charles Murray - Murray dissected the liberal welfare state with the precision of a surgeon, from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to the increase in crime and out-of-wedlock births correlating directly with welfare to The Law of Net Harm. "The less likely it is that the unwanted behavior will change voluntarily, the more likely it is that a program to induce change will cause net harm." Murray's brilliant work changed the way I looked at solutions.
Wealth and Poverty - George Gilder - Gilder always said things that you weren't supposed to say: Have a mother and father in the family and you are infinitely less likely to be poor. Wealth and Poverty popularized the concept that higher tax rates result in lower revenue as businessmen and women deflate activity and individuals engage in income protective behavior (men are smarter than laws). The concept - and book - was a key part of the Reagan administration tax policy. Seek first to understand wealth and poverty.
The Tragedy of American Compassion - Marvin Olasky - A wonderful history of the devolution of charity in the U.S. from a private, highly-accountable, short-term injection of assistance to a bureaucratic, "guilt-free" system of wealth transfers. You can't mimic true compassion.
The Closing of the American Mind - Allan Bloom - A depressing story but a motivating one. A condemnation of the state of our collective souls. A great timeless read.
The Liberal Crack-Up - R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. - Great stuff. He lampooned extreme feminism, anti-nukers, environmentalism and Jimmy Carter. And when the time came (starting with a retreat from Robert Bork - helped by none-other-than liberal, Joe Biden) he published the Conservative Crack-up.
Parliament of Whores - P.J. O'Rourke - a hilariously truthful look at how things really work in government.
Witness - Whittaker Chambers - One man's journey through the U.S. communist system.
The Road to Serfdom - F.A. Hayek - Hayek's denunciation of central planning is just as applicable today as it was in 1944. Many of his passages on socialism could just as easily apply to the new religion of environmentalism.
The Death of the Grown-Up - Diana West - The ultimate result of modern liberalism is that there is no need for grown-ups. Government will take care of everything.
National Review - When I went away to college, either my parents or my grandmother bought me a subscription to National Review. Every two weeks, I read that magazine cover-to-cover and infuriated liberals with another perspective. It was one of the best things that anyone ever did for me because it taught me to think about big issues differently and have a sense of humor. It endlessly poked holes in liberalism's orthodoxy.
Comments