I was so happy when I saw the section on general objections, specifically “happiness.” Great, I thought! He’s going to take on the argument that capitalism makes people less happy than a social democracy! Nope. “Critics level two charges against capitalism: First, they say, that the possession of a motor car, a television set, and a refrigerator does not make a man happy. Secondly, they add that there are still people who own none of these gadgets.” The first sentence is turned into a strawman by making it an absolute, the second sentence is a strawman from the start. The rest is just like that. I was so disappointed.
Overall, I feel like Mises just doesn’t understand the people who disagree with him, and doesn’t try to do charitable arguing.
Have you ever read Deep Economy, by Bill McKibben? Now there’s some anti-capitalistic mentality.
I don’t really care about the happiness of the first world. Markets are urbanizing china at a rate of a los angeles every year. The rate of increase in SoL worldwide right now is breathtaking.
The anti-capitalistic mentality is a worthwhile read if you find this avenue interesting. (warning: Austrian econ) http://mises.org/etexts/anticap.pdf
I was so happy when I saw the section on general objections, specifically “happiness.” Great, I thought! He’s going to take on the argument that capitalism makes people less happy than a social democracy! Nope. “Critics level two charges against capitalism: First, they say, that the possession of a motor car, a television set, and a refrigerator does not make a man happy. Secondly, they add that there are still people who own none of these gadgets.” The first sentence is turned into a strawman by making it an absolute, the second sentence is a strawman from the start. The rest is just like that. I was so disappointed.
Overall, I feel like Mises just doesn’t understand the people who disagree with him, and doesn’t try to do charitable arguing.
Have you ever read Deep Economy, by Bill McKibben? Now there’s some anti-capitalistic mentality.
I don’t really care about the happiness of the first world. Markets are urbanizing china at a rate of a los angeles every year. The rate of increase in SoL worldwide right now is breathtaking.