The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism

Introduction to the Austrian School of Econ

This book is very similar to Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson. It is an introduction to free market economics and the Austrian School of Economics. It is a great book to learn the basics from.

11 people found this helpful

Entertaining and Educational

Without question an anti-"big government", anti-liberal, and pro-capitalist book. The author has no qualms voicing his distain for government controls on economics or shortsighted and politically motivated interference with the free market. Having noted this less than respectful attitude towards Democrats, the book is filled with sound economic education. The author quotes both Adam Smith and Ayn Rand on numerous occasions (which gives a good indication of his stance) and offers a number of excellent scholarly works as reference in the "books you aren't supposed to read" vignettes. Not as well written, or as practically informative as Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad" collection, but unabridged, and 'sound as a pound' in it's economic basis. Highly recommend as basic info, a starting point in economics, and as ammo for political conservatives.

44 people found this helpful

Economics for the lay person

You don't have to be an academic to understand the common sense that Murphy lays out in The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism. This book will help you identify what you've instinctively sensed has been been wrong with our economic policies and what needs to be done to fix them. From this book go on to read Peter Schiff and Thomas Woods, and other authors who explain the Austrian school of economics thinking.

9 people found this helpful

OUTSTANDING primer to modern economics

Audio: Excellent narration by Perry Richards. Clear, easily understood enunciation. American accent, I presume, FWIW.

Content: Excellent. A thorough primer in the fundamentals of economics as applicable to modern times. As a P.I. Guide it supports the (indisputable, IMO) logic of "free market" economics, supported by numerous quotes from Frederic Bastiat, Adam Smith, Milton Friedman, and even Ayn Rand (Capitalism, The Unknown Ideal and The Virtue of Selfishness), to name a few. And, as a P.I. Guide, it is tongue in cheek and lightly sarcastic at times, but not to its' detriment. It also mentions 2 of my other favorite economic primers, Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt and Free to Choose by Rose and Milton Friedman, amongst the many books it suggests for additional reference. For a relatively short book (224 pages in paperback) it covers seemingly most of the major topics one should learn about to understand economics. (Surf the 'net for more detailed descriptions of the contents.) I absorbed this nearly 6 hour book in a single day and I'll be listening to it again. I highly recommend it.

16 people found this helpful

Excellent and sober

Easy to listen to and really informative. I'm an dedicated capitalist - and I learned something every few minutes.

Very reasoned and solid.

7 people found this helpful

Best explanation of Capitalism

If you lean towards a conservative slant in the least this is a great book. If you are liberal this is even better to listen too, really!! If you want to argue about capitalism or learn about it this is the book for you. It is worth every penny.

4 people found this helpful

Wow. . . This is concerning

I’ll start with something nice. This book was well read. The narrator clearly and concisely spouted off the complete and utter bunk that was written before him.
The content of this book presents a wonderful microcosm of the political/social/economic divides that exist in America today. Authors and speakers such as Dr Murphy here are perpetuating a false narrative based on flippant analogies that do not hold up to logical scrutiny. Lazy consumers of this narrative don’t bother to apply logical scrutiny, and accept this bs as fact. It makes me sad as an American.

This book tries to paint a picture where anything that government or labor unions does is negative. It goes so far as to advocate AGAINST child labor laws, anti-discrimination laws, collective bargaining, and equal pay for women. The book uses wonderfully-insightful examples such as “If it were legal in the US to send your 8yo to work instead of school, you wouldn’t do it anyway. There’s no need for a law.” Also, “You should hire a receptionist based upon a mix of her attractiveness and efficiency.”
Seriously.

The title here is not fitting. This book is not just “Politically Incorrect.” It’s actually “Offensively Incorrect.”

I’d suggest that a reasonable person may wish to read it, as I did, do get a nice layout of every far-right racist talking point that they may encounter in social media political debates this week. The book is full of oft-repeated cliches. Make some notes, prep your responses using actual facts and examples, and hit the web. You’ll see all these same ridiculous points laid out in thousands of comments sections across all platforms. Happy hunting!

2 people found this helpful

A Basic Collection of Free Market Talking Points

This is a good summary of how libertarians think for those trying to understand that school of thought. The book is very repetitive though and should have been better edited.

1 person found this helpful

Brutal but makes the point

There is no doubt that quite a few of the statements in this book will raise the anger of many liberal thinkers, however it does provide an argument why our market based economy has raised the standard of living for the most people. When we expect government to replace human charity we are at the very edge of the abyss.

Read and learn!

Great read. More people need to be educated about this stuff. This will change many people’s world view.