Oddbean

You could start here: Human Action: A Treatise on Economics https://antennapod.org/deeplink/subscribe/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.mises.org%2Fitunes%2Fen_393.xml&title=Human+Action%3A+A+Treatise+on+Economics

Sadly, choosing ignorance is always popular these days 😔 nostr:nevent1qqs9yhrgk5n69wz7vnv3fgmlxzts5dy7tkj4fnf50zh55qn2y28crgsppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp0qgs2vrneurk665gq6a2rke572y7mc8ppwr5wnd60mw8fwxharc8xsycrqsqqqqqp2ehnfe

There is no means by which anyone can evade his personal responsibility. Whoever neglects to examine to the best of his abilities all the problems involved voluntarily surrenders his birthright to a self-appointed elite of supermen. In such vital matters blind reliance upon “experts” and uncritical acceptance of popular catchwords and prejudices is tantamount to the abandonment of self-determination and to yielding to other people’s domination. As conditions are today, nothing can be more important to every intelligent man than economics. His own fate and that of his progeny is at stake. Very few are capable of contributing any consequential idea to the body of economic thought. But all reasonable men are called upon to familiarize themselves with the teachings of economics. This is, in our age, the primary civic duty. Whether we like it or not, it is a fact that economics cannot remain an esoteric branch of knowledge accessible only to small groups of scholars and specialists. Economics deals with society’s fundamental problems; it concerns everyone and belongs to all. It is the main and proper study of every citizen. - Mises https://mises.org/mises-wire/austrian-schools-deductive-approach-beacon-economic-understanding

Yes, this is the unfortunate conclusion I have come to. I say unfortunate because I'm a mother and I want to focus on my household rather than economics. Also it was nicer before when I didn't think about or worry about economics, investing & geopolitics. But I've realized I'll end up poor and on the losing end if I don't learn about this stuff

From what I've listened to, they seem pretty joyless people. Sometimes I wonder if should I read them, then I come back to my first point. Whilst the commodity theory of money prevails through the culture here, I also want joy in my life, when I think of everything I do reduced to mere economic factors I get rather depressed. There's music, there's art, there's fun! I question how much fun Mises ever had? Maybe that's high time preference but it's my time so I'll pick and choose preferences as I see fit. A lot of human activity I don't see falling into purely market based activity and not all incentives are financial. Maybe my understanding is limited? I'm sure it is. Interested to see what others make of it...

Human Action by Mises is a really important read if you want to understand the importance of #Bitcoin and a market economy better. As for Rothbard, I’ve never read anything from him that felt like it could realistically be applied, but I also haven’t read a lot. According to this Reason piece, he became more of a Conservative populist and less of a Liberian, which isn’t surprising. https://x.com/reason/status/1803400096786038796?s=46&t=AY92ObXBoX1GzIBM1vb6Iw

This is why I asked. This is why I don't read many books. Some forget the goal. It is easy to get caught up with the process. Some treat books like trophies as if reading them is in itself an accomplishment. In my view what is more important and more difficult is human action based on knowledge. One can spend so much time thinking and reading but never doing. I'm not pretending to know the proper ratio but simply reading ideas you already agree with because others say you should isn't something I would do. I've read some Mises and Rothbard but not a ton. I've read far more of those influenced by them. I believe in following your curiosity and some have more or less. Over the years I've read books for many reasons. I remember hearing so many people hate on Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged that it peaked my curiosity. I wanted to know for myself. That is a key reason I often read a book. I don't like trusting others to accurately represent something. Especially people that are in opposition.