Oddbean

At the end of the Economics of Bitcoin panel at Cheatcode with Preston Pysh, @LynAlden and @allen, I offered a book recommendations list that will 100x your economic understanding and appreciation of Bitcoin. After the talk, 20+ people asked me to write it down, so here it is, all books available for free in pdf, epub, and audiobook: ## Theory and History ### by Ludwig von Mises This is about the theoretical foundations of Praxeology, Mises explains methodological dualism and defines the axiom of action, from which economic science can be deduced. At first glance it seems dry to read, but the ideas and concepts are very juicy. https://mises.org/library/book/theory-and-history-interpretation-social-and-economic-evolution ## Economic Science and the Austrian Method ### by Hans Hermann Hoppe Hoppe's foundational masterwork using a synthetic apriori proposition to define the axiom of argumentation, the bedrock for the deduction of a reasonable ethics. For centuries it was not possible to "derive an ought from an is", and Hoppe triumphantly proves that in fact a private property society ought to be. https://mises.org/library/book/economic-science-and-austrian-method ## Man, Economy and State, with Power and Markets ### by Murray Rothbard This is Rothnard's magnum opus treatise, the one book you must read to understand everything there is in economic science. It is full of beautiful logic, compelling history, and a very entertaining prose, Rothbard is a master wordsmith. Power and Markets is a deep dive into hard core anarchist thought, demolishing the illusion of government authority, so radical it got cut from the original print. https://mises.org/library/book/man-economy-and-state-power-and-market ## The Ethics of Money Production ### by Jörg Guido Hülsmann A solid exploration of the economic and moral consequences of inflation, a fascinating history of monetary interventionism, with insights from numerous religious scholars. This book shined a spotlight on this most devilish trick which turns humanity into a pack of looters and demolished the production stages of a civilization. It's published the year before the Bitcoin whitepaper, even mentioning the difficulty of creating digital base money, and I bet my stack that Satoshi read this book as he was designing bitcoin. https://mises.org/library/book/ethics-money-production ## Cryptoeconomics, Fundamental Principles of Bitcoin ### by Eric Voskuil This is not only the single best book about Bitcoin, it is also a monumental achievement in praxeological thought among those of Mises and Hoppe, because Voskuil introduces the axiom of resistance. This is the missing puzzle piece to articulate an applicable strategy of security and defense, without which freedom tech like Bitcoin cannot be understood. Voskuil has accurate definitions and solid arguments that lead to a proper understanding of each aspect of Bitcoin. https://voskuil.org/cryptoeconomics/

One of my unreasonable wishes is to resurrect Rothbard and orrange pill him. I would love to see his mind cope with Bitcoin at first contact. The guy never even used a computer, he wrote everything on a typewriter! nostr:nevent1qqst98umu7409dh4h7m7p5nj3trk8p0mvqdvjk2cna4qu589jx6m6kczyzm7669svt0xkjsju50a22zurc0qa589z2xd4yatzx6p2z64a5e0cqcyqqqqqqg04w9du

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Hülsmann is spot on in his analysis in 2007. It is INCREDIBLY unlikely that something like bitcoin exists! I can imagine Satoshi reading this and be like "hold my beer" Checkout the Ethics of Money Production, it's great! https://image.nostr.build/9e7d625b8f43cf5d7f19ccc8b50508765452affbe695dd4a9769cb638c0af60e.jpg nostr:nevent1qqst98umu7409dh4h7m7p5nj3trk8p0mvqdvjk2cna4qu589jx6m6kcpzemhxue69uhkzarvv9ejumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgq3qklkk3vrzme455yh9rl2jshq7rc8dpegj3ndf82c3ks2sk40dxt7qxpqqqqqqzxnmh57

More entries for my reading list nostr:nevent1qqst98umu7409dh4h7m7p5nj3trk8p0mvqdvjk2cna4qu589jx6m6kcpzemhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejz7q3qklkk3vrzme455yh9rl2jshq7rc8dpegj3ndf82c3ks2sk40dxt7qxpqqqqqqzh5vq4r

YYYAAAASSSS. Finally someone recommends Eric. I've seen both over confidence and under confidence in Bitcoin for the wrong reasons by people who haven't read it. It's dense and you have to do active reading the whole time, but you just don't "get" bitcoin without it. The history around the publishing of the other books is itself interesting, the personalities, the controversies from YOU KNOW WHO. Their content is not so much a burden to read, as lifting the weight of ignorance. So i recommend the Mises institute podcasts for daily optimism.

Here is the panel about the Economics of Bitcoin with @LynAlden @preston @allen and me at Cheatcode in Bedford. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA4jzHIPj7A nostr:nevent1qqst98umu7409dh4h7m7p5nj3trk8p0mvqdvjk2cna4qu589jx6m6kcpr4mhxue69uhkummnw3ez6ur4vgh8wetvd3hhyer9wghxuet5qgst0mtgkp3du662ztj3l4fgts0purksu5fgek5n4vgmg9gt2hkn9lqrqsqqqqqpcwjvwd