Books, Arts & Manners: The Right Books

Since its publication between boards in 1979 George Reisman’s The Government against the Economy has become something of a classic among modern treatises on economics. It is now available in quality paperback, courtesy of Jameson Books (Ottawa, Ill. 61350), at the relatively hefty price of $9.95, in exchange for which sum you will receive one of the most lucidly elegant defenses of free-enterprise capitalism known to man.

“This book,” Reisman begins, “is about the destructive effects of price controls”; which it is, in the sense that Crime and Punishment is about the destructive effects of reading bad philosophy. Accordingly, paragraph two begins: “This book is by no means merely a critique of price controls, however. It is also a positive exposition of the virtues of a free market.” Still too modest: Itisasif Dostoyevsky had written: “My book is also a positive exposition of the virtues of the Christian religion.” In fact, The Government against the Economy is inclusive in a way that no simple declarative statement—let alone one by the author himself—can encompass.

CW

About the Author

Chilton Williamson Jr.

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Since its publication between boards in 1979 George Reisman’s The Government against the Economy has become something of a classic among modern treatises on economics. It is now available in quality paperback, courtesy of Jameson Books (Ottawa, Ill. 61350), at the relatively hefty price of $9.95, in exchange for which sum you will receive one of the most lucidly elegant defenses of free-enterprise capitalism known to man.

“This book,” Reisman begins, “is about the destructive effects of price controls”; which it is, in the sense that Crime and Punishment is about the destructive effects of reading bad philosophy. Accordingly, paragraph two begins: “This book is by no means merely a critique of price controls, however. It is also a positive exposition of the virtues of a free market.” Still too modest: Itisasif Dostoyevsky had written: “My book is also a positive exposition of the virtues of the Christian religion.” In fact, The Government against the Economy is inclusive in a way that no simple declarative statement—let alone one by the author himself—can encompass.