Capitalism: A Condensed Version
29 March 2007
SUGGESTED
Research
Government policy has encouraged the breakdown of families with devastating social and economic consequences
20 March 2007
Economic Theory
Professor Berkeley Hill of Imperial College London et al analyse the appropriate roles of the public and private sectors in the developing rural economy.
2 April 2007
Tax and Fiscal Policy
19 November 2024
A masterly exposition of the benefits of the market system and the deficiencies of the welfare state
In this new condensed version of his masterpiece, Capitalism , Arthur Seldon explains why, despite its apparent imperfections, the market system is infinitely preferable to the alternatives. The market system has, since the eighteenth century, brought enormous gains in living standards, in contradiction to the Marxist theories that predicted capitalism’s collapse.
The institution of property rights has facilitated trade and investment, whilst the price mechanism has enabled people to benefit from dispersed knowledge about individual preferences. Yet politicians, needing to win votes in the short-term, have largely failed to recognise the benefits of a market system with the minimum of government intervention. The development of the welfare state has been disastrous, almost destroying the voluntary provision of health and education, whilst creating institutions that serve producer interests at the expense of consumers. Seldon’s message is clear; if capitalism is to yield its best results the political process must be confined to the minimal duties of the state.
This condensed version of Capitalism includes a foreword by the late Milton Friedman, an introduction by John Blundell and Philip Booth, and commentaries by James Bartholomew and D.R. Myddelton.
2007, ISBN 978 0 255 36598 7, 96pp, PB
For more on Arthur Seldon’s outstanding contribution to economic life, see:
A Conversation with Harris and Seldon
The Collected Works of Arthur Seldon .
For an introduction to markets see:
How Markets Work by Israel M. Kirzner
The institution of property rights has facilitated trade and investment, whilst the price mechanism has enabled people to benefit from dispersed knowledge about individual preferences. Yet politicians, needing to win votes in the short-term, have largely failed to recognise the benefits of a market system with the minimum of government intervention. The development of the welfare state has been disastrous, almost destroying the voluntary provision of health and education, whilst creating institutions that serve producer interests at the expense of consumers. Seldon’s message is clear; if capitalism is to yield its best results the political process must be confined to the minimal duties of the state.
This condensed version of Capitalism includes a foreword by the late Milton Friedman, an introduction by John Blundell and Philip Booth, and commentaries by James Bartholomew and D.R. Myddelton.
2007, ISBN 978 0 255 36598 7, 96pp, PB
For more on Arthur Seldon’s outstanding contribution to economic life, see:
A Conversation with Harris and Seldon
The Collected Works of Arthur Seldon .
For an introduction to markets see:
How Markets Work by Israel M. Kirzner
SHARE
