Books – Page 12 – Steve Baker

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Economics and mathematical models

by Steve Baker 22 March 2009 in Politics, Business Comments are Disabled

The mathematical methods of recent economics did not predict or prevent the current crisis. Should we look for a better way? Mathematical modeling has revealed itself to be a vain and formalistic exercise incapable of explaining the international currency crises, stock-market and real-estate bubbles, or the global financial crises that have […]

Finishing “Human Action, A treatise on economics”, Volume 1

by Steve Baker 10 March 2009 in Politics Comments are Disabled

It seems sometimes that there is little truly new thinking to be done, merely the attempt to catch up with previous dismissals of foolish and destructive ideas: Of course, there will always be individuals and groups of individuals whose intellect is so narrow that they cannot grasp the benefits which […]

They meant well

by Steve Baker 1 March 2009 in Politics, Business Comments are Disabled

“They meant well” by D R Myddelton, published by the IEA, is a tour-de-force of government project disasters. It analyses in detail: The R101 Airship The groundnut scheme Nuclear power Concorde The Channel Tunnel The Millenium Dome One would have hoped it was redundant to point out that these massive […]

The road to hell is paved with…

by Steve Baker 27 February 2009 in Politics Comments are Disabled

Good intentions, of course. Chris Huhne proposes to introduce a bill to repeal the legislation that has stripped away our rights. So far, so good: There has always been a problem for civil libertarians. The sacrifices of freedoms made by successive governments often seem small, particularly when they are pushed […]

Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles

by Steve Baker 26 February 2009 in Politics, Business Comments are Disabled

Jesus Huerta De Soto’s book, “Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles” arrived today, all 875 pages of it. It is, apparently: by far the most thorough treatment in print of Austrian ideas on banking and the business cycle It looks insightful already (from the preface to the second, 2001, edition): […]

The New Cold War, Edward Lucas

by Steve Baker 22 February 2009 in Politics Comments are Disabled

A fascinating book by The Economist‘s Central and East European correspondent, Edward Lucas: First a medieval fortress and then the citadel of Soviet totalitarianism, the Kremlin’s rose-red walls have rarely made lovers of liberty and justice feel at home. It is as if Britain’s government were based in the Tower […]

“The Plan: Twelve Months to Renew Britain”

by Steve Baker 13 February 2009 in Politics Comments are Disabled

After first reporting on the book here, I have finally returned to read it in detail; it is Cromwellian: ‘I find the country bleeding, nay, almost dying,’ Oliver Cromwell told MPs in 1644. what made him angry was not simply that people were suffering, but that Parliament was part of […]

The Spell of Plato

by Steve Baker 23 January 2009 in Politics Comments are Disabled

At a friend’s request, I spoke to a sixth form class on “The Spell of Plato”, explaining how Plato’s philosophy is relevant today. As the title suggests, I used Popper’s critique of Plato’s philosophy to explore these two propositions: Government ought to control us to ensure social, political and economic […]

Reconciling ourselves to capitalism

by Steve Baker 14 January 2009 in Politics Comments are Disabled

Reflecting on aspects of the debate about capitalism, I picked this out of Liberalism, the Classical Tradition: To advocate private ownership of the means of production is by no means to maintain that the capitalist social system, based on private property, is perfect. There is no such thing as earthly […]

Bureaucracy

by Steve Baker 10 January 2009 in Politics Comments are Disabled

Bureaucracy: from Stalin and Trotsky to David Cameron, we all know we loathe it. What is it? In “Bureaucracy”, Ludwig von Mises explains: Bureaucratic management is management bound to comply with detailed rules and regulations fixed by the authority of a superior body. The task of the bureaucrat is to […]