The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism

I debated with myself whether to give 4 or 5 stars to this book. Ultimately, I decided on 5 stars - as the content is tremendous - and I decided it was unreasonable to expect this book to be everything to everyone. The book is a wealth of information and covers a wide range of subjects - with a good portion of those filling the "politically incorrect" category. Mr. Murphy - and I have read several of his articles outside this book - has the gift of providing some of the clearest and pointed critiques of `politically correct' thinking concerning capitalism. In reading the book, I didn't find all of his arguments equally convincing - but when they are good - they are INCREDIBLY good. Entertaining too - in talking about a particular Amtrak line, he offers "Your tax dollars would have been saved if the line had been scrapped and Amtrak's customers had been given plane tickets instead." Point and match to Mr. Murphy. The book does not dwell needlessly on each issue - but gets right to the point - and there are several in each chapter. Hence, my reference to a shotgun blast in the title. The points come and go quickly, and if you don't have some background in some of the items, it is possible to simply read the conclusion without fully appreciating the argument. This is not a quibble with the text - which is extremely readable. If you are in possession of matrix-like "bullet speed" capabilities, be sure to use them as needed to slow down and appreciate some of the elegantly crafted explanations in the book (I've read many books three times the size with nowhere near the amount of information contained here.) Would I recommend this book to an absolute economic newcomer? No. If you have never heard of the phrase "GDP" then I don't think this is the place to start. This was my 4/5 star debate. I finally figured out I was getting hung up on the cartoon cover (sad - isn't it?) But, if you have watched the business channel or read the business section, you will easily understand and enjoy this book. And the upper limit? I'm the wrong one to ask. But after reading the book, I'd pay money to see Mr. Murphy debate just about anyone.

Dr. Murphy valiantly crushes prevalent anti-capitalist myths, misunderstandings, and lies in this book. He also explains and defends capitalism, showing how-among other things-capitalism actually defeats things such as slavery, pollution, and racism, even though common accusations against the unregulated free-market are that it allows-even engenders-such things. Dr. Murphy also shows how when the government tries to take the place of private individuals and businesses, it operates without market incentives, is free from the punishment that bad economic choices incur on businessmen in the free market, and often fails miserably. There are also some valuable insights into major historical economic crises and issues, such as an analysis of the Great Depression and the New Deal that shows the absurdity of some of the views the Hoover and Roosevelt administrations had on economics. This is a great book that I would recommend to anyone interested in learning about economics and the free market.

This book is stridently, unabashedly, and wholeheartedly 100% pro-capitalist in the purest, most positive sense of the word. Unlike other Politically Incorrect Guides, the orientation of this book is not conservative, but rather libertarian. There is some pandering to the Conservative Book Club audience, with lots of digs at "liberals," and deafening silence on the issues of immigration and war (though a few pro-immigration, anti-war hints are dropped if you're careful to pay attention). All in all, this book would be great for liberals and conservatives alike who are trending libertarian and/or who know very little about economics or capitalist philosophy. For longtime libertarians, however, this gets only 4 stars as a wonderful affirmation of our already held beliefs. One thing this book did do for me, however, is finally turn me against my last bastion of big-government activism, anti-discrimination laws -- which even conservatives have come to embrace. Libertarianism is the only anti-racist creed, and yet it recognizes that all the government can morally do is to not practice racism -- it cannot enforce laws against its practice on a private level.

I'm still in the middle of the book, because I'm also reading Atlas Shrugged, The Federalist Papers and blogging. This book has given me much of the logic that I inherently believed about Capitalism. You know how you already know something, but you don't have the argument down to answer the questions that people like to use to trip you up? This book provides you the foundation about Capitalism to answer it's critics. Having the facts to backup my beliefs, the book inspired me to start my blog, [...], where I defend Capitalism daily. Although Capitalism doesn't seem to have it's defenders on the political front, Robert unabashedly defends it in his book. What's best is he gives you the education to become one of it's defenders.

The book is easy to read and sway every important topic at issue. It is also well punctuated by numerous recommendations of books you can read if you want to enhance your knowledge on some theme. The discussion technic that Murphy uses adds some transparency to the book because he doesn't disqualify the opinions of the capitalism's main critics. On the contrary, he puts them just in front of you, offering the reader the chance of approving or not. In this sense I think that what he does is to illustrate upon a fair basis rather than rightly dismiss what others say. At the end of the book you have all the references required to follow up the learning on this both wonderful but also misunderstood topic. There's more to capitalism out there than we can see with our eyes. Highly recommended.

The whole series is great and more information that most would get in school, both High school and college. I was already a fan of subject matter, and after this book I knew even more about it and the history of capitalism and the hidden gems of its application that are usually not covered in the history books or by the news. If you want the TRUE history and lessons on capitalism or even if you think that capitalism is evil, read this book and learn what actually happens and how it actually works!

An excellent highly-readable guide for debunking the standard smears against free markets and free trade. Aimed at the layman (high school students included), it's an excellent starting point and covers lots of topics in history and current events. Statists of all stripes need to come to grips with the counter-arguments presented here. If you get the feeling that the government-approved textbooks you read in high school may not have presented the whole story, this book is for you. Republicans and Democrats alike will be challenged by this provocative book.

Murphy is incredibly intelligent with a warm and approachable manner that keeps you wanting to read. This eye opening look at what capitalism really is will prepare you to forge into the conversations with your friends and family feeling confident about what you know, and will also arm you with the tools to decipher the garbage your politicians are selling you every election cycle.

The quality of the book is very good, cover and pages. Font size is also good, could be larger but it's okay, it's not small. Regarding the content, I didn't finish the book yet but so far, I am liking it.

I think for most people, this is a great mythbuster. Basically, its the same message as contained in Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson, but in a more "reader friendly" format. If you want to clear most of your socialist misconceptions and brain-washing out of your system, this is a good start.

I think this book should be must read for all people including high school aged kids and it was well researched and referenced and I like how he exposed socialism’s awful environmental records and how free market has always solved real environmental problems and also exposed some of the man made climate fraud too though there are great books on that if one wants to know more like Marc Morano’s book in this series regarding for example

Dieses Büchlein stellt die Funktionsweise einer freien Marktwirtschaft dar. Im Gegensatz zu einem Lehrbuch bauen die einzelnen Kapitel nicht aufeinander auf, sondern widerlegen jeweils weit verbreitete Irrtümer über bestimmte Themen: - nutzten die "Räuberbarone" ihre Monopolmacht zum Nachteil ihrer Kunden aus? - war der Kapitalismus Auslöser der Weltwirtschaftskrise? - besiegte Roosevelts "New Deal" die Weltwirtschaftskrise? - nützen Gewerkschaften der Arbeiterklasse? - war der Kapitalismus Ursache für Sklaverei und Kinderarbeit? - ist Freihandel schlecht? - ist Papiergeld Wohlstand? - führt Kapitalismus zu Umweltverschmutzung? - ist Outsourcing schlecht? - sind Zahlungen an entlassene Vorstandsmitglieder zu beanstanden? - senkt der Sozialstaat die Armut? - unterstützt der Kapitalismus Rassismus? - verhindert die Notenbank Inflation? - nützen Mietobergrenzen den Mietern? - helfen Weltbank und Internationaler Währungsfonds den Entwicklungsländern? - sind Spekulanten und Hedgefonds unnötig? - schaden billige Importe? Alle diese Fragen werden mit einem klaren "Nein" beantwortet. Das kann man am Beispiel der Gewerkschaften zeigen: Sie handeln Lohnerhöhungen für ihre Mitglieder aus; das führt zu Arbeitslosigkeit für Nichtmitglieder und höheren Preisen für den Verbraucher. Deshalb ist die Arbeiterklasse insgesamt schlecht beraten, wenn sie von den Gewerkschaften eine Besserung ihrer Lage erhofft. Mir hat das Buch gut gefallen. Auch ohne Vorkenntnisse kann man viel lernen. Der Autor benutzt die "österreichische Schule" der Volkswirtschaftslehre; andere Positionen (Keynesianer, Monetaristen) werden dargestellt und ggf. widerlegt. Literaturhinweise und Kästen lockern das Buch auf. Für Studenten ist es sicher interessant zu wissen, dass das Buch keine Diagramme enthält; auf diese Hilfsmittel der Mikro- und Makroökonomie wird verzichtet. Wer eine ausführlichere (aber ebenfalls für Leser ohne Vorkenntnisse geeignete) Einführung in die "österreichische Schule" sucht, dem empfehle ich Callahan: "Economics for Real People". Wer eine Einführung in die Volkswirtschaftslehre sucht, die auch die gebräuchlichen Diagramme enthält, dem empfehle ich Flynn: "Wirtschaft für Dummies".

A book about capitalism and economics doesn't have to be as dismal as many Economists describe their field. This is a light, fun read than will challenge the layman's understanding of what seems like the other C-word nowadays and walk you through the steps clearly and simply. It's not a textbook, so don't expect grand academia, but it is a very well argued and put forth case for what the author espouses. For complete beginners. Enjoy it.