Hans-Hermann Hoppe, A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism: Economics, Politics, and Ethics (Ludwig Von Mises Institute's Studies in Austrian Economics) (Hardcover)

Excellent for the lay reader or the specialist, June 12, 1998

By 

Scott A. Kjar (Duluth MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism: Economics, Politics, and Ethics (Ludwig Von Mises Institute's Studies in Austrian Economics) (Hardcover)

Several years ago, I had the good fortune to actually take a class in Comparative Economic Systems from Professor Hoppe, and he used this book as his text. However, it is NOT a text book, and can be read by anyone with an interest in economic systems, political systems, East-West relations, and similar fields--and especially in the fundamental foundations of such topics. Hoppe has an interesting perspective on the field, since he grew up and was educated in West Germany, on the front lines of the Cold War. His advanced degrees (a Ph.D. and a post-Ph.D. degree called a Habilitation) in Philosophy, Economics, and Sociology, give him a broad view of the issues involved--unlike many other writers, who are overly specialized to the point that their work does not resemble reality.Hoppe gives a careful definition of what he means by the terms "capitalism" and "socialism" and then proceeds to analyze many variants, including Russian-style Socialism, Social Democracy, Conservatism, and piecemeal Social Engineering. He also explores the provision of so-called "public goods" (i.e., national defense, justice, security), and the problems of monopolies in capitalist nations.
Make no mistake about it, though, Hoppe is a capitalist, and this book is a ringing critique of all sorts of interventions. He grounds his argument in the fundamental axiom of individual self-ownership. Each individual owns his or her own body, and all analysis flows from that starting point. Hoppe examines this theme and its variations: everyone owns everyone else (communism), some people own other people (slavery), and each person owns himself or herself (liberty). These various optional starting points are shown to be mutually exclusive, and exhastive. From there, Hoppe proceeds in a logic fashion to demonstrate that liberty is superior to the other alternatives, and then to show that the other alternatives are necessarily presupposed by all forms of socialism and interventionism.
I highly recommend this book!.