"Let’s say that all you knew about Adolf Hitler was that he painted scenic pictures, postcards, and houses in Vienna, loved dogs and named his adorable German Shepard 'Blondie,' and frequently expressed solidarity with 'the people.' You might sport a T-shirt adorned with his image if you thought such a charismatic chap was also good-looking in a beret. But your education would be widely regarded as incomplete." Lawrence W Reed
This Day in History: Author L. Frank Baum was born on this day in 1856, and he is best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. While a children's classic, the book was actually an allegory for the politics and economics of the 1890's, with a special interest in bimetallism (a monetary standard where money is backed by gold and silver). The Yellow Brick Road represented the gold standard, and Ruby slippers were originally silver and Oz got its name from the abbreviation of ounces "Oz" in which gold and silver are measured. The Scarecrow represented the American farmers, the Tin Man represented the steel factory workers and the Cowardly Lion was a metaphor for politician William Jennings Bryan. The Wicked Witch of the West represented the American West, and the Winged Monkeys represented the Native Americans. The King of the Winged Monkeys tells Dorothy, "Once we were a free people, living happily in the great forest, flying from tree to tree, eating nuts and fruit and doing just as we pleased without calling anybody master. ... This was many years ago, long before Oz came out of the clouds to rule over this land."
This Day in History: Welsh textile manufacturer Robert Owen was born on this day in 1771. While a successful businessman, he was also a believer in Socialism, and may have even coined the term. About 200 years ago Robert Owen bought land in Ohio to set up a Socialist community. While American may be thought of as a Laissez-Faire country back then, it was also a hotbed of Socialist experimentation, particularly in Ohio. Owen called his community "New Harmony" but like all such Socialist communities, they all failed...usually within 2 years. As Alexander Winston wrote: "They couldn’t run anything properly—flour mill, saw mill, tannery or smithy—and their only solution to problems of production was to write another constitution or make another speech. The industrious soon tired of supporting the idle. From the Nashoba, Tennessee Owenite settlement, leader Frances Wright informed Owen that 'cooperation has nigh killed us all,' and departed. Within two years every Owenite venture, fourteen in all, disintegrated."
Historic Failures of Applied Socialism in Ohio by Daniel J Ryan 1920
This Day in History: Economist Friedrich Hayek was born on this day in 1899. He is best known for writing The Road to Serfdom which went on to sell 2 million copies, an outstanding achievement for an economics book.
Milton Friedman once said of Hayek: "There is no figure who had more of an influence, no person had more of an influence on the intellectuals behind the Iron Curtain than Friedrich Hayek. His books were translated and published by the underground and black market editions, read widely, and undoubtedly influenced the climate of opinion that ultimately brought about the collapse of the Soviet Union."
President Ronald Reagan listed Hayek as among the two or three people who most influenced his philosophy, and Margaret Thatcher often carried one of his books into Parliament with her.
Many Books you won't believe are online for free...but you may have to hurry before they are taken down. I did not post any of these books, these are simply books I found in my online travels.
For a list of all of my digital books and books on diskclick here
This day in history: New York becomes the first U.S. state to require automobile license plates on this day in 1901. My first reaction when reading this was "of course they were. New York has been the least free state in the country for a long time. Economic freedom is New York's greatest weakness, but the state has not kept up with the rest of the country on personal freedoms either. New York is also the worst state on regulatory policy, land-use freedom is very low, primarily because of the economically devastating rent control law in New York City. New York’s local tax burden is double that of the average state, and NY also suffers from a lack of “school choice.” Exorbitant prices on tobacco leads to selling cigarettes as singles, and forget about getting a gun there. More people leave New York than any other State.
This Day in History: The first Earth Day was held on this day in 1970. The co-founder of Earth was Ira Einhorn...also known as the Unicorn Killer. Earth Day also falls on Communist Leader Vladimir Lenin's birthday which many consider no coincidence. April 22 is actually a big day for Socialism/Communism. The Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of India formed on this day in 1969. The Paris Agreement was signed on this day in 2016. Witnesses begin testifying in the Army–McCarthy hearings began on this day in 1954. Richard Nixon died on this day in 1994 (Milton Friedman maintained that Nixon was the most Socialistic president of the 20th century). Immanuel Kant was born on this day in 1724 as well (his philosophy was the basis on which the structure of Marxism was built.) Earth Day Co-Founder Killed, Composted His Girlfriend
