It’s been an insanely busy week, so I only finished 2 books, but they were both phenomenal. Enjoy!
Each of the links to the books are affiliate links, so if you use my link to purchase any of these books, some comes back to support what I do (and it also helps fund my reading habit).
The Captured Economy: How the Powerful Enrich Themselves, Slow Down Growth, and Increase Inequality by Brink Lindsey and Steven Teles
I’m super late to the party reading Brink Lindsey’s books, but I’m a major fan and have been getting caught up. This book is so damned good, and everyone should read it. We’re made to believe that capitalism means a free market, but this market is anything but free. Teles and Lindsey explain what economists call “rent-seeking” and how the ultra-rich stay in power while not giving opportunities to the lower classes. This book opened my eyes to so many things I was unaware of like the truth behind licensing for different careers as well as intellectual property and patent trolls.
Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism by Michael Parenti
I’ve been trying to learn more about Marxism, socialism, and communism. By default, we’re taught these are all awful things, but when you hear the policies these systems fight for, they don’t sound so bad. Although I’m not a fan of history books, I knew I needed to read this book. Parenti sheds light on what actually happened to communist governments and how they turned into such hellscapes. As you read, you start to realize these communist regimes didn’t turn terrible as a result of the system but power-hungry tyrants. So, while these systems may not have worked because of the individuals in charge, that’s more of a human-nature thing that we’d have to figure out.
Above all else, I think the main takeaway from this book is that the lower classes loved these systems because they finally had a semblance of equality. We never ask why people were sold on these ideas in the first place, and that’s key to understand the issues witch capitalism.
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"these communist regimes didn’t turn terrible as a result of the system but power-hungry tyrants. "
Millions in Slovakia*, Czechia, Poland, Hungary and other ex-commie places would disagree. When "the system" depends on destructive envy against those who have more, (for whatever reason), the power hungry will gain influence.
The rich sharing more with the working poor does sound good, but the working poor being forced to share with the non-working poor doesn't sound, nor look, so good.
We should instead be looking for gov't job guarantees and better support for low-IQ but honest workers willing to do work they're able to do.