Dreams Come Due: Government and Economics as If Freedom Mattered: A Libertarian Agenda

by John Galt

Book Overview

a Libertarian Agenda This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671611593
• ISBN13: 9780671611590
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 318 Pages
• Weight: 1.34 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Great ideas, great analysis, great quotes

The pseudonymous author of this entertaining and insightful book bases his analysis on three problems faced by the American electorate: (1) We do not understand basic economics, and are therefore driven primarily by envy and greed, (2) We do not understand the purpose of government, and therefore cannot recognize that the State is out of control, and (3) We are not aware of the "Orwellian semantics game" politicians and bureaucrats use to win popular support for their power-grabbing schemes. Three hundred pages hardly seems like enough room to pull the scales from our eyes, but "John Galt" makes a valiant effort to instruct us on "government and politics as if freedom mattered." Where I found him most interesting and instructive was when he addressed the aforementioned "semantic game." Galt argues that there are critical differences between terms most Americans treat as synonyms: law and morality; money and currency; needs and rights; government spending and private investment; political action and economic results; "politicians and responsible individuals." Until we recognize and understand these differences, not only will we never be free -- we will never even be able to *conceive of* what "being free" really means. After presenting us with The Ten Natural Laws of Economics, Galt takes us through nearly 100 brief chapters, each one dedicated to a single topic, like Deflation, Envy, Postal Service, Prophecy, Unemployment, and more. While his focus tends to lean toward economic matters, you don't need to be a specialist to understand his arguments. Most entertaining are the many brief quotations Galt uses to open each chapter. Ranging from Will Rogers and Kin Hubbard ("If there's anything a public servant hates to do, it's something for the public.") to Murray Rothbard and H.L. Mencken ("A good politician is as unthinkable as an honest burglar."), these set the flavor for the chapter to come. More importantly, brief excerpts from important works like Isabel Paterson's The God of the Machine or Schoeck's Envy: A Theory of Social Behaviour tempt the reader to discover these essential books more fully. Though this book is fifteen years old, the ideas behind it stand the test of time. For a great introduction to freedom and why it matters, this book is hard to beat.