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Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal?
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> Have you read any Ayn Rand? Yes. If so, what is your opinion of capitalism? That has literally nothing to do with the previous question.
Ayn Rand wrote a book called Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.
> I also don't believe that laissez-faire capitalism leads to the most happiness for the most people.
Then how can you include "libertarian" in the label that describes your political philosophy when one of the primary tenets of libertarianism is capitalism? Me being a libertarian and you being a "left libertarian," how are our political philosophies even remotely comparable?
> No. Communism is not "total government".
I will concede it's possible that anarcho-communists have changed the meaning of the word; I'm talking the modern understanding of the word. e.g. Soviet Union/North Korean communism. As an example, the word liberal is commonly used to describe a statist/authoritarian position, thus we need "descriptors" to define the previous meaning such as "classical liberal" (libertarian) and "neo-liberal" (neo just means "new").
It isn't the fault of capitalism that mega corporations can stash profits overseas and evade taxes. It isn't the fault of capitalism that profits are privatized but environmental cleanup costs are paid by the taxpayers. It isn't the fault of capitalism that state funded schools pay for sports stadiums at the cost of teacher salaries. It isn't the fault of capitalism that when corporations are fined billions they can simply continue to delay and appeal until they only pay a tiny fraction of what they owe the people for the damage they do. It isn't the fault of capitalism that insurance companies make medical care ridiculously complex and expensive. All these are examples of "crony capitalism", which is just institutionalized manipulation disguised as actual capitalism.
For more on the subject: http://www.amazon.com/Capitalism-Ideal-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451147952/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456603214&sr=1-1&keywords=capitalism+the+unknown+ideal
Top 3 is obviously going to vary from person to person. Here's a good set of 3 books I'd recommend:
Between those three, you should get a basic grasp of economics and the ethical arguments for libertarianism.
(Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal also comes with the bonus of reading an article by Alan Greenspan in defense of the gold standard.)
Capitalism, the Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand
While I don't agree with everything, she poses great arguments.
- You can go ahead and read this: http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/capitalism.html#:~:text=Capitalism%20is%20a%20social%20system,only%20by%20means%20of%20force.
here's a book for you as well which I've read and have a physical copy of:
https://www.amazon.com/Capitalism-Ideal-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451147952
She wrote lots of nonfiction: https://www.amazon.com/Capitalism-Ideal-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451147952
No sacrifice of freedom is needed to have a society based on voluntary relationships for mutual benefit. But rational selfishness has to be understood as a virtue.
Individualism in the context of politics is the right to live for your own sake. Take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe_ETS4JLS4
An individualist is a person who thinks independently and does not sacrifice for others. But only accepts relationships based on win-win.
Capitalism is the unknown ideal. It's most often misunderstood. https://www.amazon.com/Capitalism-Ideal-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451147952
https://www.amazon.com/Capitalism-Ideal-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451147952
Socialism, not...even...once.
What do you want to get out of it? Do you want to read overblown maximalist literature with ideology? Then go for the 50 page speech in the middle of it. Or any of her terrible philosophy books, or some secondary literature by protege Leonard Peikoff.
If you want the story, just watch the movie. It was even more boring than the book, but it's a movie.
If you are looking for well written philosophy that supports capitalism, I wouldn't start with Rand. Maybe read some Adam Smith, or Milton Friedman. Maybe another Comrade on here can help you with that? I'm under-read in capitalist philosophy and economics honestly.
Reason, Freedom and Capitalism is the answer.
OP, I see a lot of comments discussing small government and virtues of capitalism and the efficiency of free markets. I know there's a big circlejerk of misinformation about her, but Ayn Rand does and amazing job of explaining small government principles and outcomes of leftism. I want to suggest a few books that have helped change my thinking (I voted for Obama in '08 and Romney in '12). I know telling a 17 year old to read a book is probably insanity, but I hope you'll maintain an open mind, educate yourself (public schools have zero incentive to teach a system that doesn't advocate for tax-funded salaries and bureaucracies), and share your thoughts with your friends. These books are easy reads and mostly compilations of short essays or articles that can be read randomly, five minutes at a time.
>I also realized that my favorite video game, Bioshock, did something quite similar to this with Objectivism...
Unfortunately, it didn't do it accurately at all. The Objectivist ideal is a constitutional republic based on individual rights. It's not a playground for one man's whims. (I don't remember any mentions of a constitution or an explanation of the principle of individual rights in Bioshock.) The Objectivist ideal is a system very close to the system that the US Founders set up, minus the slavery, central bank, and public postal service.
Have you ever read <em>Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal</em>?
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