[109340] in Cypherpunks
H-WEB: P J O'Rourke on Hayek & books in economics
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Robert Hettinga)
Fri Mar 19 01:35:25 1999
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 19:39:49 -0500
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
From: Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>
Reply-To: Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>
--- begin forwarded text
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 17:24:42 EST
Reply-To: Hayek Related Research <HAYEK-L@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
Sender: Hayek Related Research <HAYEK-L@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
From: Hayek-L List Host <HayekList@AOL.COM>
Subject: H-WEB: P J O'Rourke on Hayek & books in economics
To: HAYEK-L@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
>> Hayek On The Web << -- Economics / Books
P J O'Rourke, author of _Eat the Rich_ interviewed by Brian Lamb,
on the web at:
http://www.booknotes.org/transcripts/50496.htm
Hyperlink: <A HREF="http://www.booknotes.org/transcripts/50496.htm">P.J.
O'Rourke</A>
>From the interview:
"LAMB: What are these books all about that you list in the opening
chapter here?
Mr. O'ROURKE: Well, probably the most important of those is the--is
the Friedrich Hay--von Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom." It is -- it was
written in the '40s, during World War II, as a antidote to what Hayek
saw as the increasing collectivism of politics in the world. He was
protesting against communism and Nazism, but also against the
in--increasing organization and size of the--of the democratic welfare
states. Hayek is one of the great champions of the individual. I
mean, he basically says that individuals are smarter than groups.
Anybody who's ever had to deal with a mob or with Congress
could -- could probably tell you this. One on one, individuals will
make, on average, reasonable decisions, whereas if we put people in a
group -- it's like the difference between Harvard and the Harvard
football team.
LAMB: The - -the list, though, would that reflect how you think about
economics today?
Mr. O'ROURKE: No. It would reflect more of what I found
really valuable in the reading that I had to do to do -- to do this
book. It isn't so much a matter that I agree with the opinions of the
people listed, as it was that they provided insight, which was -- it's a
difficult subject, and it's--and very few people explain it well.
I fear I'm not one of them. Todd Bughol--Budholz--Buchholz - -I'm
not going to get that right-- his book, what's it--it's--it's "New
Ideas from Dead Economists."
LAMB: Right.
Mr. O'ROURKE: Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant survey of
economics. This is what should be the textbook for an economic survey
course, especially if it were only going to be one semester. He runs
through all the economic schools of thought, their gradual development
and their, you know, diversity and divergence of opinion, and gives a
thumbnail sketch of each, and -- his was the f -- if it hadn't been for
him, I don't know where I would have gotten the first handle on the
subject."
P.J. O'Rourke interviewed by Brian Lamb
C-SPAN cable network. January 3, 1999
http://www.booknotes.org/transcripts/50496.htm
P. J. O'Rourke is an international correspondent for
_Rolling Stone_ magazine and humor writer.
Hayek On The Web is a regular feature of the Hayek-L list.
--- end forwarded text
-----------------
Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@philodox.com>
Philodox Financial Technology Evangelism <http://www.philodox.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
