[525] in libertarians
Laissez Faire Book News: LIBERTY VS. THE WELFARE STATE audiotapes
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Chris Whitten)
Wed Dec 21 17:52:50 1994
Date: Wed, 21 Dec 1994 17:39:34 -0500 (EST)
From: Chris Whitten <lfb@panix.com>
Apparently-To: <libertarians@mit.edu>
Milton Friedman & other freedom crusaders at Stanford University,
bastion of political correctnness
LIBERTY VERSUS THE WELFARE STATE
Audio Presentations by Milton Friedman, Ralph Raico,
Ronald H. Howard and Jim Powell
As Thomas Sowell, Martin Anderson and Dinesh D'Souza
documented in their books about education, Stanford University is
perhaps America's most famous bastion of political correctness.
What better place for the classical liberal Institute for Humane
Studies to stage an intellectual attack on the welfare state.
IHS recruited Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman, historian
Ralph Raico (State University of New York at Buffalo),
engineering professor Ronald H. Howard (Stanford University) and
Laissez Faire Books editor Jim Powell. They appeared together at
Kresge Auditorium and faced an overflow crowd of some 350 people.
Now you can hear the original presentations, the hecklers,
everything.
Friedman tells how the American welfare state dramatically
expanded its power during the 20th century. He charms the
audience by sharing his personal experience--for example, his
high school summer job selling fireworks, which is quite illegal
now. Friedman identifies what he considers to be the ultimate
case for human freedom.
Suddenly, an outraged heckler jumps up and insults Friedman.
For a moment, the hall is tense. Then Friedman gracefully
explains how minimum wage laws, drug prohibition laws, union
monopoly laws, government schools and other welfare state
policies exploit poor people. You'll smile as the audience gives
Friedman an ovation.
Most people seem to imagine that the welfare state got
started to solve social problems. But Raico tells how a cynical
Prussian government minister, Otto von Bismarck, launched the
welfare state to amass political power. Raico makes clear the
reasons why the German welfare state led to Hitler and restricted
freedom everywhere.
You'll hear the audience roar as Raico directs withering
sarcasm at every type of welfare state. For example, his quip
about Marxist demonstrators with signs reading "Workers of the
world, we're sorry."
What should be done about the truly needy? Ron Howard
identifies welfare state policies which impoverish people--and
should be repealed. He recommends the repeal of welfare state
policies suppressing self-reliance and charitable impulses.
Howard urges the repeal of welfare state policies which throttle
prosperity.
To those who say capitalism is heartless, Howard responds by
explaining how for centuries people around the globe voluntarily
formed "friendly societies" to help each other with unemployment,
sickness and death benefits--until these societies were wiped out
by welfare states. The audience applauds as Howard salutes
Americans who, despite today's high taxes, support more
charitable activity than any other people on earth.
Powell surveys the panorama of history to show how
governments generally trigger war, intolerance and mass misery.
He goes on to tell how markets provide a sanctuary for persecuted
people... how ordinary products generate extraordinary goodwill
world-wide... how entrepreneurs make cheaper goods available for
millions... and how companies prolong lives by synthesizing
vitamins, developing antibiotics and vaccines.
Powell's contention that people will find genuine compassion
in markets, not government, provokes a black activist heckler to
charge that capitalism enslaves people. You'll enjoy the ease
with which Powell shows how it was capitalism that undermined
slavery and how black socialist tyrants brutalize Africans today.
This is a terrific set of tapes about the welfare state, the
most insidious threat to freedom now.
Book No. PY6054 (4 audiotapes, in a vinyl binder) 4 hrs. $39.95
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please send this review to anyone who you think might be interested
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The *Liberty vs. the Welfare State* tapes will be available from
Laissez Faire next week. You can order them now. Call toll-free
1-800-326-0996 or (415) 541-9780, fax (415) 541-0597 or write to:
Laissez Faire Books, Dept. L35, 938 Howard St., #202, San Francisco,
CA, 94103.
To order via E-MAIL: Simply reply to LFB@panix.com, or write to Eric
Shoemaker, our customer service manager, at 74741.2631@compuserve.com.
For your security, you might want to first call and leave us your credit
card information and mailing address. (If you're already a customer we
probably have it.) After that you can order at anytime by e-mail using
only your name and the zip code of the address we have on file. (Your
zip code will verify your identity.) We will process your order using
the card and address we have. (If you would prefer to pay by check, you
can join our pay-in-advance book club, and order in the same way. Call
or e-mail for details.)
* Every order comes with a surprise free gift
* 30-day money back guarantee
You can pay for your order with a Visa, MasterCard, or Discover, or with
a check or money order. Include $4.35 for shipping. California
residents must include sales tax.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to let me know.
Happy Holidays,
Chris
-------------------------------------------------------
Chris Whitten LFB@panix.com
Laissez Faire Books 1-800-326-0996
---The world's largest selection of books on liberty---
-------------------------------------------------------
Ask me about free Book News e-mail list, print catalog,
http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/lf/Laissez-Faire.html
-------------------------------------------------------
