Atlas_ (OP)
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April 06, 2011, 05:36:07 PM |
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I feel ignorant and the only cure I know for a bad case of ignorance is knowledge. And I believe the best source of knowledge is some good ole fashion books.
Anarchists, libertarians and statists alike, lend me your book lists. What should I enlighten myself with?
Also, LightRider, feed me some of your Zeitgeist stuff. I'm interested.
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MoonShadow
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April 06, 2011, 06:12:05 PM |
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Fiction, non-fiction or both?
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"The powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent meetings and conferences. The apex of the systems was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the world's central banks which were themselves private corporations. Each central bank...sought to dominate its government by its ability to control Treasury loans, to manipulate foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic activity in the country, and to influence cooperative politicians by subsequent economic rewards in the business world."
- Carroll Quigley, CFR member, mentor to Bill Clinton, from 'Tragedy And Hope'
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Atlas_ (OP)
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April 06, 2011, 06:25:12 PM |
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Fiction, non-fiction or both?
I will be open to both. Thanks. |
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LightRider
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I advocate the Zeitgeist Movement & Venus Project.
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April 06, 2011, 06:28:02 PM
Last edit: April 06, 2011, 06:48:13 PM by LightRider |
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I feel ignorant and the only cure I know for a bad case of ignorance is knowledge. And I believe the best source of knowledge is some good ole fashion books.
Anarchists, libertarians and statists alike, lend me your book lists. What should I enlighten myself with?
Also, LightRider, feed me some of your Zeitgeist stuff. I'm interested.
Excellent attitude! Here is the recommended book list from the Venus Project: http://thevenusproject.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=459One of the best, but longest books I've ever read was Godel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. I highly recommend it. Thanks for engaging new ideas, I hope you will enjoy the experience. Edit: This is the Zeitgeist Movement's Activist Orientation guide, which does a far better job of laying out what we're about than I can. |
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RodeoX
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The revolution will be monetized!
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April 06, 2011, 06:51:31 PM |
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Plato's Republic. As truthful today as it was in ancient times. Here is a link: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.htmlIf you have any questions about it, I believe Plato has an account here. 
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rebuilder
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April 06, 2011, 07:02:13 PM |
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Daniel Dennett: Consciousness Explained.
It's not quite as concise as it could be, and it's from 1992, so it's probably not exactly on the cutting edge. Basically it tries to provide an outline of what a materialistic theory of consciousness would be. I found it quite enlightening.
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theymos
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April 06, 2011, 08:47:42 PM |
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Read one of the Culture novels. These books' vivid depiction of "The Culture" as a completely voluntary utopia is what made me an anarchist. The writing and plots are perfect, too. No book has affected my view on life as much as these books have. |
1NXYoJ5xU91Jp83XfVMHwwTUyZFK64BoAD
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rebuilder
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April 06, 2011, 09:07:33 PM |
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Read one of the Culture novels. These books' vivid depiction of "The Culture" as a completely voluntary utopia is what made me an anarchist. The writing and plots are perfect, too. No book has affected my view on life as much as these books have. Incidentally, the Culture is essentially a free Communist society, enabled by practically limitless resources. I guess at that level of technology the question of wealth distribution becomes rather irrelevant. |
Selling out to advertisers shows you respect neither yourself nor the rest of us.
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Too many low-quality posts? Mods not keeping things clean enough? Self-moderated threads let you keep signature spammers and trolls out!
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BitterTea
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April 06, 2011, 09:08:37 PM
Last edit: April 06, 2011, 10:11:34 PM by BitterTea |
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If you're in the mood for an anti-authoritarian science fiction novel, I recommend Withur We. Engaging story, compelling characters, anti-state themes. This book has it all. Free PDF or dead tree book version here: http://www.withurwe.com/ |
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Distribution
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April 06, 2011, 10:07:34 PM |
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For a quick read: The Law by Frederic Bastiat. For an entertainingly educational read: anything by Tom Woods (I haven't read his newest, Rollback, but Nullification and Meltdown are both excellent). |
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theymos
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April 06, 2011, 10:08:55 PM |
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Incidentally, the Culture is essentially a free Communist society, enabled by practically limitless resources. I guess at that level of technology the question of wealth distribution becomes rather irrelevant.
The emphasis on individualism makes me think it's closer to anarcho-capitalism than anarcho-communism. Maybe there's no difference in a post-scarcity environment, though. |
1NXYoJ5xU91Jp83XfVMHwwTUyZFK64BoAD
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MoonShadow
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April 06, 2011, 10:32:52 PM |
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I'm surprised no one has mentioned Atlas Shrugged yet, even though that's not quite what he is asking for.
Alongside Night (The defining agorist novel)
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Cryptocromicon & the Baroque Cycle Trilogy, in that order.
Basicly anything by David Brin, but in particular Glory Season and Infinity's Shore of the Uplift Series
Fountains of Paradise
All of these are fiction that illustrate one or more libertarian concepts in some fashion. In the first three, such concepts are central to the plot; in the rest they are incidental.
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"The powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent meetings and conferences. The apex of the systems was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the world's central banks which were themselves private corporations. Each central bank...sought to dominate its government by its ability to control Treasury loans, to manipulate foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic activity in the country, and to influence cooperative politicians by subsequent economic rewards in the business world."
- Carroll Quigley, CFR member, mentor to Bill Clinton, from 'Tragedy And Hope'
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epii
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April 07, 2011, 01:45:46 AM |
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Walker Percy. The Last Gentleman is an incredible novel - philosophical, dramatic and wryly humorous in all sorts of subtle ways. The Message in the Bottle is a collection of very interesting essays on the philosophy of language. Unfortunately those are the only two I've read.
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wb3
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^Check Out^ Isle 3
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April 07, 2011, 01:50:09 AM |
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Can I do an ultra broad examination? There was Light, There was Earth, I think, therefor I am; I stopped thinking; there for I am not; There was Dark The End. |
Net Worth = 0.10 Hah, "Net" worth  |
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Anonymous
Guest
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April 07, 2011, 01:58:05 AM |
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Thank you all. This is excellent!
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JohnDoe
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April 07, 2011, 02:26:14 AM |
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Max Stirner: The Ego and Its Own.
As a nihilist, you'll probably appreciate this book more than all the others mentioned.
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jpent
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April 07, 2011, 10:51:38 PM |
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Some good libertarian works which focus more on the economic issues:
Economics in One Lesson - Henry Hazlitt. An introduction to economics to show how many policies and situations can have vastly different effects than what most people expect.
Defending the Undefendable - Walter Block. Goes through chapter by chapter defending the practices of many people who are shunned and outlawed who, he argues, actually have a good effect on society, or at least don't hurt anyone. Some examples include prostitutes, drug-dealers and employers of child labour.
Human Action - Ludwig Von Mises. Perhaps the most important book ever written on Austrian economics. Presents Mises' full theory of human action and decisions from the ground up, and detailed explanations of implications. Very technical but doesn't depend on prior knowledge to understand it. Highly recommended if you have the time to invest.
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divergenta
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April 08, 2011, 07:33:37 PM |
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I would like to recommend a book to you:
Alongside Night written by J. Neil Schulman this is a fictional work which deals very much with agorism and revolutionary contra-economics. I'm not very good desciribing books but here's som of what wikipedia has to say about it:
Alongside Night[1] is a Prometheus Award winning libertarian and anarchist dystopian novel by science fiction writer J. Neil Schulman. It was first published in 1979 by Crown Publishers, with subsequent paperback editions released by Ace Books in 1982, Avon Books in 1987, Pulpless.com in 1999, and Amazon Kindle in 2009. The book focuses on the character of Elliot, the son of a fictional economist and Nobel Laureate, and his experiences in a police state United States in the near future. The book was dedicated to Samuel Edward Konkin III and is based on his political philosophy of agorism. It is currently in development for a feature film by Jesulu Productions, which produced Schulman's first feature, Lady Magdalene's.
I really liked it and warmly recommend others to read it to.
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