A review of “Keynes and the Keynesian Revolution” (audiobook)

“But this long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead. Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task, if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us, that when the storm is long past, the ocean is flat again.”

– John Maynard Keynes, in “A Tract on Monetary Reform” (1923), Chapter 3

I recently listened to an audiobook about the British economist John Maynard Keynes, who lived from 1883 to 1946. It was a good audiobook, which spoke of both his academic career and his political career. For example, he did some important diplomacy for the British government, and was responsible for some of the economic provisions of the Treaty of Versailles (the treaty that ended World War One). He also helped to secure some loans from the American government, which helped to improve his country's postwar economy somewhat – despite the interest rates which we imposed on this loan.

A review of “Struggle over the Keynesian Heritage” (audiobook)

So I recently listened to an audiobook called “Struggle over the Keynesian Heritage.” It was the sequel to an earlier audiobook called “Keynes and the Keynesian Revolution,” which covered the life and ideas of John Maynard Keynes, the great British economist. Whether one agrees or disagrees with him, Keynes was the most influential economist of the twentieth century. “Struggle over the Keynesian Heritage” is about the debate over Keynes’ ideas and legacy, among groups that call themselves “Keynesians.”

A review of “Islam: Empire of Faith” (PBS Empires)

“˹He is˺ Allah! There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him, the Lord of the Mighty Throne.”

– English translation of The Quran, Surah 27:26

A history of medieval Islam, and the empires that it influenced …

Islam seems always to be in the news these days. Ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we have heard much about this religion (not all of it accurate). But this series came out before the terrorist attacks had ever happened – the year 2000, to be specific. This may actually be a virtue of the series, that it came out before then. It makes it easier to be objective about their history, and to not read contemporary interpretations into their history that might be best left out. We get neither a heroic nor a villainous version of Islam, but something in between. We hear well-deserved praise of their massive achievements, as well as some presentation of the controversies involved in their history.

A review of Karl Marx's “Das Kapital” (audiobook)

“A commodity appears, at first sight, a very trivial thing, and easily understood. Its analysis shows that it is, in reality, a very queer thing, abounding in metaphysical subtleties and theological niceties.”

– Karl Marx’s “Das Kapital” (1867), Volume 1, Chapter 1, Section 4

Those who know me would not be surprised to hear that I’m not exactly a fan of Karl Marx. He has long struck me as a nutball who was wrong about virtually everything he said, and who had very little to contribute to economic science. Nonetheless, he is someone that is worth learning about anyway for someone who debates about economic issues. Many a liberal is a disciple of Karl Marx, and does not shy away from making Marxist arguments. Thus, knowing about Marxist arguments is helpful to anyone who wants to debunk them as I do.

Because of this, I have long thought about reading Karl Marx in the original German – reading his short work “The Communist Manifesto” in German, and even his much longer work “Das Kapital” in German. I’ve read “The Communist Manifesto” in English translation, as it turns out, and have even read parts of “Das Kapital” in English as well. But I have never yet spared the time to read all of “Das Kapital” in any language (even English). Thus, on the off-chance that I would never have the German to tackle this in the original, I acquired an audiobook about it some years ago which gives some basic background information about the book, and which helps to place Marxism as he conceived it into the context of the times – one of the best investments I’ve ever made, in my opinion.

A review of Machiavelli’s “The Prince” (audiobook)

I had read “The Prince” itself before listening to this audiobook, sometime during the winter of 2006-2007. It was in English translation, since I don’t speak Italian, but it would still seem to have counted for something. Thus, you might expect that I didn’t learn anything from this audiobook. But on the contrary, I learned much from this hour-and-a-half audiobook.

Niccolò Machiavelli

A review of “The Nazis: A Warning from History” (BBC)

It seems incredible that the Nazis ever came to power. Today, they are among the most unpopular of all movements, portrayed as bad guys in movie after movie (and rightfully so). You would think that they were as unpopular then as they are now, but this was obviously not the case. Most of the people who supported them at that time have since tried to conceal their Nazi pasts. But a small number of them are more open about their involvement in these things, and are willing to praise Nazism even in the climate of today. This series interviews a few of these people on camera, and shows why they were willing to follow Adolf Hitler to the extent that they did (or at all, for that matter). It is a revealing look into the psychology of the Nazis.

Adolf Hitler

Some interesting Joe Biden quotes about race

These quotations show Joe Biden saying some very awkward things about race. You might respond that none of them are bad enough to convict Joe Biden of racism. With that, I would actually agree. However, in my opinion, they are much worse than any of the purportedly “racist” comments made by Donald Trump. Yet Trump is always portrayed as a “racist,” while Biden is not.

Again, I don't think there's enough here to convict anybody of racism. My point is not that Joe Biden is a “racist.” My point is that he is judged by very different standards than those that are applied to Trump.