A review of Rousseau’s “The Social Contract” (audiobook)

I’ve read Rousseau’s “The Social Contract” itself in the original French. Thus, you might expect me to be something of a “fan” of this work. But on the contrary, I am a great detractor of it. To me, it is one of the most overrated books ever written, as this audiobook about it makes clear. But this audiobook is of extremely high quality, as it helps to show why the book is so problematic. It is better than just a “regurgitation” of the work itself – it is an evaluation of its ideas, and how well they actually stand up against logical scrutiny (they don’t).

A review of “The German Historical School of Economics” (audiobook)

So I recently finished an audiobook about “The German Historical School of Economics,” an important school for economic thought. They were active in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, and do not have a lot of modern counterparts. In fact, most economists today wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole.

A review of “The Ratification Debates” (audiobook)

“And the Articles of this Confederation shall be inviolably observed by every State, and the Union shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them; unless such alteration be agreed to in a Congress of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of every State.”

– The Constitution’s most immediate predecessor, which was the “Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union” (ratified 1781), Section XIII, Paragraph 1

This audiobook may be the finest overview of the ratification debates that I have ever heard. I haven’t found any equally good coverage of this subject in the television world, so I’m quite content to get this from an audiobook. In some ways, this audiobook may be even better. This covers the fiery debates over whether or not to ratify our current Constitution.

A review of “The Classical Economists” (audiobook)

“The statesman, who should attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals, would not only load himself with a most unnecessary attention, but assume an authority which could safely be trusted, not only to no single person, but to no council or senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who had folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it.”

– Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations” (1776), Book IV, Chapter II

A review of “The Life of Muhammad”

“Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah. And those with him are firm with the disbelievers and compassionate with one another.”

– English translation of The Quran, Surah 48:29

A biography of the founder of Islam, who lived in the Early Middle Ages …

Of the English-language films about the Prophet Muhammad, this one appears to be the longest. It is a journalistic examination of his life, and is good despite this journalistic style. It was made by the BBC, but distributed in America through PBS. If I am not mistaken, the film was directed by one British Muslim, written by another, and presented by still another – namely, Rageh Omaar. I am glad that this documentary was made by Muslims, because it allows one to hear an inside perspective on their faith. For this reason, one wishes that PBS’s film “The Mormons” had been made by a Latter-Day Saint filmmaker – or more precisely, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. “The Life of Muhammad” gives a three-hour overview of the life of Islam’s great prophet – which provides no pictures of Muhammad himself, in deference to the Muslim prohibitions on these pictures of the prophet. Nonetheless, this film succeeds in providing its viewer with a visually interesting biography despite this limitation.

Rageh Omaar, the presenter of this documentary

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.”