Places I Cannot Go
Almost I could drive it in my sleep
Over the bridge, and past the mothballed fleet
Almost two hours, left on one thirteen
Third exit right, left, left, right, left and park
Beside the swimming pool. But if I went
To the back door, not even if I brought
My daughter with me, whom she loved as well,
(As anybody would) would she be there.
Boston is farther, most of a day’s flight,
A house there where, for more than half my life,
I’ve spent my New Years. Board games. Lots of food
And conversation. But she died last night.
The party may go on a year or two
Or three on memory, but Marian
Who crafted it, and many things besides,
Tea parties, woven baskets, and a house
Of good repute—a label she denied—
Will not be there.
I am appealing to the economists with this post to guide or rather advise me on whether The Machinery of Freedom would be worth picking up for the novice.
I was drawn in by the title and daedication:
This book is dedicated to
Milton Friedman
Friedrich Hayek
Robert A. Heinlein,
from whom I learned
and to
Robert M. Schuchman,
who might have written it better
And there fact that its author writes poetry/fiction as well.
Thoughts?
I’ve only flipped through Machinery of Freedom, so I don’t know how suitable it is for a novice.
My sense is that it’s a more practical treatment of how and why a stateless society would function best, compared to more philosophical or ethical treatments that you’d find with Rothbard or Nozick.
It’s always been on my list, so maybe we could do a book club type deal.
I just realized it has been posted in html, the preferreed format for reading online.
it seems to have poems scattered throughout.
Yes, great! Not sure what you had in mind, but how's this: certain chapters get assigned to willing participants (or just you and I, notwithstanding), and each posts a reflection on said chapters on their own time. I don't think the order in which these are shared should matter really. Maybe a guideline can be imposed to encourage waiting until the preceding chapters have been shared.
I'm not super keen on giving deadlines, since everyone has a life and obligations, but I'm not closed to the idea, either.
Edit: html does not have book in full.
Sounds like fun. My inclination is to keep it loose but I know that risks nobody doing anything.
hm - yes, that risk is real. How about we keep it wide open. I will review Part 1 sometime this week in ~econ ~the_stacker_muse and ~BooksAndArticles and invite readers to follow along, post their own reflections or carry the torch forward into Part 2.