by Andrew Bernstein
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Product Description
The Capitalist Manifesto defends capitalism as the world's most moral and practical social system. This book is written for the rational mind, whether the reader is a professional intellectual or an intelligent layman. It makes the case for individual rights and freedom in terms intelligible to all rational men.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Great Perspective, 2008-09-05
This is a wonderful book and a wonderful read.
Bernstein does a great job of explaining capitalism by breaking the book into 4 parts: History, Philosophy, Polemics, and Economics.
While capitalism is the subject of many debates, many people misperceive the definition and history of capitalism. I think this book should be a must-read for everyone, especially socialists (like Marx is a good read for capitalists) and those who constantly argue against capitalism. (How can you argue against something you don't understand?)
Bernstein explains that even the US today is lacking in the capitalist ideals. However, he makes a wonderful case for laissez-faire capitalism: his arguments are sound, rational, and thorough; he uses pointed examples from history; and proves the ideals that are necessary for a productive, successful, and connected world.
If you favor individual rights, you are a supporter of capitalism!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Laissez-Faire Capitalism, Properly Presented and Defended, 2008-05-11
Using the philosophy of Ayn Rand as its intellectual underpinnings, this book presents the case that laissez-faire capitalism is the only moral and practical system of government. This book is incredibly valuable for several reasons. First, it contains a rich collection of material on various heroic industrialists. This includes the well known giants such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, James J. Hill, James Watt, Thomas Edison, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie as well as the many unsung heroes of Capitalism. This includes Thomas Telford (noted builder of roads, canals and bridges), E. H. Harriman (famous Union Pacific director), "Iron Man" John Wilkinson (innovator in the use of cast iron), Isaac Singer (whose eponymous sewing machine revolutionized the textiles industry), Cyrus Field (who laid the first transcontinental cable), George Washington Carver (who truly revolutionized agriculture) and many, many more!
Second, this book addresses about the unjust treatment that the industrialization and its corresponding heroes often receive in history books. For example, the Second Industrial Revolution is often called "The Gilded Age" suggesting that this period appears deceptively wealthy but is actually corrupt and rotten. However, given the immense and unprecedented number of inventions that came about to *define* this period, Dr. Bernstein persuasively argues that this should be called "The Inventive Period." Furthermore, Dr. Bernstein highlights the injustice of the label "Robber Barons". We remember great industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller and James J. Hill because of their stupendous level of productivity. Instead, suggests Dr. Bernstein, we should remember them as "Productive Geniuses."
This book also contains an exciting number of anecdotes such as Cornelius' Vanderbilt's victory over the Fulton steamship monopoly. In addition, Dr. Bernstein also investigates a few alleged dark periods in economic history, such as the Homestead Strike on Carnegie's plants, and clarifies what actually lead to the violence that transpired.
Lastly, there is an especially valuable chapter entitled "The Great Laboratory", which further corroborates the virtues of Capitalism by exploring various different telling examples from recent history. This chapter includes a comparison of Soviet Russia versus post-WWII United States, a discussion of Cubans versus Cuban-Americans, a comparison of North and South Korea, a discussion of the Asian tigers and the Celtic tigers and an exploration of what led to the rise in standard of living in "socialist" Scandanavia.
This book is a must read for anyone with a serious intellectual interest in the moral defense of laissez-faire capitalism.
If you are interested in this book, I also highly recommend: Markets Don't Fail! by Brian Simpson, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand, The Myth of the Robber Barons by Burton Folsom and Empire Builders by Burton Folsom.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
A moral defense of capitalism, 2008-02-01
In this phenomenal work, Dr. Bernstein not only provides an abundance of factual information demonstrating the economic and moral superiority of capitalism, he also lays out the introductory framework of the philosophical theory that explains it. He begins by putting the advent of capitalism in its proper historical perspective, and includes chapters explaining the economic theory behind its enormous practical success as well as refuting common (yet clearly silly, after Dr. Bernstein is through with them) charges against capitalism (such as that it causes war, imperialism, and slavery).
But by far the most interesting and valuable chapters are those at the heart of the book, in which he provides a *moral* defense of capitalism, based on Ayn Rand's ethical theory of rational egoism. Dr. Bernstein understands that the system that promotes individual success and happiness on this earth (and who else's success and happiness is there to promote?) cannot be logically defended on altruistic grounds, and more: that it doesn't need to be, because egoism, as the system that does just that, is the only proper morality for mankind.
If any active-minded person reads this book and is not convinced by the wealth of information it provides, the only explanation is that they're suffering from a 'great disconnect' of their own (see Dr. Bernstein's introduction and afterword).
Highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Capitalism and Freedom, 2007-08-16
Andrew Bernstein,
"Capitalism is the system of freedom.
Freedom leads to dramatic economic results. The 'great laboratory' of capitalist West Berlin side-by-side with communist East Berlin provided the most vivid example -- West Berlin, a modern, prosperous commercial center, East Berlin so destitute and squalid that, by 1989, the rubble remained from World War II battles four decades earlier."
Tusen Takk!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Thoroughly reason!, 2007-07-12
Great book. So well researched and put together. I can't wait for more books from Bernstein!
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