Freedom 101 is a personal refutation by Dr Madsen Pirie of many of the common errors of economic, political and social debate. He has selected 101 of these erroneous assumptions in order to show why they are not correct. Many of them are in daily circulation as if they were truisms. We are told that, 'the world is running out of scarce resources' or that, 'we should protect the poor by fixing the price of essential goods'. The author shows in his pithy style why these and other assumptions are incorrect. Of his selected 101, some are based on errors of fact, some on false arguments, and many of them on a misunderstanding of how economics works. This is a refreshing book, full of sharp insights to help readers clarify their own thoughts and equip them to bring that same clarity to aid the understanding of others in discussion and debate.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Tom Rose
Amazon Verified Purchase
Madsen Pirie has a very incisive mind, and a very clear and pithy way of making his points. This book is no exception.
It categorically debunks a lot of widely held but unfounded beliefs. It would be funny if it wer not that Politicians base policy on those falsehoods, and most of us go along with them because we have been conned too.
Pity Tony Blair and the New Labour control freaks did not have a copy.
It categorically debunks a lot of widely held but unfounded beliefs. It would be funny if it wer not that Politicians base policy on those falsehoods, and most of us go along with them because we have been conned too.
Pity Tony Blair and the New Labour control freaks did not have a copy.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
good material in the battle against trendy anti-capitalist pocket socialists
16 April 2009
By W. A. Tapley
A very absorbing book full of mostly well-argued points in a concise, easily accessible format.
Thought provoking, giving foundations for further research if the reader feels so inspired yet providing enough ammo for match-winning banter with those achingly anti-market pro-state fashionistas decorating the grubbier bars and draping themselves, iMac clad, over a pavement coffee table.
Thought provoking, giving foundations for further research if the reader feels so inspired yet providing enough ammo for match-winning banter with those achingly anti-market pro-state fashionistas decorating the grubbier bars and draping themselves, iMac clad, over a pavement coffee table.
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By A reader
This book contains 101 short refutations of common errors about politics and economics. Each is about 300 words, so it's a handy book to bring out in an argument - just say "read this page".
Each page is very clearly written, so very easy to understand. I was familiar with many of the arguments, but some were new to me, and others were expressed better than I had seen before.
I only have two criticisms. Firstly, some "errors" and their refutations are quite similar. Often 300 words isn't quite enough, so two separate pages are used, perhaps lessening the impact of the argument. But perhaps the repetition with slight variation is good, and in any case running over one page would subtract from the simplicity of the format.
Secondly, it would be good to have the page numbers start with the first article, so the last one was page 101. The introductory pages could be numbered with roman numbers. Perhaps this could be fixed in the next printing.
Overall, excellent. Buy copies for all your lefty friends. They'll benefit, and so we all will.
Each page is very clearly written, so very easy to understand. I was familiar with many of the arguments, but some were new to me, and others were expressed better than I had seen before.
I only have two criticisms. Firstly, some "errors" and their refutations are quite similar. Often 300 words isn't quite enough, so two separate pages are used, perhaps lessening the impact of the argument. But perhaps the repetition with slight variation is good, and in any case running over one page would subtract from the simplicity of the format.
Secondly, it would be good to have the page numbers start with the first article, so the last one was page 101. The introductory pages could be numbered with roman numbers. Perhaps this could be fixed in the next printing.
Overall, excellent. Buy copies for all your lefty friends. They'll benefit, and so we all will.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Better books available
This book intends to set up a series of arguments and then debunk them. However in some cases the arguments are straw man arguments in any case. Read more
Published on 1 Nov 2010 by M. Dunn
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent piece
Well worth getting. A very thorough and well-written analysis of a wide range of issues.
Published on 27 July 2008 by Peter Young
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