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"Policies are designed by the elite and the masses actually have little say. While models of democratic decision-making tend to assume that voters have preferences, and that candidates and parties conform to those preferences, voters instead adopt the policies of those political elites -- they follow their leaders"--

1. The Concept of Power -- 2. Political Power -- 3. Economic Power -- 4. The Separation of Economic from Political Power -- 5. Power in Pre-Agricultural Societies -- 6. Power in Agrarian and Feudal Societies -- 7. Institutions That Support Commerce and Industry -- 8. Power in Commercial and Industrial Societies -- 9. Politics as a Vocation -- 10. The Social Contract -- 11. Ideology, Politics, and Power -- 12. Clouds on the Horizon: The Recombination of Political and Economic Power -- 13. Progress and Power.

"In the twenty-first century, Americans tend to think of their government as a democracy, in the sense that they view the proper function of government as carrying out the will of the people, as revealed through democratic elections. This differs substantially from the vision of the American Founders, who deliberately designed their government to be insulated from democratic pressures. The role of government, as they saw it, was to protect the rights of individuals, and the biggest threat to individual liberty was the government itself. So they designed a government with constitutionally limited powers, constrained to carry out only those activities specifically allowed by the Constitution. As its title suggests, this book describes the decline of liberty as the guiding principle of American liberty in favor of the idealization of democracy. In a nation that views itself as a democracy, any criticism of democracy might appear anti-American. The material that follows shows that liberty, not democracy, was the principle underlying American government, and the American Founders clearly understood that unconstrained democracy can undermine liberty just as much as autocracy. The idea that government should carry out the "will of the people" as revealed through democratic elections may be even more dangerous, because it legitimizes the actions of democratic governments by claiming those actions were approved by a majority"--

Problems associated with cronyism, corporatism, and policies that favor the elite over the masses have received increasing attention in recent years. Political Capitalism explains that what people often view as the result of corruption and unethical behavior are symptoms of a distinct system of political economy. The symptoms of political capitalism are often viewed as the result of government intervention in a market economy, or as attributes of a capitalist economy itself. Randall G. Holcombe combines well-established theories in economics and the social sciences to show that political capitalism is not a mixed economy, or government intervention in a market economy, or some intermediate step between capitalism and socialism. After developing the economic theory of political capitalism, Holcombe goes on to explain how changes in political ideology have facilitated the growth of political capitalism, and what can be done to redirect public policy back toward the public interest

Using public choice economic methods, this Advanced Introduction presents a focused narrative about political decision-making based on the work that has defined the discipline. Each chapter ends with a Notes section to discuss the research on which the chapter is based, with an emphasis on the pioneering work that has shaped the development of public choice. Randall G. Holcombe emphasizes the theoretical foundations of public choice, with the idea that it offers a context within which empirical research can be understood. This book successfully explores the political decision-making process for readers and ensures that they understand how preferences of citizens are aggregated to produce public policies.--Provided by Publisher

Introduction: The Austrian School past and present / Randall G. Holcombe -- Juan de Mariana: The influence of the Spanish scholastics / Jesús Huerta de Soto -- Richard Cantillon: The origin of economic theory / Mark Thornton -- A.R.J. Turgot: Brief, lucid, and brilliant / Murray N. Rothbard -- Jean-Baptiste Say: Neglected champion of laissez-faire / Larry J. Sechrest -- Frédéric Bastiat: Between the French and marginalist revolutions / Thomas J. DiLorenzo -- Carl Menger: The founding of the Austrian School / Joseph T. Salerno -- Philip Wicksteed: The British Austrian / Israel M. Kirzner -- Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk: Captital, interest, and time / Roger W. Garrison -- Frank A. Fetter: A forgotten giant / Jeffrey M. Herbener -- Ludwig von Mises: The dean of the Austrian School / Murray N. Rothbard -- Henry Hazlitt: The people's Austrian / Jeffrey Tucker -- F.A. Hayek: Austrian economist and social theorist / Peter G. Klein -- William H. Hutt: The "classical" Austrian / John B. Egger -- Wilhelm Röpke: A humane economist / Shawn Ritenour -- Murray N. Rothbard: Economics, science, and liberty / Hans-Hermann Hoppe.

"Erudite, accessible and lucidly written, this book provides both a stimulating introduction and excellent summary of the core principles, ideas and diversity of modern Austrian economics. The Austrian school was well within the mainstream of economic thought by the 1930s, but fell from prominence by the middle of the twentieth century. There was a renewed interest in the Austrian school's ideas beginning in the 1970s which has accelerated recently, but many economists do not have a good understanding about the distinguishing values and characteristics that set it apart. This volume is aimed at readers who already have a familiarity with economic analysis, but would like to know more about the distinct philosophies of the Austrian school." -- Back cover

"The substantial prosperity that characterizes market economies at the beginning of the twenty-first century is relatively recent in human history. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, economic progress was so slow that people would not have been able to recognize it in their lifetimes, whereas today, economic progress is so much a part of people's lives that they take it for granted. In this new volume, Randall G. Holcombe argues that economic analysis, as it developed through the twentieth century, relies heavily on concepts of economic equilibrium, and is not descriptive of the dynamic real-world economy that is characterized by economic progress. Even in dynamic settings, economic models focus on income growth, leaving out the entrepreneurial forces that generate economic progress, resulting in the introduction of new goods and services and new production processes. Economic analysis focuses on the forces that lead to an economic equilibrium, not the forces that produce prosperity. This characterization of economic analysis describes a substantial component of economics as it has developed over the past century. However, there are also economists who have analyzed the factors that lead to an entrepreneurial and innovative economy, generating progress rather than equilibrium. This volume does not question the value of past research, but argues that, looking ahead, economics should build on its past to focus on factors that create an entrepreneurial and innovative economy that is characterized by progress and prosperity. This would make economic analysis more consistent with the remarkable progress and prosperity that characterizes the modern economy. This volume lays out a framework for economic analysis that consistently incorporates the real-world factors that produce prosperity."--Publisher's website