Free Rothbard Book on Depressions Offered by Mises Institute
The Mises Institute is giving away free copies of Murray Rothbard's book on business cycles through September 30. The book argues depressions stem from government credit expansion, not Keynesian animal spirits.
The Mises Institute is giving away free copies of Murray Rothbard's Economic Depressions: Their Cause and Cure through September 30, part of a broader Year of Rothbard promotion. Up to five copies per order are available, with additional copies available for domestic customers who pay shipping.
Rothbard's book contrasts Ludwig von Mises's theory of the business cycle with Keynesian explanations. He argues that depressions are not inherent to market economies but result from government intervention in money and credit. "How is it that, periodically, in times of the onset of recessions and especially in steep depressions, the business world suddenly experiences a massive cluster of severe losses?" Rothbard asks. His answer: bank credit expansion, unbacked by real savings, leads to malinvestment and overconsumption.
The Keynesian view, he writes, attributes depressions to "animal spirits" and a sudden drop in spending. Rothbard rejects that framework, arguing that the profit-and-loss system selects for accurate forecasting, and that cluster errors occur only when artificial credit distorts entrepreneurial decisions.
The institute's promotion runs through the end of September; the next book offering begins October 1.
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