There is a shipping and handling charge on the hardcopy and hardcopy/CD combination of  $10.50 worldwide by surface mail; in the US shipment is by FedEx Ground, except to PO boxes, Alaska, and Hawaii. (Air mail is available at $18.50 to Canada and at $36 to rest of the world.) All orders for the CD alone will be shipped by airmail, without any additional charge for postage and handling.

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Aimed at both the intelligent layman and the professional economist, and written in language that both can understand, this book is the most comprehensive and intellectually powerful explanation of the nature and value of laissez-faire capitalism that has ever been written. It represents a twofold major integration of truths previously discovered by other writers, combined with numerous original contributions made by the author himself. Within economic theory, it integrates leading ideas of the Austrian school with needlessly abandoned doctrines of the British classical school. It further integrates such reconstituted economic theory with essential elements of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. (The Austrian school has been the main school of procapitalist economic thought since 1871; von Mises is its most important member, followed by Böhm-Bawerk. The British classical school was the main school of procapitalist economic thought prior to 1871; Adam Smith and David Ricardo are its most important members.)

On the foundation of these integrations, Dr. Reisman is able to develop the numerous major original contributions that the book presents on the subjects of profits, wages, saving, capital accumulation, aggregate economic accounting, monopoly, and natural resources, among other vital subjects. Based on the same foundation, the book presents the most powerful critiques of Marx, Keynes, the pure-and-perfect competition doctrine, and environmentalism to be found anywhere.

A leading part of its trenchant economic analysis is a consistent demonstration of the natural harmony of the rational self-interests of all men under capitalism—of businessmen and wage earners, of consumers and producers, of men of all races and nationalities, including immigrants and the native born, and of competitors of all levels of ability—consonances most will find astonishing, given the prevailing misunderstandings of capitalism in the late twentieth century.

The book's importance and appeal to a general audience are evident in its description of prevailing attitudes toward capitalism and its challenge to learn why they are all completely wrong and the cause of self-destructive political behavior on a massive scale. For those with the intellectual courage to accept a challenge of having many of their firmest and most cherished beliefs reduced by unanswerable logic to the status of Dark-Age superstitions, here are some of the beliefs that Reisman's book demolishes: The profit motive is the cause of starvation wages, exhausting hours, sweatshops, and child labor; of monopolies, inflation, depressions, wars, imperialism, and racism. Saving is hoarding. Competition is the law of the jungle. Economic inequality is unjust and the legitimate basis for class warfare. Economic progress is a ravaging of the planet and, in the form of improvements in efficiency, a cause of unemployment and depressions. War and destruction or additional peacetime government spending are necessary to prevent unemployment under capitalism. Economic activity other than manual labor is parasitical. Businessmen and capitalists are recipients of "unearned income" and are "exploiters." The stock and commodity markets are "gambling casinos"; retailers and wholesalers are "middlemen," having no function but that of adding "markups" to the prices charged by farmers and manufacturers; advertisers are inherently guilty of fraud—the fraud of attempting to induce people to desire the goods that capitalism showers on them, but that they allegedly have no natural or legitimate basis for desiring. (These are all common accusations that are bandied about again and again ad nauseam, in the media, in novels and plays, in classrooms and lecture halls.)

On the basis of such mistaken beliefs, Reisman shows, "people turn to the government: for ‘social justice'; for protection and aid, in the form of labor and social legislation; for reason and order, in the form of government ‘planning.' They demand and for the most part have long ago obtained: progressive income and inheritance taxation; minimum-wage and maximum-hours laws; laws giving special privileges and immunities to labor unions; antitrust legislation; social security legislation; public education; public housing; socialized medicine; nationalized or municipalized post offices, utilities, railroads, subways, and bus lines; subsidies for farmers, shippers, manufacturers, borrowers, lenders, the unemployed, students, tenants, and the needy and allegedly needy of every description."

Reisman's book flies in the face of all such anticapitalistic ideas and demands. Its thesis is that never have so many people been so ignorant and confused about a subject so important, as most people now are about economics and capitalism. It argues that in its logically consistent form of laissez-faire capitalism—that is, with the powers of government limited to those of national defense and the administration of justice—capitalism is a system of economic progress and prosperity for all, and is a precondition of world peace. Following an exhaustive economic analysis of virtually every aspect of capitalism, the book's concluding chapter is devoted to the presentation of a long-range political-economic program for the achievement of a fully capitalist society.

Because its advocacy of capitalism is based in large measure on the author's own, original contributions to economic theory, this is a book that the professional economist can profit from as much as the general reader. For it is sure to constitute as wide and profound a challenge to the theoretical preconceptions of today's economists as it does to the political preconceptions of today's laymen.

Almost the length of a volume of the Encyclopedia Britannica in terms both of number of pages and content per page, the book incorporates in little more than three of its twenty chapters an updated and expanded version of the material presented in Dr. Reisman's previous book The Government Against the Economy.

Simply put, Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics is the philosophically and intellectually strongest book in the defense of laissez-faire capitalism that can be found anywhere in the world at the present time. It is state of the art in economic theory and political philosophy. At the same time, however, it can serve as a textbook (introductory, intermediate, or advanced), in which capacity it provides a complete and effective alternative and antidote to what is taught in such texts as Samuelson and all the Samuelson clones and will educate professors as well as students.

The intelligent, open-minded reader who seeks to understand the economics and politics of the modern world (along with much of its closely related history and social and cultural phenomena), and what is required to improve mankind's lot in these two vital areas, need look no further than to this book. Reading it is an essential requirement for understanding and improving the modern world.

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Here Is What Prominent Readers and Publications Say About
CAPITALISM: A TREATISE ON ECONOMICS

"Reisman's exposure of modern mercantilist fallacies takes its place alongside that of Adam Smith."

- James Buchanan,
Nobel Laureate in Economics, 1986

"A magnum opus on the nature of capitalism, one that has depth, breadth, foresight and style. It is a book on economics that stands head and shoulders above all others as a monumental tribute to the human capacity to engage in productive work and the moral worth of a system of principles wherein such work is fully appreciated. While detailed and touching on nearly every possible nuance of the subject, this is a very readable book which anticipates all the questions and objections educated, thoughtful people may have about an economic system that has not been given its full and proper due by anyone before Reisman took up the task. Ludwig von Mises would be gratified to know how one of his students has carried forth the task he began."

- Tibor Machan,
Professor of Philosophy,
Auburn University

"Reisman develops powerful and highly original theories of aggregate profit and interest, savings and capital accumulation, wages, and aggregate economic accounting. At once an introductory, intermediate, and advanced text, as well as a mine of information on current political and economic issues, Capitalism advances economic theory by several leagues and paves the way for a genuine twenty-first century liberalism."

- Jerry Kirkpatrick,
Professor of Marketing,
California State Polytechnic University

"Reisman's Capitalism is the most rigorous and relentless case for laissez-faire capitalism written in our time. It is both a brilliant rebuttal of the charges against the market order and a discerning master plan for the restoration of capitalism."

- Hans Sennholz,
President,
Foundation for Economic Education

"Reisman has compiled one of the best defenses of the economics and morality of liberty I've seen written in recent years."

- Walter E. Williams,
Professor of Economics,
George Mason University

"For two full academic years prior to its publication I had the fortunate opportunity to use working manuscripts of Capitalism as primary readings for my graduate business economics classes at Johns Hopkins University. The student response has been overwhelmingly positive. Capitalism's value as a treatise that provides a comprehensive, logically consistent view of the economic world cannot be overstated. It is brilliantly structured and offers the best integration of important new economic insights and time-tested truths available anywhere."

- Robert D. Miller,
Lecturer
Johns Hopkins University

"The most important tome about Austrian economics since Ludwig von Mises' Human Action and Murray Rothbard's Man, Economy, and State."

- 1997 Foundation for Economic Education Book Catalogue

"A sweeping and compelling case for the free market, which, as Professor Reisman shows, is the key to civilization."

- Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.,
President,
Ludwig von Mises Institute

"There are only a few truly great economic classics. Reisman's Capitalism takes its place among them as the leading defense of capitalism. . . . Reisman has taken a complex subject and made it understandable. In my experience, students who have read this work come away believing that economic principles are important and that economics actually makes sense."

- George A. Mangiero,
Associate Professor of Economics,
Iona College

"George Reisman's Capitalism is probably the most remarkable textbook written by any economist in this century. It is a book that will broaden the horizons of economics students at the same time that it challenges and provokes their professors. It is, quite simply, must reading for anyone interested in economics."

- Larry J. Sechrest,
Associate Professor of Economics,
Sul Ross State University

"George Reisman has written a profound, often brilliant work, full of fascinating and valuable insights, wisdom and vision. It is seldom that I find myself underlining or putting exclamation points in the margins of nearly every page of a book. . . . I have learned much from Reisman's magnum opus and recommend it highly to all readers who want to expand their vision of economic reality."

- Mark Skousen, Adjunct Professor of Economics and Finance
Rollins College

"A synthesis of Austrian and classical economics, including refutations of all the leading fallacies of our era."

- Liberty Tree Review and Catalog

"Dr. Reisman has accumulated new evidence, building on Adam Smith and von Mises to give us the economic masterwork of our age. . . . Capitalism is meant to be a lifetime companion."

- Conservative Book Club

"An expositon and defense of capitalism on a par with those of Mises and Hayek . . . ."

- The Free Radical

"Reisman's ringing manifesto for laissez-faire capitalism free of all government influence is at once a conservative polemic and a monumental treatise, brimming with original theories, that is remarkable for its depth, scope and rigorous argument."

- Publishers Weekly (click to see the full text of this review)

"Overall, Capitalism is a book you would want in your library if you want to know what a consistent, intelligent advocate of capitalism would say on almost any economic issue."

- Fortune (click to see the full text of this review)

"Reisman offers the most comprehensive defense of capitalism ever written. . . Capitalism is a classic."

- The Freeman (click to see the full text of this review)

- See Numerous Readers' Reviews at Amazon.com
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Below is the contents of the book in brief (part and chapter headings only).

LIST OF FIGURES xxxv

LIST OF TABLES xxxvi

PREFACE xxxix

INTRODUCTION 1

Part One The Foundations of Economics

1. ECONOMICS AND CAPITALISM 13

2. WEALTH AND ITS ROLE IN HUMAN LIFE 39

3. NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT 63

Part Two The Division of Labor and Capitalism

4. THE DIVISION OF LABOR AND PRODUCTION 121

5. THE DEPENDENCE OF THE DIVISION OF LABOR ON CAPITALISM 133

6. THE PRICE SYSTEM AND ECONOMIC COORDINATION 171

7. PRICE CONTROLS AND ECONOMIC CHAOS 219

8. SOCIALISM, ECONOMIC CHAOS, AND TOTALITARIAN
DICTATORSHIP 267

9. THE INFLUENCE OF THE DIVISION OF LABOR ON THE INSTITUTIONS OF CAPITALISM 297

10. MONOPOLY VERSUS FREEDOM OF COMPETITION 377

11. THE DIVISION OF LABOR AND THE CONCEPT OF PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY 445

Part Three The Process of Economic Progress

12. MONEY AND SPENDING 507

13. PRODUCTIONISM, SAY'S LAW, AND UNEMPLOYMENT 547

14. THE PRODUCTIVITY THEORY OF WAGES 609

15. AGGREGATE PRODUCTION, AGGREGATE SPENDING, AND THE ROLE OF SAVING IN SPENDING 681

16. THE NET-CONSUMPTION/NET-INVESTMENT THEORY OF PROFIT AND INTEREST 729

17. APPLICATIONS OF THE INVARIABLE-MONEY/ NET-CONSUMPTION ANALYSIS 821

18. KEYNESIANISM: A CRITIQUE 877

19. GOLD VERSUS INFLATION 911

20. TOWARD THE ESTABLISHMENT OF LAISSEZ FAIRE CAPITALISM 985

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WRITINGS IN DEFENSE OF CAPITALISM 993

INDEX 1001

Go to Reisman's Program of Self-Education in the Economic Theory and Political Philosophy of Capitalism, Based on Capitalism as the Main Text

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