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Freedom Book of the Month
Email List Archive
Free-Market.Net's Freedom Book of the Month
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Edited by Sunni Maravillosa. To join or leave this and other
lists, click to: http://www.free-market.net/features/lists/
* January, 2004: "Financial Reckoning Day," by William Bonner, with
Addison Wiggin
* New and notable
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Freedom Book of the Month for January, 2004:
"Financial Reckoning Day"
by William Bonner, with Addison Wiggin
Wiley 2003, hardcover, 306 pp.
ISBN: 0-471-44973-3
I'm not a betting person. I'm *really* not a betting person. I don't
buy insurance, I don't play the ponies or cards or join NCAA
basketball pools, and I don't play the market nor follow the world of
finance. It's always seemed to me that the latter -- stock markets
and investing -- are much more a form of gambling mixed with
crystal-ball gazing than science. Thus, I was skeptical when
"Financial Reckoning Day" arrived on my desk for consideration as
Freedom Book of the Month; I thought I'd be wading through
jargon-laden prognosticating the likes of which I've not seen since
graduate school.
I'm happy to say I was very wrong. "Financial Reckoning Day:
Surviving the Soft Depression of the 21st Century" is an interesting,
amusing blend of history and current events geared toward
understanding markets, money, and the manipulations thereof. William
Bonner (of The Daily Reckoning, www.dailyreckoning.com) and Addison
Wiggin look back to show how bubbles are not new phenomena in the
finance world, and take on other myopias many seem to have regarding
markets. A very interesting myopia many libertarians may have is with
Fed chairman Alan Greenspan; Bonner and Wiggin devote an entire
fascinating chapter to demythologizing him as a "gold bug" and friend
of economic freedom.
"Financial Reckoning Day" is in essence a book on social praxeology,
if I may coin a subdiscipline, because it focuses on the effects
aggregate individual choices can have. From economic difficulties
after both world wars to hopping on the dot-com/postmodern financial
faddism of the 1990s, Bonner and Wiggin show that perception (as
opposed to reality) weighs heavily in individuals' decision-making.
Thus, even rational individuals can be fooled by something that's
"too good to be true" -- especially when it involves money and
investing, areas where nation-states have a vested interest in
maintaining appearances. By examining current and historical market
trends as well as demographic trends (the market is after all a
superlative distillation of crowd behavior), Bonner and Wiggin make
a strong case that the U.S. economy is going to go through a
depression similar to the one that's still affecting the Japanese
economy.
"Financial Reckoning Day" shows, in gritty detail, the fallacy
underlying all the economists' mathematical models of markets and
economies. Like all of human behavior, predicting the economic future
from the recent past is dubious at best; human behavior is
exceedingly complex, and the models break down somewhere in the
transition from individual choice to aggregate results. As such, this
is really more a book about what *not* to do to help yourself survive
an economic downturn. Don't rely on today's media darlings; don't
expect to outplay the market; and don't rely on pension funds or
other schemes that are subject to government meddling are some of the
implicit bits of advice Bonner and Wiggin offer. The explicit advice
is rather more scarce, but "Financial Reckoning Day" is not less
valuable for that.
Liberally sprinkled with myth-shattering observations, including ones
addressing capitalism, consumerism, democracy, and freedom,
"Financial Reckoning Day" is an insider's view of the world of high
finance written in everyday language and from a personal perspective.
It's an informative, entertaining amalgam of looking back -- as well
as around the world -- and ahead. I'm still not a betting person, but
armed with what I learned from Bonner and Wiggin, I'm a little more
confident that some financial advisors have decent foresight.
Order "Financial Reckoning Day" from Amazon.com:
http://www.free-market.net/rd/529230910.html, $19.57
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New and notable
o "Molon Labe," by Boston T. Party
Move over, John Ross! Boston's first novel is a fun, fact-filled
adventure that's a must-read for any individual interested in
creating or joining a freedom-oriented community. Well worth the
long wait.
Order "Molon Labe" from Javelin Press:
http://www.free-market.net/rd/536812436.html, $24 (plus S&H; volume
discounts available).
o "Broad Sides," by Ilana Mercer
A wide-ranging collection of columns by one of World Net Daily's
columnists, organized by topic. Provocative reading for many
libertarians and free-market conservatives.
Order "Broad Sides" from Amazon.com:
http://www.free-market.net/rd/519967166.html, $22.95
o "Bioevolution: How Biotechnology is Changing Our World," by
Michael Fumento
An extraordinary, easy to read look at cutting-edge biotechnology.
Sound science written for the lay public -- a great antidote to the
fear-laden press releases and Luddite-inspired nannying.
Order "Bioevolution" from Laissez Faire Books;
http://www.free-market.net/rd/555295867.html, $20.25
Keep doing freedom,
Sunni Maravillosa
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