America's great depression
by Murray N. Rothbard · first published 1963
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9recommended by
10HN commenters
2008–2025first – last mentioned
90% recommend10% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Argues that government policy, especially inflation and cheap credit, drove the 1929 crash into a prolonged depression. A solid economic analysis and a good introduction for readers wanting the Austrian case.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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It's not new at all. It's actually fairly easy to demonstrate. I recommend Murray Rothbard's America's Great Depression[0] from 1963. The quick hit is this: A. US Monetary policy provides large banks with extremely cheap capital B. Large banks competing with each other in the free market must make use of that capital…
on “Debunking “America has become so anti-innovation – it's economic suicide”” ↗…and not the effect of greater productivity. Henry Ford was probably the most influential person in this camp but most of American business at the time was on board with it as well. Murray Rothbard's "America's Great Depression" has probably the best analysis of Hoover's proto "New Deal" policies. It's very enlightening if you were taught as I was that Hoover did nothing while the depression ravaged the nation.
on “Henry Ford: Why I Favor Five Days' Work With Six Days' Pay” ↗Read some DeSoto and Rothbard ( Money, Credit and Economy - http://mises.org/resources/2745, America's Great Depression http://mises.org/rothbard/agd.pdf and History of Money and Banking -http://mises.org/books/historyofmoney.pdf ). They both make a pretty compelling case that government played a major role in the 19th…
on “Stock Market Meltdowns - Why they will happen again and again and again” ↗I've read it. Galbraith's history is ok and his writing is entertaining but his economic analysis is terribly flawed. I recommend Rothbard's America's Great Depression for a solid economic analysis of the causalities involved in taking a market crash and turning it into a depression. The book is available in pdf free online: https://mises.org/library/americas-great-depression
on “China Trade Halts Locks Up $2.2 Trillion of Shares, Freezing Market” ↗you've got some reading to do. America's Great Depression http://mises.org/rothbard/agd.pdf
on “Where did all the wealth go? To our kids.” ↗…prop up commodity prices while starving, out of work people looked on in horror. If prices had been allowed to fall, wage rates could have come down to a price where hiring made sense. Read Rothbard's "America's Great Depression" for a good overview of the case against macro-economics and deflationary interventionism.
on “Why Falling Prices Are Actually a Really Bad Thing” ↗…and the real estate bubble was as well. Both bubbles required bailouts. See the failure of Long Term Capital Management for more information on how the equity bubble of the 90s lead to instability. "America's Great Depression" by Murray Rothbard provides a good introduction to the Austrian Theory of the Business Cycle with a good historical analysis. Rothbard also covers alternative explanations of the business cycle. Even…
on “Historian finds tech bubble that didn't pop (180 years ago)” ↗…Further, rather than adhering to a hard money position, as is popular for political economists to posit today, the actual position was inflationary. This position is well argued by Rothbard in his book "America's Great Depression". The reason the myth of "hard money" prolonging the great depression persists, is because governments want an inflationary monetary policy to allow them to spend without the fiscal restraint that would…
…deduction). Some of the writing is simply intellectually interesting and also very scholastic for lack of a better word. For example, even if you completely disagree with the analysis I'd argue that "America's Great Depression" is a very good read simply from an intellectual point of view and "Man, Economy, State" is a very good tome that contains a framework of thought. I also enjoy the science theoretical musings quite a…
on “Why I Am Not an Austrian Economist” ↗…an economic liability -- especially if it happens rapidly. In an economic crisis, resources become constrained even if there are technically plenty to go around. I'm sure there are examples of this in America's Great Depression. I'm not by any means an expert in this area -- just doing the best I can to paraphrase what so far has been a very interesting and paradigm shattering book.
on “Japan’s sexual apathy is endangering the global economy (2013)” ↗…Yesterday by Stefan Zweig - will make you nostalgic for the days of monarchy World on Fire by Amy Chua - the single best book for understanding globalization that I have read. The antidote to Tom Friedman. America's Great Depression by Murray Rothbard - very different from the story you get in school. Is he right? Two favorite tech books are Inside Intuit and The Manager Pool
on “Ask YC (and PG): What books do you have on your bookshelf? ” ↗For example, Murray Rothbard argued in America’s Great Depression (1963) that both Herbert Hoover and FDR worsened the economic downturn through interventionist policies. He believed FDR’s price and wage controls, massive public spending, and business regulations stifled…
on “Most AI value will come from broad automation, not from R & D” ↗