Democracy
The God that Failed
by Hans-Hermann Hoppe · first published 2001
64% recommend32% neutral5% critical
Why HN recommends it
A libertarian case against democracy, arguing from economics and time preference that it breeds short-term thinking while monarchy or private law societies do better
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The core of this book is a systematic treatment of the historic transformation of the West from monarchy to democracy. Revisionist in nature, it reaches the conclusion that monarchy is a lesser evil than democracy, but outlines deficiencies in both. Its methodology is axiomatic-deductive, allowing the writer to derive economic and sociological theorems, and then apply them to interpret historical events. A compelling chapter on time preference describes the progress of civilization as lowering time preferences as capital structure is built, and explains how the interaction between people ca
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…tolerate the charade Not materially adding to any percentages Legitimizing the system by submitting to it's theatrical demands Thinking independently etc. Recommended: http://www.amazon.com/Democracy-The-God-That-Failed-Economic...
on “Are you more likely to cast the deciding vote or die on your way to the polls?” ↗Recommended: http://www.amazon.com/Democracy-The-God-That-Failed-Economic...
on “Are you more likely to cast the deciding vote or die on your way to the polls?” ↗Democracy: The God That Failed by Hans-Hermann Hoppe Typically read by anarchists and libertarians, I'm not recommending it to change your politics, but rather as a philosophical exercise. It does an amazing job…
on “Ask HN: Books for Reevaluation of Life” ↗Here's a good one: https://www.amazon.com/Democracy-Economics-Politics-Perspect..., but there are many.
on “Gross domestic product is a misleading measure of national success (2014)” ↗Democracy: The God That Failed by Hans-Hermann Hoppe
on “Ask HN: What are the most thought-provoking books that you have read?” ↗Democracy: The god that failed
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗democracy: the god that failed
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗…even possible that some other form of societal organization will upend democratic majoritarianism? Have you actually read any books on the subject like Caplan's The Myth of the Rational Voter or Hoppe's Democracy: The God that Failed? There's real arguments behind being anti-democracy, so rather than just complaining about me like a bother, insta-downvoting, and declaring it "simply wrong", maybe you should tackle…
on “You can't beat politics with new technology all the time” ↗…provinces they were in fact paid voluntarily, for real armed protection services that could be denied if you chose not to pay them, but weren't forced to. References / citations? Read Hans Hermann Hoppe's Democracy book, it's full of them.
on “John Carmack on government” ↗Monarchy may be making a big comeback. And that's a GOOD thing. Try taking a break from jerking your knees and read "Democracy: The God that Failed", by Hans-Hermann Hoppe: MONARCHY, DEMOCRACY, AND THE IDEA OF NATURAL ORDER From the vantage point of elementary economic theory and in light of historical evidence, then, a revisionist…
on “Larry Ellison Buys Most of Lanai” ↗There is also, "Democracy", by Hans Hoppe. It discuses the economics of democracy, monoarchy, and a non-state system called, "private law society".
on “Japan is Collapsing” ↗You may find the book "Democracy, the God that failed" from Herman Hoppe interesting (or you may find him too weird). Although cronyism is one of the main culprit, he gives other reasons for the inferiority of the Democracy. Bare in…
on “How Mickey Mouse Evades the Public Domain” ↗…mostly good at production of words instead of production of goods & services or like Hans-Herman Hoppe likes to say, "Government specializes in the production of 'bads'". I'd like to recommend his book - Democracy, The god that failed.
on “Barack Obama on A.I., Autonomous Cars, and the Future of Humanity” ↗…Remember, Volcker was fired by Reagan. And Greenspan is a goldbug at heart who had a lot of political pressure to keep the heroin flowing. Voters do not understand economics, but they do like cheap credit. Democracy breeds short term thinking. Read some Herman Hoppe - http://www.lewrockwell.com/hoppe/hoppe4.html
on “Stock Market Meltdowns - Why they will happen again and again and again” ↗…laissez-faire, has minimal regulations and pumps in money into the economy in smaller doses would suffice. If you're interested in learning more about these and more thoughts, check out a book called: Democracy, The god That Failed by Hans-Hermann Hoppe
on “Amazon drivers pushed to the limit as holiday deliveries reach a frenzy” ↗