Customer Reviews

More Liberty Means Less Government: Our Founders Knew This Well (HOOVER INST PRESS PUBLICATION)

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As stated, this book is a must read for any person who wants to have a clear grasp of the issues of our day. As other reviewers have noted, this book is a collection of some of his syndicated columns that were previously published. That being said:

Dr. Williams writes with a style which is completely opposite of much of the intellegencia. His writings are straightforward and to the point. This book is worth the price just to read his wrtings about Dunbar High School, a primarily black school in a poor district of D.C. which yielded outstanding results in the 50's and 60's....until the great forces of public education intervened and destroyed that success. I urge anyone who is a great supporter of public education and who buys into the "education needs more money....Black schools can't succeed" philosophy to obtain a copy of this book. It may not change your mind, but it will challenge your thoughts.

Dr. Williams writings on affirmative action are equally superb. He, again in simple terms explains how the economics of affirmative action don't match up with the political rhetoric. Be not scared that he is an economist, he writes for the reader and not for himself, with practical examples easily understood by all. Walter Williams is a national treasure.

One of a handful of exceptionally eloquent black libertarian thinkers, Professor Williams sees clearly and speaks bluntly. If you are not one of the fortunate few GMU students to attend his lectures, you have a chance here to get an idea of what you're missing. Each essay skewers a failed statist solution, whether left-wing public education or right-wing Aid to Dependent Corporations, setting them to roasting on the fires of reason. Economics is an extremely easy subject...to get completely backwards, upside down, and inside out. For a gyroscopic lock on the issues from the economist's perspective, get this book and Thomas Sowell's new Basic Economics.

Mr. Williams says things I've always believed, but was afraid to say aloud for fear of being thought of as intolerant, uncompassionate, or politically incorrect. Mr. Williams knows how people work and what they do to further their best interests (which is the study of economics) and explains it in a jovial and colloquial manner. READ it.

This book is a compilation of columns by America's strongest voice of liberty, Dr. Walter E. Williams. In this book Dr. Williams offers his common sense, freedom-loving take on the vital issues of the day. He addresses race and sex, government, education, environment, health, law and international affairs in a clear, straight-forward way that challenges the many liberal fallacies that have eroded our precious liberties. A must read for anyone wanting to expand their base of knowledge and unafraid to confront stark truths. Very excellent indeed

Walter E. Williams is extremely gifted in his ability to present an argument. In More Liberty Means Less Government, Williams presents short articles that he has written (ranging from 1995 - 1997), each of these articles is a beautifully orchestrated example of the perfect argument from start to finish. Not only does Williams present a convincing argument for each topic, but he adjusts his balance of pathos, ethos, and logos depending on the topic he asses. When discussing many potentially controversial topics such as school vouchers or education reform, Williams first seeks to establish himself as a credible source on the topic, and frequently brings in more than one real life source on the topic. William's doesn't just quote some professor's work on education, he refers to the owner of a small private school in his area and HER opinion on how to solve the problem of our dismal education schools. Due to his brilliance of mind and communication, Williams is incredibly effective in presenting his political agenda, and creates a masterpiece in More Liberty Means Less Government.

This book is a reprint of great articles from Walter Williams. It is a shame we do not have more teachers like Williams in our schools. If only more people took economics.

Of all the economists in this country, Walter Williams is the best communicator. Whether lecturing or writing, he has the genius to reduce every issue to it's truist form. His powers of reason then lead to the most objective conclusion. He delivers with revolutionary simplicity, humor and power. There is no doublespeak or phony rhetoric to impress with how much more he knows than the reader. His conclusions are so appropriate, I'd vote for him for president!

Williams assembled this book using some of his favorite previously published columns. An economics professor and outspoken on political and social issues, Williams? views take on a libertarian/conservative flavor. And the columns he selected for this book are consistent in their analysis, with Williams always taking the pro- liberty position, regardless of topic.

This book includes sections titled 1. Race & Sex, 2. Government, 3. Education, 4. Environment and Health,
5. International, 6. Law and Society, and 7. Potpourri, which is a miscellaneous category that includes columns that do not fit into one of the other six. Each of these seven sections includes articles relating to that particular topic, with titles and dates of original publication.

Williams talks at length about economic issues, which should be expected given his background and his profession. But he is just as effective (many even more so) when he tackles personal issues in this book, like racism, sex equality, the failed war on drugs, and other non- economic topics. His greatest skill comes in the way he takes complicated topics and explains them using examples that anyone can relate to and understand.

If I had to make a few criticisms of this book, it would first be the fact that the book doesn?t flow very well. Since it is comprised of a collection of previously published material, it doesn?t read like a normal book. Also, I did notice a few typos and awkward sentences that are not always easy to follow. Williams writes this book using a style that attempts to use as few words as possible to get a point across. This is nice, for the sake of saving space. But it can sometimes prove to be inadequate for reading and effective communication.

Williams is considered a conservative, even though he is obviously not a social conservative, based on the views he stresses in this writing. He is often politically incorrect, which I admire and enjoy. Still, the fact that he is considered conservative will cause many to disagree with many of his opinions and forego giving this book a chance. However, I think the book is still worth a look regardless of political persuasion. Williams may not change your mind about a particular political or economic topic, but he will succeed at making you reconsider some of your positions or at least looking at them from a different perspective. His style is persuasive and convincing, even if you don?t agree with him one- hundred percent.

Walter Williams is a man of integrity, that's why he consistenty seeks to persuade, not to coerce.

Buy this book and vote Libertarian in and beyond!

Once again we are given an opportunity to experience the clarity of vision afforded to us by someone who not only knows economics, but by someone who has the ability to express complex economic concepts in ways all but the most stubborn or ill-informed can appreciate. Some folks complain that this book is just a collection of previously published articles and that it doesn't read like a regular book. So what? I like the fact that I can pick a topic of interest to me today and read it in just a few minutes. Then I can pick a different topic tomorrow if my mood so dictates. As for criticizing the book for being "basically not thought out very well," I must disagree. Each of the articles not only stands on its own in terms of crisp writing and brilliant insight, there is a consistent philosophical logic that ties the articles together.

Criticisms of this book seem to be based more on a philosophical difference of opinion more than on a sophisticated critique of Professor Williams' writing. For example, one person criticized the book in part based on Professor Williams' opposition to the minimum wage. This person seems to hold the philosophical view that it is better public policy for a person to be unemployed at a higher minimum wage rate than to be employed at a lower market wage rate that he is willing to work for. This person also fails to consider that a person whose productivity is so low that he cannot produce a good or service worth at least what it costs to produce the good or service will not stay employed for very long. Perhaps the folks who support higher minimum wages should set up businesses and go ahead and pay people wages that exceed their marginal productivity. Let's see just how quickly they go bankrupt. It has been stated before that working for $5.15 per hour puts more bread on the table than being unemployed at $7.00 per hour. If a higher minimum wage does not have the adverse employment affects suggested by Professor Williams, why not advocate for $20 per hour? Better yet, at $100 per hour everyone would be able to buy health insurance coverage and we could solve two problems at once. If only the real world worked in such a simplistic manner.

A careful and thoughtful reading of "More Liberty Means Less Government" will help to educate folks who, because of a lack of formal economics training, are often more inclined to use fuzzy logic to evaluate matters of public policy. It will also help people to understand that there really is no such thing as non-economic issues. All decisions we make, whether in our public lives or in our private lives, involve making choices from among limited options. That makes them all economic issues. This is perhaps one of the single best lessons that can be learned by reading this book.