Books like Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis

This is my favorite book by my favorite author. He dissects every known form of socialism up to the date of publication (1922). His words have stood the test of time and there are very few, if any really new ideas on the subject since, that are not actually described (if not by the same names) and torn apart in this book. This is the book that turned the Nobel Prize winning economist Friedrich von Hayek away from the social democracy ideology, held before he read it!But most importantly, Mises demonstrated conclusively how socialism is not a rational system and has to fail, of its own inconsistencies.The scope is magisterial: covering everything from love and sex under socialism and capitalism, to the details of national economic planning. Democratic Socialism, Christian Socialism, Syndicalism, Marxism, National Socialism, Monopolies, the concentration of Capital, Trade Unionism, Income Inequality, Interventionism, all the key concepts are presented fairly, clearly and persuasively.You will be amazed at how relevant and thoroughly readable this book is today, almost 100 years after it first appeared.The super-popular (and well known in his day - author of best selling "The Worldly Philosophers" and many other books) socialist American economist Robert Heilbroner said not long after the collapse of the Berlin Wall and most of the communist world in 1989, that "of course Mises was right." That's an incredibly ironic "of course," since Heilbroner made his name pushing various types of socialism during his long academic and best selling writing career.The prominent (in Europe) Polish socialist (1920s-30s) Oscar Lange said socialists should erect a statue to Mises, for his pointing out a critical flaw in socialism. He was only partially being facetious.If even honest socialists such as these admit Mises was right, shouldn't you know what he said about socialism?Another huge benefit to reading this book is that Mises does not contend himself with only being critical of Socialism. No, not at all. He makes the full case for a rigorous liberal society based on a truly free market economy with property rights as the key.This book is one of the all-time greatest achievements of the human mind. Considering this, it is also not all that difficult to read. I thought virtually every part fascinating, and was incredibly enriched by reading it all, which I have done several times since I discovered it about 1976. Considering how popular socialism is becoming these days (2019), despite over 100 years of evidence of how destructive to mankind this ideology and economic system is, wouldn't perhaps finding out what it is really all about, in all its manifest forms be a wise move?Enjoy!