Episode · Lex Fridman Podcast · 2021-04-10
Books mentioned on #174 – Tyler Cowen: Economic Growth and the Fight Against Conformity and Mediocrity
Tyler Cowen is an economist, writer, and podcaster. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: – Linode: https://linode.
Tyler Cowen recommended The Dialogues of Plato, The Use of Knowledge in Society by Friedrich August Hayek, Individualism and Economic Order by Friedrich A. von Hayek, and Individualism by Friedrich A. von Hayek, and discussed The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, Capitalism, the unknown ideal by Ayn Rand, An Economic Survey of Iran, We the Living by Ayn Rand, Boswell's Life of Johnson by James Boswell, Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell, and The Essential Stalin by Joseph Stalin. Lex Fridman discussed Big Business by Tyler Cowen.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a complex philosophical novel that delves deeply into faith, doubt, free will, and morality through the turbulent relationships of the Karamazov family.
Discussed“like alyosha right in brothers carter or perilman the mathematician”
Where to get it
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The Fountainhead
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is a classic philosophical novel that explores individualism, artistic integrity, and the conflict between independent creators and collectivist societal pressures.
Discussed“Is it useful at all to think about this kind of formulation of rational self interest if i could put in those words or i guess more negatively the the the selfishness where she would put i guess the virtue of selfishness”
Where to get it
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Capitalism, the unknown ideal
Ayn Rand's "Capitalism, the Unknown Ideal" is a collection of essays championing laissez-faire capitalism and objectivist philosophy.
Discussed“ein rand was a big influence on me growing up the book that really mattered for me was capitalism the unknown ideal”
Where to get it
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An Economic Survey of Iran
Discussed“the book that really mattered for me was capitalism the unknown ideal”
Where to get it
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We the Living
We the Living by Ayn Rand is a semi-autobiographical novel set in Soviet Russia that follows a young woman navigating life and romance under a totalitarian communist regime.
Discussed“if she was still alive i'd only ask her about russia which she mostly never talked about after writing we the living”
Where to get it
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Boswell's Life of Johnson
Discussed“like in my view boswell's life of johnson 18th century british biography it's in essence a co-authored work boswell and johnson”
Where to get it
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Life of Samuel Johnson
Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell is an acclaimed eighteenth-century British biography that captures the wit, wisdom, and distinct personality of its subject.
Discussed“like in my view boswell's life of johnson 18th century british biography it's in essence a co-authored work”
Where to get it
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Big Business
Big Business by Tyler Cowen is an economic defense of large corporations that challenges conventional criticisms and highlights the immense societal benefits generated by major companies.
Discussed“big business speaking of iran big business a love letter to an american anti-hero you make the case for uh the benefit that large businesses bring to society”
Where to get it
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The Dialogues of Plato
The Dialogues of Plato by Plato is a foundational collection of classical Greek philosophical texts utilizing conversational formats to explore ethics, politics, and metaphysics.
Recommended“well two of them we've already discussed one is plato's dialogues which i started reading when i was like 13.”
Where to get it
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The Use of Knowledge in Society
The Use of Knowledge in Society by Friedrich August Hayek is a seminal economic essay that explores how decentralized mechanisms and price systems coordinate dispersed knowledge within a market economy.
Recommended“Another is iran capitalism the unknown ideal but i would say the friedrich hayek essay the use of knowledge in society which is about how decentralized mechanisms can work”
Where to get it
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Individualism and Economic Order
Individualism and Economic Order by Friedrich A.
Recommended“and that was in a book called individualism and economic order but it was just a few essays in that book”
Where to get it
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Individualism
Individualism and Economic Order by Friedrich A.
Recommended“and that was in a book called individualism and economic order but it was just a few essays in that book”
Where to get it
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The Essential Stalin
The Essential Stalin by Joseph Stalin is a compilation of critical political writings and historical texts detailing Marxist-Leninist ideology and the governance of the Soviet Union.
Discussed“he was a stalinist he edited the book called the essential stalin brilliant guy”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (4) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“author of many books including the great stagnation average is over and his most recent big business a love letter to an american anti-hero”
“author of many books including the great stagnation average is over and his most recent big business a love letter to an american anti-hero”
“author of many books including the great stagnation average is over and his most recent big business a love letter to an american anti-hero”
“i argued that in my book the great stagnation appropriately titled but the last two years i've become much more optimistic”