Principles of Economics
Course Notes
Course Description:
Principles of Economics is Saifedean’s latest online economics course. Whether you are a student, a professional, or a retiree, you make economic decisions every day, and this course equips you with the wisdom of centuries of economists to improve your economic decision-making.
The course follows alongside Saifedean’s Principles of Economics book, and by joining the course, you receive free access to the digital edition of the book.
Membership is available for $15/month or $100/year.
Lecture 1 - Human Action
- Ammous, Principles of Economics, Chapter 1
- Mises, Ludwig von. Human Action: The Scholar’s Edition. Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1998. Chapters 1 to 4
- Hayek, Friedrich von. “The Pretence of Knowledge.” The Swedish Journal of Economics, vol.77, no. 4, Dec 1975.
- Hayek, Friedrich von. “Scientism and the study of society [Part 1].” Economica, vol.9, no. 35, 1942.
- Rothbard, Murray. Man, Economy, and State, with Power and Market. Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1962. Chapter 1
Lecture 2 - Value
Lecture 3 - Time
- Ammous, Principles of Economics, Chapter 3
- Mises, Ludwig von. Human Action: The Scholar’s Edition. Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1998. Chapter 5
- Simon, Julian. The Ultimate Resource 2. Princeton University Press, 1996.
- Pooley, Gale, and Marian Tupy. “The Simon Abundance Index 2021.” Human Progress.
- The Bitcoin Standard Podcast with guest Gale Pooley.
Lecture 4 - Labor
Lecture 5 - Property
- Ammous, Principles of Economics, Chapter 5
- Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism. Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2010. Chapters 2 and 7
- Kinsella, Stephan. “What Libertarianism Is.” Property, Freedom, and Society: Essays in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2009, p. 184-5.
- Mises, Ludwig von. Human Action: The Scholar’s Edition. Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1998. Chapter XXIV
Lecture 6 - Capital
Lecture 7 - Technology
- Ammous, Principles of Economics, Chapter 7
- Kinsella, Stephan. “The Case Against IP: A Concise Guide.” Mises Daily Articles, Ludwig von Mises Institute, 4 Sep 2009.
- Kinsella, Stephan. Against Intellectual Property. CreateSpace, 2001.
- McElroy, Wendy. “Contra Copyright, Again.” Libertarian Papers, vol. 3, no. 12, 2011.
Lecture 8 - Energy and Power
- Ammous, Principles of Economics, Chapter 8
- Bradley, Robert. Energy: The Master Resource: An Introduction to the History, Technology, Economics, and Public Policy of Energy. Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2004.
- Smil, Vaclav. 2017. Energy and Civilization: A History. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Epstein, Alex. Fossil Future. Penguin, 2014.
Lecture 9 - Trade
- Ammous, Principles of Economics, Chapter 9
- Rothbard, Murray. Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market. Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1962. Chapter 2
- Read, Leonard. “I, Pencil: My Family Tree as Told to Leonard E. Read.” The Freeman, Dec 1958.
- Mises, Ludwig von. Human Action: The Scholar’s Edition.Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1998. Chapter VIII
Lecture 10 - Money
- Ammous, Principles of Economics, Chapter 10
- Mises, Ludwig von. Human Action: The Scholar’s Edition. Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1998. Chapter XVII
- Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. ““The Yield From Money Held” Reconsidered.” Ludwig von Mises Institute, 14 May 2009
- Rothbard, Murray. Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market. Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1962. Chapter 3
- Rothbard, Murray. Economic Controversies. Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2011. Chapter 37
Lecture 11 - Markets
Lecture 12 - Capitalism
Lecture 13 - Time Preference
- Ammous, Principles of Economics, Chapter 13
- Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. Democracy: The God That Failed. Transaction Publishers, 2001. Chapter 1
- Ammous, Saifedean. The Fiat Standard: The Debt Slavery Alternative to Human Civilization. Saif House, 2021. Chapter 7
- Hülsmann, Jörg Guido. The Ethics of Money Production. Ludwig Von Mises Institute, 2008.
- Hülsmann, Jörg Guido. Deflation and Liberty. Ludwig Von Mises Institute, 2008.
- Salerno, Joseph. “Hyperinflation and The Destruction of Human Personality.” Studia Humana, vol. 2, no. 1, 2013, pp. 15-27.
Lecture 14 - Credit and Banking
Lecture 15 - Monetary Expansion
- Ammous, Principles of Economics, Chapter 15
- Mises, Ludwig von. Human Action: The Scholar’s Edition. Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1998. Chapters XIX, XX
- Mises, Ludwig von. The Theory of Money and Credit. 2nd ed., Foundation for Economic Education, 1971. Part Thr
- Garrison, Roger. Time and Money: The Macroeconomics of Capital Structure. Routledge, 2001.
Lecture 16 - Violence
- Ammous, Principles of Economics, Chapter 16
- Fuller, Edward W. “The Non-Aggression Principle: A Short History.” Revista Procesos de Mercado, vol. 16, no. 1, 2019, pp. 31-88.
- DiLorenzo, Thomas. “The Myth of Natural Monopoly.” The Review of Austrian Economics, 1996, pp. 43-58.
- Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. “Fallacies of the Public Goods Theory and the Production of Security.” The Journal of Libertarian Studies, vol. 9, no. 1, Winter, 1989.
- Hayek, Friedrich von. Studies in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. University of Chicago Press, 1967. Chapters 5 and 6
- Mises, Ludwig von. Economic Policy: Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow. Free Market Books, 1995.
Lecture 17 - Defense
- Ammous, Principles of Economics, Chapter 17
- Rothbard, Murray. For a New Liberty. Macmillan, 1973.
- Rothbard, Murray. The Ethics of Liberty
- Rothbard, Murray. Anatomy of the State
- Rothbard, Murray. Power and Market
- Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. The Private Production of Defense. Ludwig Von Mises Institute, 2009.
- Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. The Myth of National Defense: Essays on the Theory and History of Security Production. Ludwig Von Mises Institute, Auburn University, 2003
- Stringham, Edward. Private Governance: Creating Order in Economic and Social Life. Oxford University Press, 2015.
- Mises, Ludwig von. Human Action: The Scholar’s Edition. Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1998, Chapter XXVII
- Hans-Adam. The State in the Third Millennium. 1st ed., Van Eck, 2009.
Lecture 18 - Civilization
- Ammous, Principles of Economics, Chapter 18
- Howden, David, and Joakim Kämpe. “Time Preference and the Process of Civilization.” International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 43, no. 4, 2016, pp. 382-99.
- Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. The Economics and Ethics of Private Property: Studies in Political Economy and Philosophy. Kluwer Academic 1993. Chapter 13.
- Glubb, John. The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival. Blackwood, 1978