60) Falando de Lord Skidelsky... (The Road From Serfdom)

The Road from Serfdom: The Economic and Political Consequences of the End of Communism
Skidelsky, Robert
(Allen Lane, New York, New York, U.S.A., 1996; ISBN: 0713991224)

At the onset of the Cold War in 1944, Friedrich A. Hayek wrote his classic book The Road to Serfdom to warn that central planning threatens freedom. Now Robert Skidelsky, author of an acclaimed biography of John Maynard Keynes, looks at the havoc central planning has wrought since then. Despite the seeming chaos of the post-communist world, Skidelsky argues that the global failure and collapse of collectivism as a principle of social organization is one of the most hopeful events of the 20th century.

Excellent overview of the failure of socialism in the Soviet Union. Shows how the failure of the planned economy was predicted by Ludwig von Mises, how Friedrich Hayek showed that planned economy is the basis of a totalitarian state. Examines how the ups and downs of Soviet socialism affected the debate on economic policy in the Western countries. Easy to read, no jargon.

Pode ser encontrado no maior sebo eletrônico de livros do mundo: Abe Books (www.abebooks.com), por preços que vão de US$ 1,11 (sim, isto mesmo um dólare e onze centavos) até US$ 33,17 (desculpem a pergunta, mas porque diabos esse livreiro tinha que colocar 17 centavos nos seus 33 dólares?; esses americanos são malucos, mas vai ver que ele vende livros por quilo, ou melhor, pounds...)