De Marx a Mises

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In 1920, Ludwig von Mises proclaimed that all attempts to establish socialism would come to grief, for reasons of informational efficiency. At first, socialists and economists took Mises's argument seriously, but by the end of the Second World War, a consensus prevailed that Mises had been discredited. More recently, that consensus has been rapidly reversed: it is now widely agreed that 'Mises was right'. Yet the momentous implications of the Mises argument - for economics, politics, culture, and philosophy - remain largely unexplored. From Marx to Mises is a clear, penetrating exposition of the economic calculation debate, and a scrutiny of some of the broader issues it raises. --
 This book explores the relationship between economics and politics by focusing on the idea of "social planning" of the economy. The idea has been tremendously important, both in socialist and in modern liberal countries--but is it right? Steele shows the reasons for and against the idea, and while doing so provides an excellent account of the history of economic theories. He brings clarity, intelligence, and even wit to a subject that other writers struggle to make as opaque as possible. A fascinating book, the best introduction to modern economic thought that I've ever seen.--
Only a man like Steele, who was once a well-versed Marxist, and then came to appreciate the passionate and compelling anti-socialism of "the Marx of capitalism," the great Ludwig von Mises, could have produced such an insightful book.
The trouble with most Marxists and Misesians is that they usually misconstrue the other side. Steele doesn't. He's one of the few writers who really understands where both sides are coming from. 
The result is a fascinating and pentrating analysis of the single most important debate of the last 200 years----one which actually came close to destroying Western civilization as we know it. 
Steele cuts through layers of irrelevancies to arrive at the crux of the controversy, and no one who reads this book will go away without a much deeper understanding of politics, economics, and intellectual history. (Example: A powerful analysis of the very idea of "property," whether public or private.) There is no thinking person that the insights of this book will not affect.
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