Arendt and the Austrians
The Bard College Library has catalogued the books in the collection of the political philosopher Hannah Arendt. She owned a large number of books by Mises, even more by Hayek, and two by Rothbard: For a New Liberty and The Panic of 1819. The Arendt Collection can be searched here.
Comments (6)
That's surprising. Reading The Human Condition I got the impression that she was wholly unfamiliar with Austrian economics. Her main influences seem to have been Smith and Marx.
Published: November 15, 2006 11:33 PM
Hmm...A Hanna Pitkin has apparently written a book called "The attack of the blob: Hannah Arendt's concept of the social."
Maybe all that Hayek didn't do her much good, though she certainly wrote some very insightful pieces.
Published: November 16, 2006 12:02 AM
Never far from my mind is her haunting phrase "the banality of evil," as the state, being all-pervasive, epitomizes that which is so obvious that it is no longer seen for what it is. Instead, like the air we breathe, the state simply is, to be questioned only with regard to which direction the wind blows, never that, by its very nature, it is poison, and the more deadly the more we breathe it in.
Published: November 16, 2006 7:30 AM
Hmmmm... I am reminded of the 'put a frog in boiling water...' metaphor. We just don't notice the changes in the state until it's too late. I am of the opnion that state workers, from the janitor all the way up to the governor, have too much of everything. I mean too much pay, too many benefits, too much vacation, too much power. If we had succeeded in tightly controlling the reins in the first place, we would not be in this pickle now. Ahhh, hindsight...
Published: November 18, 2006 9:11 AM
ohh yes
I hope everybody read this
thank you
Published: March 23, 2007 4:45 AM
Good news
Thank you
Published: May 7, 2007 2:38 PM