I had previously talked about two books: Learning Intelligence by Pierluigi Piazzi and Scientific Method Within Everyone’s Reach by Celicina Borges Azevedo.
Now I have a third book to make our world better: The Six Lessons by Ludwig von Mises.
Mises, the greatest representative of the Austrian school of economics, discusses subjects considered complex in a simple way that is accessible to everyone.
He covers the subjects while always demonstrating historical failures from the past so that we do not have to go through them again.
One of the key points is that the author proves that the advent of capitalism brought about the greatest improvement in people’s quality of life. Before that, people lived static lives without prospects: they were born poor and died poor. Capitalism makes it possible, while still alive, to move through individual effort and determination from a condition of poverty to a prosperous condition.
Another key point is: the government is what determines a nation’s prosperity or decline. The leaner the government—in other words, the less it interferes in the economy—the more prosperous the nation becomes. Conversely, interventionism and state control of the economy, along with excessive government power, inevitably lead a nation to serious problems. The point is not the absence of government, but a government that does not interfere in economic matters.
Throughout the text, he gives the argument a scientific character through the many historical facts that repeat the same rule: excessive government power, economic intervention, uncontrolled inflation, and national decline. Remember that inflation is caused by the government through the unrestrained expansion of the money supply to finance its monumental deficits (injecting unbacked money).
The author also clarifies the incoherence and inconsistency of socialist and communist ideas which, in practice, operate through control and fear, destroying the freedom, purchasing power, quality of life, and even the life of the citizen trapped by these policies.
Required reading so that no one is further deceived by socialist ideas without historical grounding that, in practice, merely serve as a mechanism for a minority to enjoy luxury while the majority loses all its freedoms: expression, movement, and economic freedom.
Note: Instead of the dualistic, dishonest view that portrays the business owner as bad and the worker as a victim, blatantly presented in the textbooks of schools in our country, let us replace it with this book: The Six Lessons. With this simple gesture, everyone would benefit: the student, the teacher, the school, the parents, the city, and finally the nation. In this way we would no longer be deceived by ideas that, in practice, only cause harm to our society, such as socialism and communism.
ALERT TO PARENTS: Always talk with your children. Always ask them what they are learning at school. Read your children’s textbooks. Whenever you see a distorted idea presenting socialist ideologies as absolute truth—a true brainwashing—talk calmly with your child. That’s right, there is no need to get upset, because these socialist ideas have no historical consistency; on the contrary, they are historically proven to bring problems, persecution, abuse, torture, unjust deaths, and other harms. Since, unfortunately, you do not have the power to change your child’s school materials, what remains is to talk to them as follows: - “My child, the idea you are seeing in class is only one among others that are not shown in the book. It is an idea that, over the years, has brought only misery to people under the rule of these ideologies (e.g., Nazism). It is an idea that has already been surpassed and explained by people who are not interested in manipulating or taking away other people’s freedom, such as the Austrian Ludwig von Mises. Do not challenge your teacher; everything indicates that he fell in love with the ideology, set logical reasoning aside, and defends it blindly. Do not blame him; he is also a victim, or part of the group that wants to manipulate others. Ultimately, do not waste time trying to argue with your teacher. Always study to learn. Read about the idea in the textbook and read about other viewpoints outside the classroom. Take the test with answers based on the textbook, even knowing that it is filled with distorted information. It is only a test, and you should take it with the conviction that it does not influence your learning. You will live with this teacher for only a few years; afterward you will continue with your life. But never become attached to any idea that reaches your ears. Always seek several points of view and, above all, seek historical and scientific evidence. Never accept an idea merely because it makes sense or because it is logical. Without scientific or historical validation, do not accept it. Always remember that you are the master of your own destiny. Our role as parents is to guide you so that you are not deceived. The tool we give you as a gift is the historical and experimental evidence given to us by science. Keep going firmly in your studies, and when in doubt, count on us.”
You can obtain the ebook as a free PDF at: http://www.mises.org.br/Ebook.aspx?id=16