Harry Browne's influences

Other discussions not related to the Permanent Portfolio

Moderator: Global Moderator

Post Reply
User avatar
Jake
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 147
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:01 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Harry Browne's influences

Post by Jake »

I found an interesting quote by Harry Browne regarding his influences:

"A number of people have contributed to my economic education over the years, but probably the three most important influences were Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, and Henry Hazlitt."

(from "Why the Best-Laid Investment Plans Usually Go Wrong: And How You Can Find Safety and Profit in an Uncertain World")
User avatar
dualstow
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 15272
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:18 am
Location: searching for the lost Xanadu
Contact:

Re: Harry Browne's influences

Post by dualstow »

Yeah, he used to talk about Hazlitt on the radio show too. Particularly his 'Economics in One Lesson' book. I can't remember if I remember von Mises from the radio, too, or from seeing his name in Best-Laid. Or Fail-safe.
RIP BRIAN WILSON
User avatar
MediumTex
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 9096
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 11:47 pm
Contact:

Re: Harry Browne's influences

Post by MediumTex »

Any Rand.

Obvious, but needed to be said.
Q: “Do you have funny shaped balloons?”
A: “Not unless round is funny.”
User avatar
MediumTex
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 9096
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 11:47 pm
Contact:

Re: Harry Browne's influences

Post by MediumTex »

Andrew Galambos.

Galambos has mostly been forgotten, but he was an influential figure back in Browne's younger days.

Galambos's "V-20" course was very popular.  I've listened to it and really enjoyed it.  It was in V-20 that I first heard that the reason we have traffic is because the private sector makes the cars, but the government makes the roads.
Q: “Do you have funny shaped balloons?”
A: “Not unless round is funny.”
User avatar
MediumTex
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 9096
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 11:47 pm
Contact:

Re: Harry Browne's influences

Post by MediumTex »

MangoMan wrote:
MediumTex wrote: Any Rand.

Obvious, but needed to be said.
Rand Paul
Rand McNally
Ingersoll Rand
Rand Matlab
Rand Road
Not sure how any of these influenced HB.  :D
Spell check thought it knew best.
Q: “Do you have funny shaped balloons?”
A: “Not unless round is funny.”
User avatar
Mountaineer
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 5078
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2012 10:54 am

Re: Harry Browne's influences

Post by Mountaineer »

MediumTex wrote:
MangoMan wrote:
MediumTex wrote: Any Rand.

Obvious, but needed to be said.
Rand Paul
Rand McNally
Ingersoll Rand
Rand Matlab
Rand Road
Not sure how any of these influenced HB.  :D
Spell check thought it knew best.
Or a bit of dyslexia crept in.  ;)

... M
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help. Psalm 146:3
User avatar
MachineGhost
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 10054
Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2011 9:31 am

Re: Harry Browne's influences

Post by MachineGhost »

MediumTex wrote: Andrew Galambos.

Galambos has mostly been forgotten, but he was an influential figure back in Browne's younger days.

Galambos's "V-20" course was very popular.  I've listened to it and really enjoyed it.  It was in V-20 that I first heard that the reason we have traffic is because the private sector makes the cars, but the government makes the roads.
I was actually the first -- if not among the first -- to help popularize Gambos on the Internet in the late 90's.  Before that, no one had a clue about who he was.  And ironically, I've still yet to read Sic Itur Ad Astra.  Probably because by then I realized ideologically-elegant solutions just don't work in the real world of messy politics and people acting on flawed misinformation and behavorial biases.  I've got enough on my plate without needing to get radicalized about social transformation to a voluntary society based on strict private property principles.  Maybe we can get moda to read it and fill us in?

But yes, Browne was majorly influencd by Galambos, Harry Schultz and the Austrian school of economics.  It was a small incestuous circle in the late 60's and early 70's with the libertarians.  Technically, I suspect Browne had to disavow Austrian theory to be able to come up with the PP in 1987.
Last edited by MachineGhost on Sat Mar 26, 2016 2:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes

Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet.  I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
User avatar
MachineGhost
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 10054
Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2011 9:31 am

Re: Harry Browne's influences

Post by MachineGhost »

Frak, I should have got the book when I had the chance.  Look at the prices now!

http://www.amazon.com/Sic-Itur-Ad-Astra ... 880780045/
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes

Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet.  I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
Post Reply