OAKLAND, Calif.—Modern civilization rests on the market economy, but economies can’t work properly when government policies interfere with individual choices, entrepreneurship, voluntary cooperation, market-based pricing, private property, free enterprise, and the rule of law. Such is the thesis of the new book from Independent Institute, Choice: Cooperation, Enterprise, and Human Action, by Robert P. Murphy.

Choice not only explains how a free-market economy raises living standards, protects human liberty, and fosters societal harmony and progress, but the book also guides readers through the insights of perhaps the greatest treatise in economics and social thought ever written, Human Action, by the “Austrian School” economist Ludwig von Mises.

The need for people to understand how a free-market economy operates cannot be overestimated, according to Murphy. “Ultimately, the choice is: cooperation versus compulsion; prosperity versus stagnation; civilization versus barbarism,” Murphy writes. “The choice is ours.”

While many economics books have become bestsellers in recent years, none do what Choice does in focusing on the most fundamental issues: the proper method for thinking about economics; the benefits of the division of labor; the role of market prices in economic calculation and resource allocation; and the many ways in which government interventions such as tariffs, wage and price controls, mandates, debt, and inflationary monetary policies disrupt economic coordination and social harmony.

Choice is also unique for the clarity it brings to Human Action, the classic book that most readers find very challenging due to its deep learning and theoretical rigor. Murphy’s ability to translate Mises’s 1949 masterpiece into accessible, everyday language makes Choice the logical gateway for those interested in learning economic principles.

Choice fleshes out the brilliant analogies Mises used in Human Action, provides essential context by explaining rival doctrines that Mises criticized, and like Human Action, it concludes by urging readers to join the crusade to spread the ideas of economic liberty far and wide.

The author of Choice: Cooperation, Enterprise, and Human Action, Robert P. Murphy is a Research Fellow at Independent Institute, a non-partisan, research and educational organization that promotes the power of independent thinking to boldly advance peaceful, prosperous, and free societies grounded in a commitment to human worth and dignity. For media inquiries, please contact Marketing and Communications Director Kim Cloidt at 202-725-7722 ([email protected]).