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Harry Browne
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Why Government Doesn't Work Kindle Edition

by Harry Browne (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 64 ratings
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Available for the first time on Kindle, Harry Browne's Why Government Doesn't Work is the 1995 book that transformed so many readers into Libertarians - and gave existing Libertarians the arguments and explanations that enabled them to convert their friends to Libertarian ideas.

This book demonstrates persuasively why government programs:

-- Have a failure rate over 99%,
-- Never live up to their promises,
-- Too often do the exact opposite of what was promised for them,
-- Always cost far more than their initial estimates, and
-- Create the conditions that justify enlarging themselves and adding more government programs.

The book provides answers to numerous questions that are sometimes perplexing:

-- Why so many people keep falling for political promises,
-- How America went from the land of the free to the land of government dominance,
-- Why new government intrusions always wind up hurting the innocent more than the guilty, and
-- How to get people to give up their favorite government programs.

And the book offers some surprising conclusions:

-- How the civil rights laws have turned into a national nightmare,
-- How America has an overwhelming national offense, but practically no national defense,
-- How school vouchers could destroy private schools,
-- Why America has no missile defense after 20 years of the government working on it,
-- How government regulation makes your life less safe, and
-- Why every political complaint about our "free market" health-care system is a reason to get the government completely out of health care.

In addition, the book shows why the libertarian message should resonate with the young, the elderly, the poor, the rich, people of every religion, people on welfare, reformers, and even government employees.

There are chapters on education, welfare, health care, law enforcement, the military, Social Security, family values, and the income tax. There's a plan for freeing you immediately from the Social Security tax, without having to deny retired people what they've been led to expect.

There's even a Freedom Budget - showing how the federal government could get by on just $100 billion a year, and how we can get from here to there quickly.

Written in Harry Browne's patented easy-to-follow style, sprinkled with his good humor, and with every detail covered, this book is guaranteed to help you become a more persuasive salesman of liberty.
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  1. Print length
    245 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    July 22, 2014
  5. File size
    1248 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Harry Browne, the Libertarian Party candidate for President in 1996, outlines his views on government and lays out his platform. According to Browne, just about everything from rising healthcare costs to our collapsing morality is the fault of a government that differs from organized crime only because it "has flags in front of its offices." The answer to all our ills, he says, lies with free enterprise, which should be put in charge of such tasks as national defense and education. Among the things he promises to do if elected: pardon anyone ever convicted of violating federal weapons-control laws, and sell the country's national parks.

Review

Harry Browne ... has a game plan for shrinking the federal budget. -- The New York Times Book Review, David Diamond

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00M20HSDS
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 22, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1248 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 245 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 64 ratings

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Harry Browne

Harry Browne

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
64 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Nicholas Bochain jr
5.0 out of 5 stars Alot of information easy to read
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2018
Verified Purchase
A lot of textbooks on politics can be dry and boring, but this book was interesting and entertaining. From my perspective.
Though he did have a solution for every problem of mankind some may help some not. I agreed with some disagreed with others. I just enjoyed reading it and he had a lot of information in a compact space making it easier to be more informed, in a short time.
2 people found this helpful
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Matt
5.0 out of 5 stars Every American should read this book
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2002
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Great book! Harry Browne is able to sum up most of the major problems with our society, and get to the root cause of those problems - government. It would be great if more Americans would open their minds to Libertarian ideas. Unfortunately, Americans have become so brainwashed and apathetic that they don't even think about what role the government should play in our lives. Rather, they just complain and feel that there is nothing to be done. I'd like to buy a copy of this book for every American.
17 people found this helpful
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Charles Witherspoon
4.0 out of 5 stars Same old story
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2024
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There's nothing new here, and the negative aspects have certainty increased since 1995. Government jobs attract those who want a guaranteed income for life with a generous pension, for minimal work effort. Term limits are often discussed as a major step in limiting government's built in incompetence and corruption. These limits are always a smart idea as it is anathema to any totalitarian agenda. They should be applied, however, to every job at every level, regardless of whether they were elected, appointed, or merely hired. Nothing else has worked.
One person found this helpful
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Tudo
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Harry Browne, simple for anyone to understand
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2006
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One of Harry Brownes best works! Amazing how ignorant so many people have become on the issues of freedom and what made this place unique in history. Harry is able to articulate not only why government doesn't work but also the simple changes that we can all make, to re-create the type of America we used to be and become once again the shining symbol of freedom .
5 people found this helpful
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Wade Friedrichs
5.0 out of 5 stars best explanation of government
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2010
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This book presents the best explanation of why government does not work to solve problems. However well-intentioned the program is, it has never worked. Browne goes into detail, program by program, on what was intended, what happened, and what went wrong. It totally blows up the myth that government can solve social and economic problems.
5 people found this helpful
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Eric P. Medlock
5.0 out of 5 stars The book that made a Libertarian out of me
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2003
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I loved this book. Its light weight but well thought out. It convinced me to become a Libertarian and vote for Harry in the last presidential election. This book will give you a different point of view on what government is. Maybe you'll agree and maybe you won't but at least you'll have spent some time thinking about the function of government, and no matter what you decide that will be time well spent.
13 people found this helpful
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James K. Joyce, Jr.
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book; needs a better title.
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2002
First of all, the editorial review is wrong on a major point. Mr. Browne DOES NOT want the private sector to take over the job of national defense. No sensible libertarian does, because this is one of the few things that only government can do effectively. Granted, most of the hardware of the military is built by private companies contracted for this purpose (such as Chrysler building tanks), but the control of the armed services rests with the Federal government, as it should.
My only real problem with this book is, as I suggested, the title. I think it could be misleading and reinforce the association some have equating libertarianism with anarchy. I consider myself a libertarian (though I am not registered with that party or any other at this time) and I am certainly not an anarchist. I think a better title might have been "Why government is too big" or something along those lines.
The thing is, government works quite well when kept to it's proper function, which is to provide the military, the police, and courts of law. As Mr. Browne points out, government is force, and the only proper use of force is defense/retaliation against those who initiate its use. Only a government (bound by objective laws) can do this effectively. By the same token, if those things which are the province of government were given over to the private sector, as some anarchists have proposed, the results would be disastrous.
14 people found this helpful
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jcpav
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2016
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I read this book when I was young! Harry was inspirational then and I just wanted to reread to look back at what he said and it is still inspirational now!
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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S Benton-Tarry
5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just for Americans
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2019
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I purchased this book back in 2010 and have read it many times since then. It is of compact size and an easy read.

Written back in 1995, Harry Browne puts forward how simple it would be for America to really become The Land of the Free again. His ideas are straightforward and obvious to anyone who manages their own household budget sensibly. On a personal level, you may not agree with everything he has written, but the solutions are evergreen and apply just as much today as they did when the book was published.

If you perceive this book to be for Americans only - then think again. The same overgrowth of government has happened in the UK and the solutions Harry puts forward could be just as easily used here as in the US to solve many of the problems we have today.
One person found this helpful
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木村 貴
5.0 out of 5 stars 本質的に非効率
Reviewed in Japan on April 8, 2017
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交通事故死を自動車メーカーのせいにする論者があるが、欠陥自動車のせいで死ぬ人はめったにいない。ほとんどは見通しが悪く、歩車分離すらない政府の欠陥道路によるものだ。政府がなければ誰が国民を守るのかと問う論者があるが、政府はむしろ無用の戦争に国民を駆り立て、その生命を危険にさらす。

民間企業ならできることが政府にはできない。なぜか。著者が指摘するように、政府はその本質からして非効率だからだ。以下、表題作のエッセイより抜粋。（数字は位置ナンバー）

政府は役に立たない。道路の効率を維持できず、いつも渋滞ばかりで、幹線道路の死亡事故発生率も下げられない。死亡率は恥ずべき高さで、もし道路が私有だったら、責任者は投獄ものだろう。（1006）

政府は役に立たない。国民を外国の侵略から守ると誓いながら、若者を徴兵して送り出し、他国の敵と戦わせ、戦死させた。米国の海岸に対する脅威はほとんどないのに、多数の米国民が戦争で死傷し、巨額の資金を費やした。（1016）

政府は市場のルールを決め、審判のように振る舞うと思われているかもしれない。しかし実際にはルールは気まぐれ、あいまいで、しょっちゅう変わる。しかも「審判」はいつも、政治力の強いチームをひいきするように見える。（1037）

政府が役立たずだとわかったら、改善の方法はただ一つ。政府の規模を小さくすることだ。法律を廃止し、政策をやめ、政府支出と税を減らし、政府をできるだけ小さくするのだ。（1042）

政府は小さければ小さいほどいい。政府をもっと効率よく、人間らしく、利用者にやさしくしようとしても、改善を遅らせるだけだ。強制は効率的でないし、人間らしくもなければ、もちろんやさしくもない。（1056）
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