From: Walter Block <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2022 10:19 AM
Cc: ‘Alan
Subject: RE: video
I am making him anonymous to save him from possible embarrassment. He was very helpful to me when I was a student, and my appreciation for him is far greater than the discomfort he now gives me.
From: Walter Block [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2022 4:34 AM
Cc: Alan
Subject: FW: video
Dear R:
My colleague Alan and I have just finished publishing our very pro Israel book. Briefly, its thesis is that this country is more than justified in its treatment of the Arabs, Palestinians, vis a vis land claims.
Block, Walter E. and Alan Futerman. 2021. The Classical Liberal Case for Israel. With commentary by Benjamin Netanyahu. Springer Publishing Company;
https://rd.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-3953-1;
ISBN_978-981-16-3952-4 [Print]; 978-981-16-3953-1 [ebook]
for book reviewers: https://www.springer.com/gp/reviewers
To purchase: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-3953-1
https://www.springer.com/gp/instructors/textbook-copy-request-us/17556774;
Offers a unique perspective on the State of Israel based on classical liberalism and libertarianism. Provides a thorough understanding of Israel’s origin and development. Explores different topics on Israel, including Anti-Zionism
As you can imagine, we are very pro Israel. But we now want to “attack” Israel for undermining its economy with all sorts of needless regulations. Our thought is that this country can better protect itself against its enemies with a strong economy, rather than continuing to shoot itself in the foot, and higher up, with socialism, etc.
But we need a third co author, one who is intimately familiar with all of the Israeli deviations from free enterprise. We two are not.
We would be delighted if you would be our third co author. If not, perhaps you can recommend someone who would be appropriate.
We have already written a chapter on housing intended for this book. See attached.
Best regards,
Walter
From: R
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2022 1:30 AM
To: Walter Block <[email protected]>;
Cc: Alan
Subject: RE: video
Dear Walter,
I am afraid I am going to disappoint you. Reading your letter I feel I disagree with you both on politics and economics. Last year the Falk Institute published a comprehensive review of the Israeli economy over the last 25 years. It was published by Cambridge University Press and it is called “The Israeli Economy 1995 – 2017 – Light and Shadow in a Market Economy”. I suggest you read it to get a better view of the strength and weaknesses of Israel from the economic perspective. If you decide to continue with your project you may perhaps find among the authors of the various chapters somebody who knows something on the Israeli Economy and is more inclined to your views and your research strategy (Neither Griliches, Becker nor Mincer stated the conclusions of their research before they looked at the data). Yours, R
Dear R:
Sorry to disappoint an old favorite teacher of mine.
Thanks for that lead. Alan and I will follow up on that and are very grateful to you for it.
Mary Tyler Moore, in her tv show, used as a motto, “Love is all around us.” I say that “the evidence is all around us that Israel still has strong vestiges of its early interventionistic, socialistic economic policies.”
Here’s one bit of evidence for this claim that I had a bit to do with gathering:
Gwartney, James, Robert W. Lawson and Walter E. Block. 1996. Economic Freedom of the World, 1975-1995; Vancouver, B.C. Canada: the Fraser Institute; http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/pdf/catalogue.pdf; isbn: 0-88975-157-9
This book ranks the economic freedom of many countries. Israel does not come off too well.
When and if you do research on the minimum wage, rent control or free trade, would you be willing to “state … (your expectations regarding) the conclusions of (your) research before (you) looked at the data?” I’ll betcha you would. That is all I did. Neither of us was born yesterday. Even logical positivists, to say nothing of Austrian economists like me, should be willing to do so.
Another bit of evidence: “The Good Cop,” an Israeli television show which is one of the funniest comedies ever made. If you haven’t yet seen it, you absolutely MUST do so. This was the inspiration for our chapter on housing. They also illustrated the effects of egg marketing boards. If you aren’t aware of it, and follow through on my suggestion, you’ll owe me big. And in this way I can repay you to a teeny tiny amount for being my teacher.
I’m disappointed in a few of my former students. I hope and trust you’re not too disappointed with me for not following the “research strategy (of) Griliches, Becker nor Mincer.” By the way, I’ll betcha neither they nor you really follow this head in the sand research strategy.
Best regards,
Walter
9:39 am on January 28, 2022
