Book review: A Capitalist Manifesto by economist Gary Wolfram

 

A Capitalist Manifesto (2012/2013) by economist Gary Wolfram aims to present capitalism as the economic system best aligned with individual liberty, social justice, and prosperity. It offers a readable introduction to microeconomic principles, economic history, monetary policy, and critiques of state intervention. Clear, engaging pedagogy Wolfram’s teaching background shines through, his explanations of concepts like marginal analysis, supply and demand, opportunity cost, and market equilibrium are concise and accessible. The style mimics his classroom lectures, entertaining and illustrative of real‑world relevance. Effective treatment of classical liberal ideas Wolfram draws on thinkers such as Bastiat, Mises, and Hayek: emphasizing unseen costs of government, the impossibility of central planning, and the importance of dispersed knowledge, tying them into constitutional ideas of negative liberty and free trade rooted in comparative advantage theory. Gateway to deeper thinking It can be seen as an entry point, providing a solid glossary and endnotes to encourage further exploration into both mainstream and Austrian economic literature. Too cursory in scope Wolfram's brevity becomes a liability when dealing with nuanced economic critiques. For example, he introduces the history of the corporation but doesn’t tackle core issues like the principal–agent problem in large firms. Similarly, GDP and CPI receive too brief a treatment given the rise of digital, “free” content models now common in economies. Incomplete coverage of macroeconomic disputes While he links inflation to money supply effectively, he falls short in explicitly engaging Mises’s theory of monetary pathologies, specifically the unequal distribution of new money. His policy preferences remain vague: does he support Friedman’s monetarism, a gold standard, or Hayek-style private currencies? Digital currencies like Bitcoin aren’t meaningfully explored. Underdeveloped critique of meritocracy’s blind spots Though Wolfram acknowledges market distortions, like entertainers earning far more than poets or philosophers, he doesn’t fully address whether true free markets make societies meritocratic over time, nor explore institutional distortions in education or cultural recognition. His argument would benefit from more practical proposals for merit-based social mobility. Style and presentation issues The book unevenly written, overly brief in places, redundant in others, has poor typesetting and the inclusion of an unrelated political‑thriller excerpt in the final third of the book. Verdict: Polemic or Primer? Wolfram intends A Capitalist Manifesto as a polemical defense, as well as an introductory primer, of capitalism. Its chief accomplishment lies in making basic economic arguments appealing to newcomers and liberty-minded readers. Yet for those seeking rigorous scholarship or engagement with strong counterarguments (e.g. from Keynesian, Marxist, or institutionalist schools), it's notably incomplete.