Mutualist Political Economy and Org Theory Now Free (pdf's, that is)
Uncompromising advocate of free culture that I am, I have to move with the times. Since pdf's of both Mutualist Political Economy and Organization Theory have shown up at numerous torrent sites, there's not much point in continuing to advertise the pdf's for sale. I have, accordingly, made them available as free downloads at Mutualist.Org:
Studies in Mutualist Political Economy
Organization Theory: A Libertarian Perspective
Of course, those who want to make donations with their downloads can still do so by clicking on the same PayPal buttons as before (or by clicking the PayPal button on the sidebar of this blog).
I've said, and I believe, that such free ebooks increase sales of the print version.
I don't know about you, but I really hate to have to read hunched over a computer screen. I can't even concentrate on on-screen material because of the ingrained habit of quickly scanning online text, rather than carefully digesting it the way I do with printed texts I can hold in my hand while sitting in a comfortable position. Just trying to concentrate on an extended on-screen text makes me restless and inattentive in a fairly short time. I generally look at a free ebook online just long enough to get an idea of the contents and whether they're something I want to read, and then look for a cheap used print copy to read it in depth. Other than that, the main benefit of an online text is the comparative ease of cutting and pasting blockquotes I originally found in the written text, compared to propping the book open and typing an entire passage.
I'm sure a lot of other people are the same way; the easier it is to sample the text, the more people will be interested in buying the book. So download the pdf's if you're interested; if you find the subject matter engrossing but get tired of staring at a keyboard, you can order a print version to read in comfort.
Studies in Mutualist Political Economy
Organization Theory: A Libertarian Perspective
Of course, those who want to make donations with their downloads can still do so by clicking on the same PayPal buttons as before (or by clicking the PayPal button on the sidebar of this blog).
I've said, and I believe, that such free ebooks increase sales of the print version.
I don't know about you, but I really hate to have to read hunched over a computer screen. I can't even concentrate on on-screen material because of the ingrained habit of quickly scanning online text, rather than carefully digesting it the way I do with printed texts I can hold in my hand while sitting in a comfortable position. Just trying to concentrate on an extended on-screen text makes me restless and inattentive in a fairly short time. I generally look at a free ebook online just long enough to get an idea of the contents and whether they're something I want to read, and then look for a cheap used print copy to read it in depth. Other than that, the main benefit of an online text is the comparative ease of cutting and pasting blockquotes I originally found in the written text, compared to propping the book open and typing an entire passage.
I'm sure a lot of other people are the same way; the easier it is to sample the text, the more people will be interested in buying the book. So download the pdf's if you're interested; if you find the subject matter engrossing but get tired of staring at a keyboard, you can order a print version to read in comfort.
posted by Kevin Carson | 12:19 PM
13 Comments:
I have a Hell of a lot of books, many of them available free online via the Mises Institute. I still prefer to buy hard copies for the reasons you describe though.
Thank you. I've been wanting to read these.
I'll convert them for free and read them on my Kindle. :D
I've already converted one of them to an ebook in case you're interested
Well, there's also the economic issue: Delivery costs to Iceland are generally prohibitive, so even though I am very interested in buying hardcopies, paying roughly double the price quoted slows any decision down - especially after last year's events…
Thanks, Db0--great work.
Odin: You might check prices on a local desktop publisher who can print out the pdf and bind it.
Kevin,
Just purchased print copies of both of your books chiefly because I was able to read portions of them online first, specifically through BitTorrent downloads. Just wanted to let you know that your dedication to free culture is paying off, in this case at least. Thanks for all your hard work.
Thanks for the encouraging word, Alaskan.
ON EXTERNALITIES
Kevin:
Is there a methodology to quantify the global impact of externalities in government budget? Have you or other people tried to do so? This quantitative approach could be very interesting to verify the mutualist hypothesis on Capitalism and State. And to defend the social interest of small enterprises, mutuals, co-ops, etc.
Best,
FOREIGN MUTUALIST
I'm sure it could be done, Foreign Mutualist, and would be a genuinely constructive effort by anyone who took the effort to do it. Haven't done so myself, though, because it involves all kinds of looking figures up, and stuff.
Rockin'! Though friends appreciate it more when they receive a copy of OT in the mail rather than a PDF in the inbox
I don't by any means want you to disappoint your friends, Matt.
But my hope is that people who see the pdf and have a good knowledge of what's in it will get tired of hunching over a computer screen and order a hard copy. People are more likely to buy the product if they get a sample.
I get the same feeling when reading on the computer. Antsy, irritable even. On the other hand, the index of printed books is clunky & archaic compared with the full-text search available on the computer. So it's nice to have both. I was considering a Kindle, but... meh.
Anyway, thanks!
Ran across this mutualist critique...
http://www.fromancapwithlove.com/freedom/critique-of-mutualist-labor-and-organizational-theory/
Added your book to my reading list. Looking forward to it.
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