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The Incredible Bread Machine
The Incredible Bread Machine is a poem written by R.W Grant in 1966.
In 1974, Susan Love Brown, Karl Keating, David Mellinger, Patrea Post, Stuart Smith and Catriona Tudor of World Research Inc expanded it into a book promoting their ideas of personal and economic freedom.
In 1975 they expanded it into a film featuring themselves. Theo Kamecke was director and cameraman for the film. It is a commentary on Capitalism. It is about a man who invents a machine for producing bread very cheaply, but is punished by the government for his success.
In 1974, Susan Love Brown, Karl Keating, David Mellinger, Patrea Post, Stuart Smith and Catriona Tudor of World Research Inc expanded it into a book promoting their ideas of personal and economic freedom.
In 1975 they expanded it into a film featuring themselves. Theo Kamecke was director and cameraman for the film. It is a commentary on Capitalism. It is about a man who invents a machine for producing bread very cheaply, but is punished by the government for his success.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 25, 2023
2011 - This book and short film from the mid-70s, based on and including a short poem by the same name, is simply fantastic!!!!! The video is available free on YouTube now - so check it out. The looks (hair and clothing styles and some of the hippie type mannerisms) are out of date, but the ideas, discussions and visuals are as timeless and relevant now as ever!
There are so many great parts to the movie:
1. Murray Rothbard narrating some video footage to his class on the tragedy of government housing projects, harming the poor (and taxpayers, of course)
2. The Sri Lanka tale/poem of what Mrs. Bandaranaike did in Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
3. The prohibition era clips/tale/lesson.
4. The crony capitalist recreation of regulations on the "purity" of booze regulation and why it was REALY implemented.
5. The very short beach scene talking about minimum wage results
And so many others.
I simply cannot say too many positive things for this book and movie! Ya gotta treat yourself to this little gem of a book and movie!
There are so many great parts to the movie:
1. Murray Rothbard narrating some video footage to his class on the tragedy of government housing projects, harming the poor (and taxpayers, of course)
2. The Sri Lanka tale/poem of what Mrs. Bandaranaike did in Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
3. The prohibition era clips/tale/lesson.
4. The crony capitalist recreation of regulations on the "purity" of booze regulation and why it was REALY implemented.
5. The very short beach scene talking about minimum wage results
And so many others.
I simply cannot say too many positive things for this book and movie! Ya gotta treat yourself to this little gem of a book and movie!
June 25, 2017
I read the book and watched the 60-minute film on Youtube.
The first few chapters were incredible are a must read! The book then fell off at the end since their modern references were outdated (Yet I never heard of the experience in Sri Lanka before!). This book is still worth reading, regardless. The film also has some amazing gems worth watching as well.
The arguments from both the book and film are just as relevant today. For example, it is not asked enough for someone to demonstrate a true monopoly that was not created by government intervention. Also, there could be more to add *today* regarding the recent fad of using behavioral economics to encourage people to behave in a more socially desirable way that may be consistent with their own desires.
It is a real shame that after this book and after Milton Friedman's Free to Choose series, that there are no real changes in people's views or individuals willing to carry the cause of economic freedom. Russell Roberts recently has done a fine job with his Keynes vs. Hayek rap videos and EconTalk series, but there really is no modern "must read" or "must watch" books or videos anymore for the current generation. Instead, all we see now are the popular and delusional socialist dreams of Bernie Sanders (and Trump!) supporters. These dreams persist despite the economic ruin and famine from the socialist policies occurring today in Venezuela.
The scary truth is that the "economic freedom" argument is and has been losing for a long time now. It is not a matter of there being fewer people arguing these points. The problem is that many economic freedom advocates stay within their own circles and when they engage the other side, they don't provide the courtesy that everyone wants the same ends. It is up to us to eloquently demonstrate that economic freedom and "permissionless innovation" are the best ways to achieve those ends. Let's hope that the pendulum swings back soon before more irreversible harm is done. Reading (or assigning) this book is a start.
The first few chapters were incredible are a must read! The book then fell off at the end since their modern references were outdated (Yet I never heard of the experience in Sri Lanka before!). This book is still worth reading, regardless. The film also has some amazing gems worth watching as well.
The arguments from both the book and film are just as relevant today. For example, it is not asked enough for someone to demonstrate a true monopoly that was not created by government intervention. Also, there could be more to add *today* regarding the recent fad of using behavioral economics to encourage people to behave in a more socially desirable way that may be consistent with their own desires.
It is a real shame that after this book and after Milton Friedman's Free to Choose series, that there are no real changes in people's views or individuals willing to carry the cause of economic freedom. Russell Roberts recently has done a fine job with his Keynes vs. Hayek rap videos and EconTalk series, but there really is no modern "must read" or "must watch" books or videos anymore for the current generation. Instead, all we see now are the popular and delusional socialist dreams of Bernie Sanders (and Trump!) supporters. These dreams persist despite the economic ruin and famine from the socialist policies occurring today in Venezuela.
The scary truth is that the "economic freedom" argument is and has been losing for a long time now. It is not a matter of there being fewer people arguing these points. The problem is that many economic freedom advocates stay within their own circles and when they engage the other side, they don't provide the courtesy that everyone wants the same ends. It is up to us to eloquently demonstrate that economic freedom and "permissionless innovation" are the best ways to achieve those ends. Let's hope that the pendulum swings back soon before more irreversible harm is done. Reading (or assigning) this book is a start.
February 15, 2021
Interesting book, but extreme in its views. It explores the downside of government intervention; praises capitalism in the extreme; charity should be left to individuals, not government. While written in 1974, and confined to American economic history, it could certainly be the playbook of the Republican Party's far right movement in 2020. These arguments, if implemented, would take us back to the days of beggars, of women and children dying in the streets of cold and starvation. One could argue that still happens today - and it does - and I personally attribute some of that to too much government intervention, or perhaps put another way - misdirected government intervention - too much fat at the top and not enough original thinking to change the status quo.
All in all, interesting to read if you are at all interested in economic theory.
All in all, interesting to read if you are at all interested in economic theory.
February 18, 2016
One of the best books I've ever read! Six college students examine important events and policies in our history and measure long-held notions against firsthand and secondhand resources. The book consequently is a real "eye opener" enlightning readers to many truths e.g. what actually caused The Great Depression.
I believe THE INCREDIBLE BREAD MACHNINE is a book every American should read.
I believe THE INCREDIBLE BREAD MACHNINE is a book every American should read.
Read
March 5, 2013There has been a war on Capitalism within this country for at least 50 years.
February 12, 2016
There was a book of the same title, by R.W.Grant. A group of college students re-wrote it for other college students, and yes, the publisher of this version did get permission from the original publisher.
Grant included a story in modern-poetry style titled Tom Smith and His Incredible Bread Machine. Smith invented a machine that would make good bread for a penny a loaf. Of course traditional bakeries were upset because it would drive them out of business since they could NOT produce bread anywhere close to that price. So obviously the government had to do something about it, because the baking industry was too big to go out of business (sound familiar?). If they made Smith sell his bread closer to the other bakeries prices, that would be price fixing, and he'd become obscenely rich. If he sold it at the same price, that would be collusion (and he'd still get rich). If he sold it at a higher price, that also would be price fixing, (and he might not get rich).
As with Henry Hazlitt's Economics in one lesson, that's the lesson, and the rest of the book is actual examples of the government doing incredibly stupid things; not that they realize it, but stupid none the less because they should've realized the consequences. This book shows what actually happened in many many cases.
The differences between this book and Hazlitt's are two-fold (at least). There, the Lesson comes first, then lots of short chapters about many areas of public concern, helping the reader to see why some 'obvious' answer isn't necessarily even a good answer. Here that story is in the back, and they give their examples, showing the ramifications of the government's non-libertarian actions.
This book does include an index; needed because there are only a few chapters, all with bread-baking titles (e.g., The Bread of the Matter); those titles don't mean much unless you look at the Incredible Bread Machine story - which is near the end!
The book is most useful to people who lived around the time of the examples used. Plus it is basically libertarian (they specifically call it laissez faire capitalism in the chapter titled The Bread of the Matter).
For me, one of the best points in the book (not worded as I will) is that socialism, communism, fascism, altruism, humanitarianism are all statist (e.g., in the public interest), all as vs freedom, which is (and can only be) individually-oriented. So all the first named items are left wing (thinking incorrectly that society is progressing towards good) as vs libertarianism, free market economics, laissez faire capitalism, etc, all of which provide the best path for the highest percentage of individuals to have what they need, aka right wing. Socialism, totalitarianism, communism, etc are all left wing because they left behind principles of true freedom. Libertarianism and free market economics, while not the same, are both attempts to come as close to true freedom as possible.
To understand how that works in reality instead of the way the press and textbooks err, read the book. If these students actually succeed in getting you to think logically, then read Hazlitt's book to get even better at logical thinking.
Grant included a story in modern-poetry style titled Tom Smith and His Incredible Bread Machine. Smith invented a machine that would make good bread for a penny a loaf. Of course traditional bakeries were upset because it would drive them out of business since they could NOT produce bread anywhere close to that price. So obviously the government had to do something about it, because the baking industry was too big to go out of business (sound familiar?). If they made Smith sell his bread closer to the other bakeries prices, that would be price fixing, and he'd become obscenely rich. If he sold it at the same price, that would be collusion (and he'd still get rich). If he sold it at a higher price, that also would be price fixing, (and he might not get rich).
As with Henry Hazlitt's Economics in one lesson, that's the lesson, and the rest of the book is actual examples of the government doing incredibly stupid things; not that they realize it, but stupid none the less because they should've realized the consequences. This book shows what actually happened in many many cases.
The differences between this book and Hazlitt's are two-fold (at least). There, the Lesson comes first, then lots of short chapters about many areas of public concern, helping the reader to see why some 'obvious' answer isn't necessarily even a good answer. Here that story is in the back, and they give their examples, showing the ramifications of the government's non-libertarian actions.
This book does include an index; needed because there are only a few chapters, all with bread-baking titles (e.g., The Bread of the Matter); those titles don't mean much unless you look at the Incredible Bread Machine story - which is near the end!
The book is most useful to people who lived around the time of the examples used. Plus it is basically libertarian (they specifically call it laissez faire capitalism in the chapter titled The Bread of the Matter).
For me, one of the best points in the book (not worded as I will) is that socialism, communism, fascism, altruism, humanitarianism are all statist (e.g., in the public interest), all as vs freedom, which is (and can only be) individually-oriented. So all the first named items are left wing (thinking incorrectly that society is progressing towards good) as vs libertarianism, free market economics, laissez faire capitalism, etc, all of which provide the best path for the highest percentage of individuals to have what they need, aka right wing. Socialism, totalitarianism, communism, etc are all left wing because they left behind principles of true freedom. Libertarianism and free market economics, while not the same, are both attempts to come as close to true freedom as possible.
To understand how that works in reality instead of the way the press and textbooks err, read the book. If these students actually succeed in getting you to think logically, then read Hazlitt's book to get even better at logical thinking.
June 7, 2017
Written by six well-read college students, "The Incredible Bread Machine" describes and defines Capitalism's successes and uses throughout American history. The book articulates the ambiguous tales against Capitalism told to history students, and explains how Capitalism and the free market are best for people to live peaceably in a society.
Though short in length and concisely written, the reading can at times become dull due to the large footnotes and very factual, dry writing. The content provided more than makes up for the occasional dullness.
Though short in length and concisely written, the reading can at times become dull due to the large footnotes and very factual, dry writing. The content provided more than makes up for the occasional dullness.
December 7, 2016
A rehash of Austrian economics arguments: governement intervention is bad, minimum wage is bad, welfare is bad... Nothing you havent read in other Austrian books. In case you haven't, I'd suggest something like Economics in One Lesson over this.
Read
January 2, 2017Part of the standard Libertarian reading list during the 1980's.
Read
April 6, 2019A compelling thought exercise, "Is there any time government intervention in the economy necessary -- nay, even good?" A question this book asks, then promptly & decisively answers with its quite unbiased but well-reasoned responses. Despite being a book, it reads more like a long essay, and thats not a con. If you could never get behind libertarianism, but find yourself curious either of libertarianism and/or economics, or you just want a small handbook of anti-government arguments complete with examples and sources, or wondered what 70s libertarians were thinking about, this book is perfect for you.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews