The Clipper Ship Strategy
by Richard J. Maybury
Reviewed by Martha Robinson
Purchase details: The Clipper Ship Strategy (Revised Edition) by Richard J. Maybury. Paperback, 270 pages, $17.95. Applying The Clipper Ship Strategy by Kathryn Daniels. Paperback, 96 pages, $15.95. Published by Bluestocking Press. Please support HomeschoolChristian.com by buying this program from our Amazon affiliate link.
In the final economics book in Richard Maybury's Uncle Eric series, the author expounds upon the strategies for business and financial success in today's world. Using the story of the Flying Cloud, an 1850's era clipper ship whose record time from New York around the Horn to San Francisco remained unbroken for almost 150 years, Mr. Maybury illustrates the profits available to those who can provide goods and services to the market during times of high demand.
The heart of The Clipper Ship Strategy is a system Mr. Maybury refers to as Business Cycle Management (BCM.) Anyone may become wealthy by the fact that "pockets of prosperity can be discovered and tapped into, no matter how good or bad business conditions may be." In other words, the key to success is to find the prosperous areas and deliver goods and services to them while they remain prosperous.
Government intervention in the economy drives many of these pockets of prosperity. Through the "injection effect," government funded projects, spending programs, and Federal Reserve policies, the government creates "cones" of money, the centers of which are "hot spots where sales are easier to make because money is plentiful." The ideal business is one which is located near many potential cones so it can jump from place to place while each of these temporary cones is having its prosperous time. A cone classification system gives greater understanding to this concept.
Mr. Maybury devotes some time to a discussion of the ethics of the injection effect. While he feels that the government manipulation of the economy is wrong, he makes a number of suggestions as to how one could participate in the cone without actually accepting government funds. Mr. Maybury clearly states that the injection effect is evil because it attracts wealth to one area while causing poverty in another, but he concludes that working with existing economic conditions to one's advantage is crucial for supporting one's family.
Applying The Clipper Ship Strategy, A Bluestocking Guide
As with the guides for the other books in the series, this one has definition, short answer, and discussion/essay questions. Additional reading suggestions are also included. A three page final exam is provided, and all answers are in the back of the guide. The guide is available from Bluestocking Press.
Recommendation: The Clipper Ship Strategy offers brutally honest discussion and advice for the entrepreneurial world. This book has complex material that would likely be helpful to an advanced high school or college student. Students would receive the most benefit through a discussion course using the Bluestocking Guide, so The Clipper Ship Strategy would be particularly good for a homeschool co-op class.
HomeschoolChristian.com resources related to this review:
Interview with Richard Maybury, author of the Uncle Eric books
Review of Economics, A Free Market Reader by Richard Maybury
Review of Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard Maybury
Review of Uncle Eric Talks About Personal, Career, and Financial Security by Richard Maybury
Review of The Money Mystery by Richard Maybury
Review of Evaluating Books, What Would Thomas Jefferson Think About This? by Richard Maybury
Review of Uncle Eric History books by Richard Maybury
Review of Whatever Happened to Justice? by Richard Maybury
Review of Are You Liberal, Conservative, or Confused? by Richard Maybury
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