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Basic Economics 3rd Ed: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy
by Thomas Sowell
by Thomas Sowell
This book irrevocably infected me with a basic grasp of economic principles — and considering how often this makes me want to scream in frustration at the world around me, I'm not sure if that's a blessing or a curse.
I've long held a somewhat fuzzy understanding of economics — people buy things they want, companies make things for people to buy, people always want more than they could have, and so forth. What Basic Economics did was lucidly lay out the principles of economic behavior in a way that was easy to understand and apply. Economics has now rocketed to the top of my list of important values, second only to self-defense; if you told me I'd care so much about economics five years ago, I would have laughed. But now it's impossible for me to ignore just how badly a misunderstanding of markets and prices can wreak havoc on our society; I've also belatedly realized why libertarians tend to fear liberals far more than conservatives. I could not recommend this book strongly enough for everyone to read; it's really a 4.5-star book, but I couldn't help docking it a bit for the author's dry tone and tendency to reiterate the same concepts. (But maybe that latter trait is a virtue, after all; the ideas do stick in your head.) I'm strongly considering buying my own copy, and look forward to reading the "sequel" Applied Economics .
I've long held a somewhat fuzzy understanding of economics — people buy things they want, companies make things for people to buy, people always want more than they could have, and so forth. What Basic Economics did was lucidly lay out the principles of economic behavior in a way that was easy to understand and apply. Economics has now rocketed to the top of my list of important values, second only to self-defense; if you told me I'd care so much about economics five years ago, I would have laughed. But now it's impossible for me to ignore just how badly a misunderstanding of markets and prices can wreak havoc on our society; I've also belatedly realized why libertarians tend to fear liberals far more than conservatives. I could not recommend this book strongly enough for everyone to read; it's really a 4.5-star book, but I couldn't help docking it a bit for the author's dry tone and tendency to reiterate the same concepts. (But maybe that latter trait is a virtue, after all; the ideas do stick in your head.) I'm strongly considering buying my own copy, and look forward to reading the "sequel" Applied Economics .
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Oct 30, 2012 02:11am
May I suggest that Sowell, while beneficial, needs to be complemented quite strongly. For Sowell, the only power broker is the government. Corporations trade freely with people and with other corporations. This is patently false. History would work (for example, reading about the Dutch East Indies Corp, Monsanto, Jim Crow South, slavery - ancient and modern, International Development Econmics).
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Josh wrote: "May I suggest that Sowell, while beneficial, needs to be complemented quite strongly. For Sowell, the only power broker is the government. Corporations trade freely with people and with other corpo..."Since I wrote that review, I've been moving toward something of a hybrid economic perspective. I do think there's a place for government in laying the groundwork for the free market, and enforcing common rules. I recognize that large corporations abuse their positions quite readily. I'm also much more skeptical of global free trade and immigration; protectionism no longer strikes me as anathema. That said, I still find Sowell valuable; he's dead-on regarding many topics (e.g., rent control, the function of prices).
