Economics in 100 Quotes

by Dan Smith

Economics in 100 Quotes is a compendium of thoughts from the past two millennia, brought together in the words of economists, politicians, and philosophers. There are quotes that will inform, institute, and entertain. Accompanying commentary explores their meaning and reveals the life and work of the people who said them.

208 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

About the author

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Reviews

[Dennysmidnight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intended as an overview, it does an alright job explaining the beliefs of various economists. Unfortunately, giving only one page per economist (and often less than a page due to tangents) results in missing key points and context for the quotes. For example, on the Marx quote on the abolition of private property, Smith does not define what private property is or distinguish it from personal property. He spends a lot of time discussing intricacies of the “invisible hand,” but does not define “the means of production” once, which is strange because he includes Marx, Lenin, and Mao in the book.

Smith does lend focus to feminist economics and labor, which are often left out of economic conversations.

The book is a good jumping off space for someone wanting to go on a rabbit hole dive somewhere else, but it uses too much jargon with little explanation to seem a good guide in itself.

The book also seeks to explain economics with little fact checking or examples, which may lead the reader to think most of the ideas presented are of equal weight when they are not. It seems to be slightly right-leaning, but it is unclear if there is any intent behind this or just the default position of economic analysis in the UK.

It may be worth a read, but it is not thorough and not unbiased either.

[Daniel Tang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really biased, in line with most pure economists who live in their delusions