Basic Economics

Required For Complete Enlightenment

Our daily lives depend on having a basic, fundamental knowledge of economics and this book covers the fundamental knowledge and beyond to allow the individual to make rational decisions throughout one's lifetime. Whether you are making a choice in a grocery store or in a voting booth, this book will provide one with the clarity and brevity to make the right choices. If government was to make one last mandate of all time, it should be to have all students read this book in order to graduate High School.

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Outstanding translation of economic to real world

As a financial consultant for 30 years and a student of economics, this is one if not the best book on economics I have ever read. The strength of the book is the Sowell takes complicated economic issues and illustrates them using very easy to see and easy to communicate examples. Effective public speaking involves getting your thoughts clearly communicated. This book enables anyone who must illustrate or communicate economics great stories and vivid examples of everything from the simplest economic issue to the most complicated. Loved reading it.

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

A must read for our politicians

I wish all our senators, all of our elected representatives, and our president would read this book.
Heck, I wish the voters would read this book. Then maybe they would understand why the democratic party's socialism will destroy our country.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

THE BOOK POLITICIANS AND MEDIA OUTLETS DON'T WANT YOU TO READ.

Reading this book gives readers the knowledge to challenge many of the plausible arguments foisted upon them by politicians and the media. Economics, while a somewhat dry subject, asks tough questions that demand answers in our world of ever increasing dependence on what "experts" think, and try to pass off as fact. Dr. Sowell does an excellent job of using history to trump conventional wisdom that says more government is better. You owe it to yourself to read this book, you'll be glad you did.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Thomas Sowell is a practical genius

Thomas Sowell is an excellent writer and makes understanding the subject of Economics much easier with practical and historical examples demonstrating the positive and negative effects of decision-makers on the economy at all levels.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Book

Thomas Sowell is a brilliant man and his books confirm this.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Aimed at increasing the basic economic literacy

Economics is at the same time a fascinating and rather complex subject. It is fascinating since it touches on so many aspects of our lives, and it is complex due to the highly technical analysis that is oftentimes required to be mastered in order for Economics to be fully appreciated. This technical complexity oftentimes obscures rather simple principles that underlie most economic phenomena. The well known relationship between a supply and demand is one of those, and a good example of a simple concept that is oftentimes misunderstood, ignored, or downright overlooked in everyday circumstances, especially when political considerations are at play.

Thomas Sowell begins the book with one of the most insightful definition of what is economics. In this view, economics is nothing but a study of limited resources for which there are alternative uses. In heaven, there would be unlimited resources; in hell no alternative uses. In the real world we need to take into account the limitations that are imposed on us by the facts. Each use of a product or a resource prevents other viable uses. Economics is ultimately the science of tradeoffs, and it helps us with making the most rational decisions about those tradeoffs.

This book is primarily aimed at general public and its aim is to make this public literate in terms of thinking and understanding economic processes. It is a very readable account, and it contains neither technical jargon nor sophisticated mathematics. All of the examples are taken from everyday experience or the major stories that have been making the news in the recent decades. Hopefully, the book will raise the level of basic literacy and inculcate us from the demagoguery that often accompanies political talk on economic issues.

Highly recommended

I wish I had Thomas Sowell as an Econ prof when I was in college! He makes the subject come alive. With practical and historical examples, Dr. Sowell dissects the subject and delivers a lucid and precise explanation of the workings of basic economics. Kudos!

Best book about economics ever

This was the best book I have ever written on economics. Sowell takes big concepts and breaks them down for anyone to understand. Anyone who wants a stronger understanding of how the economy works should buy this book.

The best book about economics you can ever find.

The author clearly shows the deepest aspects of economics that everybody is meeting in life. Sowell has brought plenty of very interesting facts in present economics which not everybody might know. He is opening the eyes to economics around you. Which we're meeting every day in our life, TVs, newspapers etc. The book has been written in a plan English, which gives access to this book just to everybody. Please read this book and enjoy the knowledge.

Insightful!

Anyone not familiar with the work of Thomas Sowell would be well advised to check out the blurbs on the back of the dust jacket of Basic Economics, where praise flows from conservative bastions like The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times and the American Enterprise Institute. Take this as a warning that, even though Sowell¿s book does offer an excellent plain-English explanation of fundamental economics, its real mission is to explain how many societal catastrophes are caused by government policies he deems faulty. In so doing, he takes aim at minimum wage standards, rent control and, through his spirited defense of international trade, the anti-globalization crowd. But no matter which side of the ideological fence you occupy, we suggest reading this book for its insightful distillation of some of our most passionate political debates down to their economic essentials.

Great book on world economics.

I'm an MBA with a background in engineering. I have an OK understanding of centrally planned economies verses consumer driven economies. This book provides excellent historically examples showing the effects of the political/economic model a country has on the quality of life of it's people.

The Ockhams' Razor of Economics

Simplicity in teaching requires much understanding and scholarship, none of which is more apparent than with "Basic Economics." Economics is simply the study of human behavior in a market environment, which is exactly how Dr. Sowell presents his case. A rare find in the Economics world where simple ideas consume many a page. The 14th Century Franciscan William Ockhams' idea that the easiest explanation is most likely the best is proven once again.

Don't let the subject intimidate you

This truly is a MUST READ. Dr. Sowell is a master of the English language and clearly explains the nuances of economics with thoughtful organization and down to earth examples. Basic Economics pulls back the curtains on political "solutions" and shows why capitalism offers society the best chance to maximize benefits available to all of it's members.

Required Reading for EVERY American

This is the basics of Economics and the free-market system, what has worked, what hasn't and why. My only complaint is that it was not more technical and detailed. However, for someone that is looking for an introduction or just someone who wants to learn the overall workings the economic system and policies in a clear, VERY easy to understand format then this book is for you. I said in the subject that this was required reading because the author also points out past (and present) political policies in that politicians deceive the public (whether intentionally or not) with policies that are emotionally popular even though they make no economic sense and it lot of cases actually cause the situation they are trying to prevent. Very interesting and enlightening.

Economics Made Interesting and Accessible

Dr. Thomas Sowell has taken a rather challenging and complex subject - economics -and explained it in a manner that is easy to understand and interesting to boot. For the student of economics, this book will give you a better appreciation and understanding of all the typical subjects covered in an economics course - (1) Scarcity, (2) Demand and Supply, (3) Prices, (4) Competition, (5) Money, (6) World Trade, etc. For the average adult, this book explains in an accessible manner how and why businesses, households, and governments interact in producing goods and services to meet people's needs. Basic Economics is written without any of the intimidating economic and financial jargon present in other books treating this subject. The numerous historical examples of economic forays run amok make this book a fascinating read. Dr. Sowell provides case after case, covering different nations at different times, of governmental or social policies that were meant to produce one set of results but that gave rise to completely unintended, even harmful, results. He then provides examples of the demise of many formerly dominant American firms - companies that lost vast market share and fell into decline just because they failed to adjust their business strategies to best counter the competition or to meet the changing needs, wants, and other circumstances of the consuming public; to wit: White Castle Hamburgers overtaken by Mc Donald's because the latter had drive-thru windows; A&P Supermarkets, a cost-cutting leader, overtaken by Walmart, a more effective cost-cutter. Finally, Dr. Sowell exlains how examining economic incentives helps to understand why societies, government institutions, private firms, etc., behave the way they do. He gives plenty of evidence in support of consumer sovereignty, free markets, and minimal government intrusion in the marketplace. He also gives numerous examples of the failures common to centrally planned economies, such as the former Soviet Union's. If you want to understand a whole lot about the way the world operates, or make informed decisions about the likely consequences of government programs, such as rent control or social security, you must read this book.

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