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Basic Economics
- A Citizen's Guide to the Economy: Revised and Expanded Edition
- Narrated by: Brian Emerson
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
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Basic Economics
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Summary
Thomas Sowell has a different idea about how economics should be taught. With this groundbreaking introduction to economics, Sowell has thrown out the graphs, statistics, and jargon. Learning economics, he believes, should be relaxing - and even enjoyable.
Sowell reveals the general principles behind any kind of economy - capitalist, socialist, feudal, and so on. In understandable language, he shows how to critique economic policies in terms of the incentives they create rather than the goals they proclaim. With clear explanations of the entire field, from rent control and the rise and fall of businesses to the international balance of payments, this is the first audiobook for anyone who wishes to understand how the economy functions.
In this edition, Basic Economics has been revised and expanded to address the new concerns of the 21st century. It's focus has become more international, including the range of economic problems faced by foreign countries around the world. Each chapter reflects the experiences of many different peoples and cultures. In his straightforward style, Sowell demonstrates that the basic principles of economics are not confined by national borders.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- T S
- 13-06-22
Good summary of pro-market arguments
I'm left leaning, so was looking for a book that would articulate the counter-argument and it does an excellent job of that. It doesn't delve seriously into the more nuanced counter arguments of its position, due possibly to the American slant on "socialism" that few Europeans would recognise, but overall definitely worth a listen
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Colin H
- 14-04-21
Clear, accessible economics guide
Very clear and comprehensive overview of the major themes and concepts in free market economics. If you're new to the subject, this is a great gateway book.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 19-05-20
a dispassionate explanation of money of wealth
Thomas Sowell has a gift , he can communicate his field of expertise using factual examples without idealogy, this is a great book.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- justyna
- 31-12-23
Comprehensive introduction to economics... and life
I recommend this book to everybody. Thomas Sowell masterfully explains ideas and matters that might initially seem too complicated for an average person to take interest in.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Nick S
- 15-02-20
A flawed tribute to free-market economics
Overall: interesting, a good introduction to old-style free-market thinking but biased and outdated.
This book provides a good overview of conventional thinking in economics - the benefits of the market, the function of prices, the problems with big government and so on. I didn't actually mind the narrator (though I do agree with other reviews that his intonation takes some getting used to) but I did find myself constantly questioning the actual content.
Firstly, it's very outdated as of 2020. From the obvious (this book was written before the stock market crash of 2007-2008) to the more subtle (the arguments about, e.g. German economic inefficency causing high unemployment are not applicable to 2020 given that unemployment is low there), the arguments in this book are not able to take account of recent events.
More troubling, however, is the ideological basis on which this book is founded. The whole premise can be summed up as: "the most desirable way for society to exist is for scarce resources to be allocated to their most efficient uses, as this is what increases quality of life and therefore happiness". Sounds like a decent premise, until you see that this is used to justify the continuation of poverty, rising inequality and as an argument against any government intervention. Moreover, the author continuously states that this is 'fact', not 'opinion', and states that it is not an ideological way of thinking. This is clearly wildly untrue - it may be considered 'fact' by right-wing Chicago school economists, but it seems more like ideology to the rest of us. It doesn't mean that it is wrong (I agree completely with many of the arguments against rent control, and price caps, and so on), it just creates a pervasive bias that becomes irritating after a while.
The examples used are often simplistic, though some of this would have been necessary due to the target audience. However, I disliked how often the argument was used that 'the Soviet Union did this, and look how they turned out, so we should do the opposite' as an argument for ANY form of taxation, trade restriction, poverty reduction scheme etc. This argument is used dozens and dozens of times through the book and although it is true on many occasions, it is often overly simplistic or just plain incorrect.
So I would only recommend this book as a historical insight into what they used to teach in Economics 101 at universities in the 1990s or early 2000s. Nowadays, with the advent of behavioural economics and the increasing recognition of the flaws of late 20th century free-market macroeconomics, this book seems very dated.
I still found it educational, however, and it manages to cover a broad base of economic theory in readily understandable language, which is an achievement in itself.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 18-01-24
disappointed
oh Lord this man hates the left and misses no opportunity to say that haha. not a fan of all the *facts he brings up or how he does it. lackluster citing, scued framing.
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