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A simple, straightforward analysis of economic fallacies that are so prevalent they have almost become a new orthodoxy.
the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematicsReviewed by Narada, 2010-03-02
The book is extremely lucid, and shows how far one can get just by
thinking. It is interesting that the author describes the housing
bubble which he did not live to see (this has been pointed out by a
number of other reviewers), but what I find just as interesting,
the section on imports and exports shows very clearly why making
the USD the world's reserve currency has had (and continues to
have) a destructive effect on the US economy (since it creates an
impetus to hoard dollars [exactly what the chinese are doing] as
opposed to spending them on US-produced goods).
What I also find interesting (and depressing) is that a lot of the
reviews of this are "religious": look at all of the one-star
reviews -- none of them have any logical objection to Hazlitt, but
they all say that they are (in effect) religiously opposed to it.
Until people (and Amazon book reviewers are probably slightly more
sentient than average) learn to think, we will continue on the
current road to ruin.
(the above was written before I had actually finished the book: now
that I have I am even more impressed, because the last three
chapters, on Inflation, Savings, and Lessons learned are eerily
relevant to the current crisis, and the last chapter is
particularly depressing, since, despite Hazlitt's hope, the
governments STILL are going on their merry way making things
worse).
What it says on the coverReviewed by Paul Rantanen, 2010-02-25
If everyone simply read and understood this book, we'd be so much better off. Hazlitt explains economics in a way that anyone can understand, and I honestly have no idea what the 1-star reviewers are thinking. Hazlitt demolished Keynesianism in The Failure of the New Economics, so read that if you want to know why this book doesn't follow Keynes' teachings.
Idealistic Free Market Economics.. not convincingReviewed by Hex, 2010-02-09
I am glad I read this. It has taught me that if the free market
thinkers of today were to have their way (that of absolutely no
government intervention or regulation of the markets or trade), the
US would turn into one giant sweat shop over night. I've had
discussions with these types of people who will argue till their
face turns blue about how Wal-Mart has actually INCREASED
Americans' living standards!
Think if there was no minimum wage and no social security or
medicare/medicaid. It would be a disaster! 1/2 the population's
income would be cut in half, PLUS they'd have to take care of their
elderly AND buy their medications! What on earth would they have
left to live off of?
Even John Keynes said, "Capitalism is the astounding belief that
the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for
the greatest good of everyone." Personally, I would replace
"astounding" with "ridiculous".
This book seems also to be a bible of types to international
capitalists such as Peter Schiff. These people have no allegiances
to any country. Peter Schiff, for all the honesty and sincerity he
exudes, is playing a big part in the capital flight from the US
that will prove to play a huge part in our eventual demise. They're
bailing out on us! They're jumping ship, these excessively wealthy
international capitalists. They're jumping on the next boat -China.
And they're leaving us here to drown. I would say "shame on
them"... but that doesn't quite cut it.
This is an important read. But read it critically.
relevant and insightfulReviewed by P. Torres, 2010-02-06
Wonderful book. Great for those who are learning about economics or need a refresher...like most of those in Washington. The section on Tariffs was a little confusing but I will just have to reread it again.
A fantastic overview of the fundamentals behind economicsReviewed by ttank1802, 2010-02-06
Henry Hazlitt's one lesson is so simple, yet from the beginning the reader is able to see how he is going to apply it to the various topics throughout the book (public-works projects, price-fixing etc). I don't want to give anything away, but the lesson should give readers a different outlook on economics in general. He has great logic in making his case and the fact that he explains things so simply shows he has a deep understanding of the subject. The book doesn't go into really technical stuff, which should probably be expected given the title, but it explains the fundamental concepts of economics so well that the average person can move on to a more serious study of it.
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