Basic Economics, Fourth Edition

Love & hate for this right wing thesis

I have to say that it's been a long time since a book influenced me enough to prompt me to actually write a review of it. I write this review in some sense due to a feeling of outrage that it stands unchallenged and might be taken as an authority on the subject for us lesser mortals, for whom Mr Sowells contempt is barely guarded.

"Basic Economics for the uncouth, undeserving and otherwise retarded public" might have been a more appropriate title given the overall flavour of this sweet and sour alphabet soup that Mr Sowell has vomited upon us. Make no doubt about it, as the author has no such second thought: the peoples and governments of the world are dense to the point of disbelieving mathematics in favour of the Marxist dogma that is presumably peddled as democracy in our society.

The author hammers home a belief system with trite examples that oversimplify most of the subjects, condemning any other belief than his own to cheap ridicule. The degree of simplification that he uses in his black and white interpretation of the world is almost childish, to the point of ruining even his most well made arguments. It is this constant contempt in which he treats his reader that most of all spoils what could have been a great book.

But it is still a compelling read (listen?) and I have spent more time with this audiobook than I have any other in the past year. As long as you aren't as stupid as he assumes you are, you should be able to get the best bits out of this book, and if nothing else it will be a sound introduction to economics, even with it's right wing barb.

A must-read for anyone interested in how money and economics works, and a good introduction, if somewhat biased.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

Not bad, but not great

I would disagree with some of the other reviews, i feel the book is quite balanced and generally portrays economic principles as economic principles and attempts to stray away from political views accept to highlight an economic point or use political mistakes of the past to deepen understanding of how an economically driven outcome would have been better than the politically driven policy.



My main gripe with this book however and why it may feel to some as though the author has an underlying agenda, is that it repeats itself a number of times and the examples used do not often move away from the political arena. A much better grounding in economics would start with the areas of economics that individuals can understand, like their own day to day dealings and gradually build to more in depth examples.



Due to the feeling of the book repeating itself it is also far to long for the content it covers, and is also very light on some behavioural economics and in explaining different approaches to standard issues in economics. All in all this makes the book very ominous and repetitive and unfortunately in my opinion is not a complete introduction. However there are not many books that attempt to provide a complete overview of economics or the economy without using maths and this is probably the best of those.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great Introduction

I chose this book because I want an introduction to the subject. This book was perfect covering a wide variety of topics. Quality is excellent. Narrator is easy to listen to. Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

My first ever book about economy

Being an Computer science student and professional, I never had much interest in Economics but introduction of the book triggered me to read/listen this book. I'm glad I did. I found this book interesting even though I didn't follow completely and I've a plan to listen this book again :).

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Debunks alot of economic myths

Overall it's an excellent book if you are relatively new to economics or a politician! Even for the more experienced reader the examples are still interesting. I disagree that the author shows contempt for the reader, he certainly shows frustration with many of our elected officials (which is justified in my opinion) but makes it clear that this is not a personal thing, just that most of them are more concerned with being re-elected than making good economic decisions. If this book was mandatory reading in schools then the number of people supporting socialist policies would half within a decade. I have two complaints about the book; 1) sometimes the short-term vrs long-term implications of decisions are not fully explained (so rent control laws lead to builders building less low-cost house prices creating shortages, but in the UK for example the government started forcing builders to build low-cost houses). 2) the narrator conducts a full frontal assault on the english language throughout the book, 'forbade' sounds like 4bad and he takes it upon himself to rename Nokia and Nissan.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Clear but not very concise

Clear but not very concise. Tends to repeat some concepts over and over again. Even so it is a good read as it explain economics in simple terms. I have the feeling author is overly keen on classical economics tough.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Excellent introduction, despite bias.

The subtitle of this book could/should be: 'An Introduction to Economics In Defence of Free Market Capitalism'. That's exactly what it aims to do: to introduce the average reader to the study of economics in a way which defends free market economics. That should not put the potential reader/listener off, especially because, in my experience, introductory books are best when the author tries not to be strictly neutral, even if you do not share their biases.

Even if you do not lean towards free market economics, this is still an excellent book for someone who wishes to be introduced to economics. It is clear, thorough, engaging and entertaining, and feels relevant to the average Western reader/listener. Whilst this is no short listen, Sowell's prose doesn't make it feel like heavy lifting. The narrator chosen for this book is also superb.

Very one-sided

Would you try another book written by Thomas Sowell or narrated by Tom Weiner?

Tom Weiner has a voice I could listen to for days. Thomas Sowell, however, has a very black and white outlook on life, and rarely, if ever, takes the time to think about the flaws in his own arguments.

That said, it did introduce me to a lot of arguments I had not considered before. I'd be lying if I said I was not swayed by some of them, However it is a shame that it is so forthright that it doesn't stop to think of the benefits of other ways, as well as their failings, and vice versa for itself.

What other book might you compare Basic Economics, Fourth Edition to, and why?

I find it hard to compare this book to anything I have read before. Not just in subject matter but tone. The closest, in a weird way, would be the books by Terry Goodkind (yes, those), because of the lack of ability to appreciate that things are not always black and white, but sometimes grey.

What does Tom Weiner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Without Tom Weiner, the book would be very dry, and quite frustrating in its overly optimistic Conservative outlook. I would probably throw it against against the wall in anger at how it fails to understand the stress and indignity of doing entry-level work.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

It would be a very strange film...

Should Be Called "Basic Bias"

What would have made Basic Economics, Fourth Edition better?

He starts out the book stating that economics has basic principles which are objectively accepted, no matter the political persuasion of the observer. I very much agree. Then goes on to tell interesting stories that are engaging and, seemingly, balanced and fair. But, then he gets into healthcare and comparing price controls within the UK's NHS versus the US healthcare system, a subject I know quite well. He presents the US healthcare system as being superior to all others (of the English speaking world) when that's hardly the case.

I believe Sowell thinks the plural of "anecdote" is "data", a major misstep for an economist. His bias is obvious, undoing his initial statement saying that bias doesn't even enter into it.

Amazing how a little intellectual dishonestly or laziness can undermine his entire body of work.

Would you ever listen to anything by Thomas Sowell again?

I wouldn't trust his opinion.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Tom Weiner?

Sure.

1 of 3 people found this review helpful