Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Economics in One Lesson cover art

Economics in One Lesson

By: Henry Hazlitt
Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Economics in Three Lessons and One Hundred Economics Laws cover art
Principles of Economics cover art
Milton Friedman cover art
Human Action cover art
What Has Government Done to Our Money? cover art
Rollback cover art
Economics for Real People: An Introduction to the Austrian School cover art
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal cover art
The Fiat Standard cover art
Layered Money cover art
Check Your Financial Privilege cover art
The Bitcoin Standard cover art
Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market - Scholar's Edition cover art
Knowledge and Decisions cover art
Social Justice Fallacies cover art
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism cover art

Summary

A million-copy seller, Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson is a classic economic primer. But it is also much more, having become a fundamental influence on modern “libertarian” economics of the type espoused by Ron Paul and others. Called by H. L. Mencken “one of the few economists in history who could really write,” Henry Hazlitt achieved lasting fame for this brilliant but concise work. In it, he explains basic truths about economics and the economic fallacies responsible for unemployment, inflation, high taxes, and recession, as well as illustrating the destructive effects of taxes, rent and price controls, inflation, trade restrictions, and minimum-wage laws.

Economics in One Lesson is deceptively prescient and far-reaching in its efforts to dissemble economic fallacies that are so prevalent they have almost become a new orthodoxy. Many current economic commentators across the political spectrum have credited Hazlitt with foreseeing the collapse of the global economy, which occurred more than fifty years after the initial publication of this seminal work. Hazlitt’s focus on non-governmental solutions, strong—and strongly reasoned—antideficit position, and general emphasis on free markets, economic liberty of individuals, and the dangers of government intervention make Economics in One Lesson every bit as relevant and valuable today as it has been since publication.

©1962, 1979 by Henry Hazlitt (P)1996 by Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"If there were a Nobel Prize for clear economic thinking, Mr. Hazlitt's book would be a worthy recipient...like a surgeon's scalpel, it cuts through...much nonsense that has been written in recent years about our economic ailments." (J.W. Hanes, former Undersecretary of the Treasury)

What listeners say about Economics in One Lesson

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    128
  • 4 Stars
    36
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    88
  • 4 Stars
    34
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    93
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Flawed, but still an interesting read.

Whilst interesting from a historical point of view, the ideas in the book have become dated.
The book is not a basic introduction to economics, but rather a dissection of many economic policies (mainly from the middle of the 20th century, and not terrible applicable to 21st century England).
The book is espouses a view point that was popular in 1970?s American right-wing economic thinking. Whist great in theory many of the augments don?t hold up in the real world, and there are also some inconsistencies between his own ideas within the book. Where the book really falls down is to mistake economics for an exact science, and to suggest policies based purely on theory.
If it was less preachy, had even the slightest bit of supporting data, and slightly more aware that it was dealing with theory not real-life, it would have been great. Never-the-less an interesting read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Sensible economics

This book provides an elementary lesson in Economics. It's a plea for free market economics and only for government to intervene when it's absolutely necessary. It shows up economic fallacies like trying control prices, rent controls, subsidizing farmers, unions and protectionist activities and lots of other things. This book really made me think and change some of my views.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • CZ
  • 27-06-20

COVID related!! Excellent read

Greatly relevant to today’s economic policy. Poor narration however, robotic sounding recordings needs improvement! Would recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Describes current situation

This book aged incredibly well. Written more than 70 years ago and predicts and outlines the problems associated with the current 2020 crisis

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Simple, clear, thought-provoking

Wow - so we must consider that’s pretty much all government attempts at redistribution of wealth are inefficient, misplaced, and actually harm the poor! Shocking but, for me, it has the ring of truth. I guess this book is a short - and very clear - example of the “German School” Of economics (vs Keynsian). Great book - I listened to every word 👍👍

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

very enlightening

A Must Read book. It has been written to be understood by the general public. It helps to understand the economic connections between the various parts of the society. It also includes the economic consequences of economic government interventions. I would highly recommend it to everyone.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Neoclassical school of economics well explained

Well explained Chicago style neoclassical economics. To the point and the reasonings behind strong opinions are presented structurally.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great points but surely a skewed view?

I'm definitely amateur level with my economics prowess. this book has definitely inspired me to lean more in favour of a free-er market economy, smaller government, and less inflation and protection of industries etc. HOWEVER, naughty union organisers and government aren't the ONLY threat to a free market (he doesn't say they are, but most of the arguments are directed against government and union activity). anticompetitive behaviour by cartels/powerful interested groups is also a major problem. price fixing, to the extent it harms productivity of an industry, also applies to widespread underpaying of a particular group of workers (like healthcare professionals in the UK) who then engage in quiet quitting and emigration for better conditions, to the detriment of the very important industry they used to work in. After reading this, I feel like the workers of today need more confidence that, if the services they invested ages in training for are no longer needed, they should be thoroughly supported in quickly retraining into another industry where they are needed. this should be a function of government. would reduce the temptation to unionised in he first place.
anyway, let's see how the economy fares through the upcoming recessions, with all these debts to service alongside the downturn

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Old but insightful

This book gives good basic understanding on how economy works. Even though the book is old it's message is mostly still very valid. Most of the concepts and lessons hold true. You can even try to think more recent events and examples of things described. The topic is very simplified for obvious reasons, but be prepared since you don't find any notions on how ethical something is, or how quality of things matters, everything is just price and volume.

The book is America centered. So not all things about unions and legislations make a lot of sense, but they are interesting to hear nonetheless.

Where the age shows most are the parts where work is described only as hours spent. Everything was very much manual labour back then and it shows. Also the part about foreign trade is dated. Taxes are described as the only source of income for country, but think of any oil nation and you realize that strong export is more and more important. Most nations have companies that make profit etc...

So. There are parts that would desperately need an update, but still this is a good book and makes hard topic relatively easy to understand.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A book to understand how the real world works

Great book with a lot of common sense. You'll learn how the real world works instead of how the media, government, central banks paint it. Good luck, you're taking the red pill of economics, it will be hard to see the world the same again, but everything will make sense. You won't be popular at family and friend parties 😂

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!