The bottom line: An accessible, easy-to-understand way to learn, understand, and practically apply economics to the real world.
Why would any person want to read an economics book, and why would they particularly want to read Economics in One Lesson? The answer is simple: Hazlitt not only breaks down economics into one five-page lesson, but for the indolent, he simplifies things even further and breaks his lesson down to a single sentence in the first chapter. Without giving away Hazlitt’s secret, economics, he says, has as much to do with them in the future as it does with you now.
Economics in One Lesson begins with “Part One: The Lesson” discussed above that sets the tone for the entire book. Subsequent chapters then reveal to the reader how the lesson is applied to different economic areas such as taxes, credit, exports, minimum wage, unions, tariffs, price systems, and savings. Without excessive academic jargon, graphs, confusing figures or other esoteric gobbledygook, Hazlitt succinctly makes it so clear and simple how the first lesson reigns supreme in guiding thinking and decisions in all subsequent matters. In short, the book succinctly covers a broad range of basic economic areas.
All potential readers should note however, that in extrapolating his lesson to economics in general, Hazlitt does conclude that a libertarian approach is therefore the most compatible with his prescriptions. In fact, the author is considered an influential father, thinker and philosopher in the libertarian movement and continues to be a leading contributor of ideas to the Austrian School of Economics even after his death. Hazlitt considers alternative “Statist” and “liberal” economic policies only to reveal their inherent incompatibility with the lesson and the deleterious side effects these policies have even against those who so proudly champion them. In fact, after reading this book many of the policies considered orthodox in contemporary circles are exposed for the true fallacies that they are.
This book is very easy to read, and would be relevant really to anyone who seeks to have economics boiled down and simplified, or anyone who thinks the status quo is leading us all to a place we ought not to go. So if you’re an economist, student, politician, libertarian, thinker, or someone who has influence over large groups of people, this book will certainly yield intellectual dividends and open your eyes.
As an added bonus, the Mises Institute provides this book for free in .PDF format!
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
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