[.ca] Basic Economics 2nd Ed: A Citizen's Guide to the ... (ISBN 0465081452)

Crazy world:
This book is one of the most disingenuous and tendentious books I have read in some time. Coming from the UK I had never heard of Thomas Sowell: having read the book I now see that he is clearly a man with an axe to grind - and boy can he grind. In the crazy world of Thomas Sowell the real world behaves just like the text book world of general equilibrium theory. In this world prices serve only to clear markets (there is no information content); competition is 'perfect', and insofar as monopoly or oligopoly does exist - you guessed it - it's the Government's fault and can best be eliminated by - you guessed it again - the market. In the crazy world of Tommy everyone is rational (we're not - have you heard of behavioural economics Thomas?); everyone has perfect information (we don't, in fact that is the very reason we have brands); and, above all, there are no economic rents - in fact economic rent isn't even mentioned in the index presumably because all rents get competed away in Tommy's perfect market place. Of course, the great thing about economic rent is that it can be appropriated by workers, by Governments - or even by capitalists for that matter - without changing the economic incentives on anyone. Did you get that Tommy? This means that taxation can be re-distributive and that unions can bargain for higher pay, and that capitalists can earn super normal profits without affecting the efficiency of the economy as a whole. So the distribution of income turns out to be a political question as well as an economic question after all. There are many other deliberate distortions in this book too numerous to mention. Don't read it, above all don't buy it - otherwise I fear you will be guilty, like me, of the misallocation of scare resources for which there are alternative uses. Indeed, given that I think the calorific value of this book is higher than the education value, you know what the cast iron laws of economics require me to do with it...

A must read for any concerned citizen!:
This book is an excellent introduction to basic economic concepts and how they play out in society. Sowell clearly explains how a free market economy should work and what goes wrong when politicians interfere in the name of compassion. Everyone who votes should read this book. Yes, Sowell is a conservative. But why should that matter? This book is about economics and Sowell is an economist. He only touches on politics in regards to political intervention in the free market economy and how its consequences are rarely the same as its intentions. Society as a whole would be so much better off if they understood basic economic prinicples--regardless of politcal affiliation. One caveat, the original edition was in serious need of a editor. Hopefully this new edition has been proofed.

Capitalism 101:
"Economics is a study of the allocation of scarce resources which have alternative uses." - p.1 (and many others) "In a sense, it is unfair when some people are unable to earn as much as others with similar skills, diligence, and other virtues. Yet this unfairness to particular individuals is what makes the economy as a whole operate more efficiently for the benefit of vastly larger numbers of others." - p.20 "Incentives matter because most people will do more for their own benefit than for the benefit of others." - p.46 "Individual freedom, competition and prices add up to what is loosely called 'the market'". - p.308 Having taken no formal college courses in economics but wanting to brush up for graduate school (and my own edification) I purchased Thomas Sowell's "Basic Economics" and committed the foremost sin of all bookworms in judging a book by its cover, assuming from its title that it would solve all my needs. Well, it did and didn't. I want more economics! I had started at the very beginning with who else but Adam Smith and his revolutionary "Wealth of Nations". I didn't get too far before I realized that something more up to date and brief would probably be more enticing. Smith is historically vital, but his theories have been greatly improved upon over the past hundred years. For the most part I found Sowell's overview of economics easy to follow. He does an excellent job at breaking down supposedly "complex" economic concepts into the understandable nuts and bolts of a price-coordinated capitalist economy. In doing so he misses few opportunities to explain to us why our system works, and why others (notably the former Soviet Union's) didn't. There are many awkward moments when Sowell appears to be promoting a conservative, or perhaps a libertarian agenda, and this can be difficult for us "unconverted economic neophytes" to swallow, although in retrospect many of his arguments are obviously rooted in his unwavering enthusiasm for what sounds suspiciously like laissez faire economics. I was interested to read his grudging concession of certain specific duties to the government (such as the EPA, and the military for example) which would never form of themselves if left solely to the laws of supply and demand. In his chapter on "External Costs & Benefits" he begins by admitting that, "Economic decisions made through the marketplace are not always better than decisions that governments can make". Bravo! I learned a lot from this book despite its all too frequent errors of punctuation, and very poor editing by Basic Books & Co. There's an anecdote referring to the Soviet Union on pgs. 43-44 for example, which is repeated verbatim in a footnote on pg. 75, re-used so as to illustrate two different points - efficiency indeed! This from the 2000 first edition (green cover), and so I imagine, and hope that the revised red cover edition corrects these sadly printed errors in punctuation and sentence structure. Also, I learned from this book in spite of Mr. Sowell himself. I think he tends to get in the way of his own arguments a little too often, and his book would have benefited had he made an effort to include more representative arguments on controversial political issues like rent control, unemployment/job creation, protectionism/tariffs, worker exploitation, minimum wage laws, job security, the enivironment, socialism, and so on. The weak representation of most of these important subjects makes it easy for Mr. Sowell to steam-roll with the invincible glory of his "Basic Economics". Most of the time he is convincing, but you'll need an open and diplomatic mindset to enjoy him. Otherwise, you'll definitely find his treatment of many subjects irritatingly simplistic and incomplete. Sowell himself points out in Chapter 22 on "Non-Economic Values" that, "Economics is not a value in and of itself. It is only a way of weighing one value against another" (p.305). Whether or not he adheres to this sentiment throughout his book is debatable. Nevertheless, "Basic Economics: A Citizens Guide to the Economy" should be more widely read, and ought to be rated here with four or five stars based on its instructive value alone. Regardless of political beliefs, you'll learn about fundamental economic concepts such as costs, prices, surplusses/shortages, supply/demand, inflation/deflation, incremental trade-offs, incentives, and ultimately, you'll come away from "Basic Economics" having learned "...the tools for evaluating policies and proposals in terms of \otheir\c logical implications and empirical evidence." In addition to this book, I've also purchased Charles Wheelan's, "Naked Economics" which professes to accomplish exactly what Mr. Sowell set out to do (basics with no graphs or charts), but supposedly does so in a more "even-handed manner" according to Amazon reviewers. And for the "other side" there is always Marx's "Communist Manifesto" or "Das Capital", and "Socialist Thought - A Documentary History" edited by Albert Fried & Ronald Sanders.

Great stuff!:
Dont listen to the 3 star and below reviews... liberals have a problem facing reality and it shows in their reviews. Read the book. And ask thoughtfully if there is anything he says (well almost anything to be completely honest) that is untrue. You'll come away with a lot of misconceptions cleared, concepts understood - and a lot of fascinating factoids absorbed to boot! This book will give you a good solid foundation into the basics and how and why it is important to know economics - because it uses tons of real world examples. From Sweden and the former Soviet Union to the good old USA. Its all there. Will really whet your appetite for economics. And very little sensationalism or off the wall content (compared to the popular 'economics' books like Levitts Freakonomics etc). Get one and get another for your children! P.S Yes the only problem, as mentioned in other reviews - is a few too many typos for my taste (but not enough for me to lower the rating)

A primer of economic principles:
This book is an outstanding contribution to anyone who wishes to understand the principles of economics, and an example of brilliant reasoning. However,just as power trumps knowledge, so do idees fixes, pet peeves, peccadilloes in the area of economics and careless reading, trump appreciation of this tour de force by Mr. Sowell.