Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics

by Henry Hazlitt

Book Overview

Over a million copies sold A fundamental influence on modern libertarianism, this classic guide to the basics of economic theory defends capitalism and the free market from economic myths that persist... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517548232
• Release Date: December 1988
• Publisher: Crown Currency
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.6" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

Great Starter Book

Overall, an excellent book for someone that wants to learn about economics. The information has proven to stand the test of time and could be compared to our current situation. The book was labeled as Good. However, the book exceeded expectations.

Great start to understanding economics

I recommend it

I've missed my life's calling.

I should have studied economics. Hazlitt's book is remarkably readable, coherent, and logical. It just confirms that truth is usually understandable, whereas complicated obfuscation is usually the major alarm bell that tips you off when people are trying to shaft you. This guy really knows his stuff.The one lesson is so simple that it takes about five minutes to read the chapter about it. The rest of the book lists various scenarios in which that lesson applies. The general principle of the lesson applies so naturally to various specific cases that it simplifies economics immensely. Hazlitt must have studied logic as well as economics.The one lesson is simply this: economic planning should take into account the effects of economic policies on all groups, not just some groups, and what those effects will be in the long run, not just the short run. That's it. That's the lesson. Fallacious economic policies almost invariably seek to benefit one group at the expense of all others, or to bring about short-term benefits at the expense of long-term benefits. With this as his thesis, Hazlitt examines the numerous manifestations of such fallacies in different situations.His chapters are short, his prose is easy to follow, and his logic is compelling. I've never taken an economics class in my life, yet I had no trouble following the reasoning in this book. This is a must read for anyone who wants to understand basic economics and the keys to widespread prosperity in the long run.

Students Love Hazlitt!

I teach Principles of Microeconomics, and I always use this book for extra credit. Students who hate reading long, boring, stuffy text books always like Hazlitt, and give him high reviews every single semester. The very readable chapters are short (about 3-6 pages in most cases), and told in story form to make Hazlitt's point. This makes it possible for even freshmen with notoriously short attention spans to read the day's chapter.Hazlitt's "one lesson" is simple, and told in Chapter 1. The rest of the chapters are all stories in which the lesson plays a prominent role. In short, Hazlitt doesn't merely tell us the lesson, he actually shows us the lesson -- over and over and over, until we've got it.With stories on tariffs, minimum wage, rent controls, taxes. unions, wages, profits, savings, credit, unemployment, and so much more, Hazlitt takes some of the most difficult economic concepts and makes these easily accessible to the lay person who has no economic training, background, or even inclination.It's one thing for me to recommend this book. It's quite another for my students to recommend it semester after semester. I can imagine no higher praise.

Put This Book In Your Children's Hands

And make them read it. Less a primer in economics than a concise debunking of crank positions on economic issues, this book can clear the air (and the mind) quickly after some interested sophist plumps for a discredited idea. Hazlitt's parable of the broken window, meant to show how what dosen't happen as a result of human action is at least as important as what does, is the best introduction to economic theory for the average reader since Adam Smith. The visible results that people see as a result of government intervention in the market must be weighed against what did not come to pass because of the reallocation of resources (i.e., your hard-earned money) that such action necesitates. This book is timeless, in that it is not tied to concrete examples drawn from the headlines of 1946, and is also remarkably free of venom , passion, or spite, which too often mar polemical works on economics - and serve to camouflage bad reasoning. This book can be a basic education in itself, or the beginning of deeper study, in the works of Von Mises, Von Hayek, Schumpeter, or of Hazlett himself. Unlike his opposition (Keynes, et al), Hazlitt is actually readable. -Lloyd A. Conway

Economics in One Lesson

If you are interested in learning more about economics, this isthe book to get you started. Forget the statist Samuelson and Nordhaustext they forced on us in Econ 101, "Economics in OneLesson" is the real stuff! Each essay is clear and easy to read with no hard math for us remedial liberal arts majors. More organized and consistent than Friedman, Hazlitt shows that economics only becomes complicated when it is twisted and contorted so as to fit an intellectually dishonest view of the world.If you're taking an introductory high school or college economics course that doesn't use this book, buy it and read it as a supplement to your coursework. It's very easy to read an essay a day and you'll be intellectually armed, no matter what tripe they try to force down you in class. As a follow-up book, may I suggest Ayn Rand's "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal," which lays a moral foundation for a free market, an essential step and one lacking in most economists' view of life. After all, capitalism is not some system devised by experts, it is what naturally occurs when free men are able to trade goods and services...And if you really want to be versed in the subject, get "Capitalism" by George Reisman, who should win a Nobel prize for this brilliant text. Just having this 1046-page volume on your bookshelf will keep the statists at bay.If you have already read and learned from "Economics in One Lesson", consider buying a copy for a friend. Spread capitalism and spread the wealth!