This completely revised and updated third edition of Thomas Sowell's instrumental work includes a new chapter on government finance. Basic Economics is a citizen's guide to economics--for those who want to understand how the economy works but have no interest in jargon or equations. Sowell reveals the general principles behind any kind of economy--capitalist, socialist, feudal, and so on. In readable language, he shows how to critique economic policies in terms of the incentives they create, rather than the goals they proclaim. With clear explanations of the entire field, from rent control and the rise and fall of businesses to the international balance of payments, this is the first book for anyone who wishes to understand how the economy functions.

Customer Rating:
Summary: A Very good counterbalance to highly "liberal" texts
Comment: "Basic Economics" by Thomas Sowell is a very good book for the average, curious, citizen, who wants to understand the American economy. It is not written in textbook style, but it is highly readable.

The material is a very good counterbalance to highly "liberal" texts that seem to like governmental interventions and some degree of socialism.

I strongly recommend this book for a better understanding of economics.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: You Cannot Succeed in Life Without Understanding Economics, and This Book Shows You All You Need to Know About the Subject
Comment: "Economics is the study of the use of scare resources which have alternative uses" (1).

Understanding economics is understanding trade-offs, incentives, and how the world works. This refreshing interesting book does away with all the dry equations, graphs, and jargon of traditional textbooks to show the heart of the matter.

This book fulfills the economic requirement of the 7-Hour School Week's 12 hard skills to master. You don't need to take a dry economic class to benefit from its strategies.

Read this book instead. You will enjoy it more, and you will probably learn more too.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Read, But Very Biased
Comment: The book's main message is clear and instructive: Prices determined by supply and demand are the most efficient allocators of resources. When governments interfere with this (e.g. rent control, minimum wage, trade barriers) total resources of the society are wasted and the results can be exactly opposite of what was intended. The book gives many interesting examples and clarifies many of the misconceptions. However, the book has its shortcomings. Almost every problem is blamed on the government and it is not clear what the government should be doing in many situations. The problems with the free market approach are not really discussed. For example, the government is blamed for making the Great Depression worse by bad fiscal policies, but the fact that the Great Depression exposed the great weakness of the free market system is not discussed. When there is run on the banks should the government not interfere and let the economy collapse or should it try to ease panic by guaranteeing the bank deposits? The author is critical of government insurance of bank deposits saying that it results in banks taking unnecessary risks. But it is not clear what the author is recommending instead.

The author also criticizes government flood insurance. However, he fails to point out what the government should do. If people are building homes in areas exposed to Hurricanes then the government has three options:

1) After a Hurricane help the victims.
2) Do not allow people to build in these regions
3) Let everyone build where ever they want but tell them they should buy their own insurance and they will not get help from the government when the hurricane hits.

It is easy to criticize #1 but does the author recommend the other two options? Instead of any serious analysis the author keeps talking about the free market allocating resources most efficiently.

Despite its shortcomings I recommend everyone to read this book. Most of his points are good and it clears many misconceptions. This book might need a re-write after the events of 2008 where the businesses and the people proved to be no wiser or more efficient than the often criticized government.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A must-read
Comment: This book is a must-read for anyone desiring to understand economics. I think it's an essential read if you want to know what's really going on in our economy. This book is an easy read too. It's written for everyone no matter what your intellectual capacity is. Don't let the mainstream media tell you what's going on in our economy, understand it for yourself. I knew practically nothing about economics before reading this book. Thomas Sowell is a master at making the seemingly complex easy to understand. This book is on Rush Limbaugh's list of must-reads.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: The book everyone should read
Comment: Thomas Sowell has demonstrated once again that economics does not have to include lengthy, convoluted concepts, charts or jargon. 'Basic Economics' should be in every high school and college library. Economic teachers/professors would be wise to include this gem for classroom instruction as there are excellent concepts and historical content presented logically with great care and clarity.

I applaud this work as it avoids the usual sterile presentation of economics. The book is indeed engaging while maintaining the goal of being informative and factual. Plus, it is so very timely.

Much of what Sowell states in this book can be applied to our current economic situation. In fact, this book was published 18 months ago and provides solid, factual examples and relevant information on what happens when governments provide 'bail-outs' along with reactions of various economic systems to failed entities. We would be wise to consider Sowell's observations and sage advice in such matters.

No matter your interest in economics, get this book! You will find just how helpful, informative and necessary this book is from page one!

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