Economics

Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy

Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy

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  • Create Date：2021-04-09 10:53:53
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Thomas Sowell
  • ISBN：0465060730
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Summary

Basic Economicsis a citizen's guide to economics， written for those who want to understand how the economy works but have no interest in jargon or equations。 Bestselling economist Thomas Sowell explains the general principles underlying different economic systems: 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。

This fifth edition includes a new chapter explaining the reasons for large differences of wealth and income between nations。

Drawing on lively examples from around the world and from centuries of history， Sowell explains basic economic principles for the general public in plain English。

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Reviews

JOHN E ，

Brilliant！

Sara Christians ，

Thomas Sowell is brilliant。 This book is logical， rational， factual， measured， and enlightening

Nitin Vijay ，

That's how economics should be taught in schools。 That's how economics should be taught in schools。 。。。more

Slade Rheaume ，

A must read for every good citizen。 Why isn't this required reading at all schools？ The answer is because it contradicts the establishment narrative on a fundamental level， and would sow too much healthy distrust of the government and central planning。 A must read for every good citizen。 Why isn't this required reading at all schools？ The answer is because it contradicts the establishment narrative on a fundamental level， and would sow too much healthy distrust of the government and central planning。 。。。more

John Kelly ，

Thomas Sowell

JUSTIN JOS ，

The book is an excellent thesis on basic economics which govern the current rules of trade and economic activities。 Prof。 Sowell is a stalwart in outlining a thoughtful， incisive and liberal approach to economic activities。 He thoroughly explains his positions on contentious issues such as minimum wage， confusion between wage per hour and output per unit， exploitation in third world countries and why some countries are richer than other inter alia。 The book has left me baffled。 I am almost lost The book is an excellent thesis on basic economics which govern the current rules of trade and economic activities。 Prof。 Sowell is a stalwart in outlining a thoughtful， incisive and liberal approach to economic activities。 He thoroughly explains his positions on contentious issues such as minimum wage， confusion between wage per hour and output per unit， exploitation in third world countries and why some countries are richer than other inter alia。 The book has left me baffled。 I am almost lost in what I want to believe now。 Maybe the world is not a capitalist hell hole but a glorious pathway out of poverty。 Prof。 Sowell is clear， concise and helps the reader understand complex economics。 The book has successfully managed to convey some of the contentious alternative perspectives but fails to engage in some of the existing criticism。 I also found the book repetitive at points where the author uses the same examples to restate similar points。 Overall， I think the book is a good read which makes a good case for capitalism but does not capture the problems in its depth but still worth a read。 。。。more

José Ángel ，

El libro que todo aspirante a entender cómo funciona la economía debería tener a mano。 Un golpe contundente a los discursos y políticas demagógicas que se presentan como remedios milagrosos a problemas， en algunos casos， inexistentes y， en otros， provocados por las mismas políticas。

Jacob Prather ，

An essential read by one of the greatest thinkers of this millennia。

Dickson Kikwenye ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I need this book

Sophia Silveira ，

misrepresented leftist views， clearly biased takes and didn’t present any counter arguments。 Against a minimum wage and doesn’t present the argument to why they’re necessary。 Doesn’t mention that price allocation is contingent on people being payed responsibly。 Does give a good and easy to understand definition of the free market。

Ashley Kidd ，

A perfect introduction in economics; from the ideas of proper and improper pay for workers， how the economy changes depending on whether it is run via a free market or the monopoly of government; price controls; international trade， etc， and the implications of how each increment of change can significantly affect both the domestic and international economy。 Sowell is masterful in his laconic explanations of how the economy can crash under policies which are confidently voted in favour by the ma A perfect introduction in economics; from the ideas of proper and improper pay for workers， how the economy changes depending on whether it is run via a free market or the monopoly of government; price controls; international trade， etc， and the implications of how each increment of change can significantly affect both the domestic and international economy。 Sowell is masterful in his laconic explanations of how the economy can crash under policies which are confidently voted in favour by the majority of a nation， yet have detrimental costs to said nation， usually under the pretences of political ideologies。 This book gives you a basic knowledge of what each economic decision can cost an industry， nation， market etc， by mapping out the ways in which a person must think - by ignoring emotional demagoguery and replacing it with objective methodological thought。 This book also had a ‘Questions’ section at the back， with over 100 economic-based questions， where the answers can be found by following the page numbers listed below， therefore perfect for studying。 。。。more

Prince_SaaS ，

I believe this book should be a must read for every person。 It is definitely an eye opener to the true meaning of price as the rational measure of value in a free market。 If you're an advocate of price regulation， government and/or union intervention in markets， you're very welcome to be Thomas' guest as he argues against such interventions。 I believe this book should be a must read for every person。 It is definitely an eye opener to the true meaning of price as the rational measure of value in a free market。 If you're an advocate of price regulation， government and/or union intervention in markets， you're very welcome to be Thomas' guest as he argues against such interventions。 。。。more

Tolga ，

So here we go， after reading few more books I think it's right time to share some of my notes on this one。 I understand that free market economy creates best possible outcome but for what？ We still need the government to keep and set restrictions to define the "area" of the free market。 Because "price" itself defines the best possible outcome but for example if you don't count CO2 emissions as a cost， they won't find the best way to reduce it。 Or if you don't define or create a clear definition So here we go， after reading few more books I think it's right time to share some of my notes on this one。 I understand that free market economy creates best possible outcome but for what？ We still need the government to keep and set restrictions to define the "area" of the free market。 Because "price" itself defines the best possible outcome but for example if you don't count CO2 emissions as a cost， they won't find the best way to reduce it。 Or if you don't define or create a clear definition and restrictions for other values that we share; it won't take it into account。 Moreover， for rapid changes we need; for example dealing with climate change， we still need government to invest in the needs of humanity that has high value of risk during the innovation investment。 And last but not least， we should cover the consequences of the shift of the market to protect the people who are impacted from it directly in the short term and help them to navigate and get new skills and new jobs。 。。。more

Jerry ，

Did a good job explaining terms just as "price control" and "capital。" Its authenticity could be questioned， though: there were simply too many typos for me to take the book entirely seriously。 But for an introduction into the world of economics， Sowell fulfills his mission。 Economics is about causes and effects， not about values。 Did a good job explaining terms just as "price control" and "capital。" Its authenticity could be questioned， though: there were simply too many typos for me to take the book entirely seriously。 But for an introduction into the world of economics， Sowell fulfills his mission。 Economics is about causes and effects， not about values。 。。。more

Josiah Edwards ，

This is an extremely comprehensive and broad look at an often complicated and technical field， all lead by the extremely knowledgeable Dr。 Thomas Sowell。 I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it a couple years ago， but any book by Sowell is a good read to me。

Laura Lara ，

Excellent， very practical， Sowell's examples are logical and he presents evidence for the importance of a free market economy。 Sowell also presents clear examples of what happens when we interviene on free markets and how it is harmful to those who are less fortunate （the poor and unskilled）。 Excellent， very practical， Sowell's examples are logical and he presents evidence for the importance of a free market economy。 Sowell also presents clear examples of what happens when we interviene on free markets and how it is harmful to those who are less fortunate （the poor and unskilled）。 。。。more

De'Andre Crenshaw ，

I enjoyed this book it's written in a way that anyone can pick up， which is good and bad。 The good anyone can read it， the bad although he explains everything exceptionally well， drags you to his conclusions and avoids implications of some of the information he gives。 Why are minorities more apt to be fired when the minimum wage increases is it cultural， social， or something else？ Do the labor markets he describes exist？ What's the time line on growth for developing countries？ Are the gains from I enjoyed this book it's written in a way that anyone can pick up， which is good and bad。 The good anyone can read it， the bad although he explains everything exceptionally well， drags you to his conclusions and avoids implications of some of the information he gives。 Why are minorities more apt to be fired when the minimum wage increases is it cultural， social， or something else？ Do the labor markets he describes exist？ What's the time line on growth for developing countries？ Are the gains from free trade as widely distributed as he claims？ He does a great job attacking socialist Russia， and Italy but what about everywhere else？ 。。。more

Talia ，

Not sure I'm buying everything this guy's selling but I did at least learn some things。 Not sure I'm buying everything this guy's selling but I did at least learn some things。 。。。more

Dody Eid ，

This book is a fantastic summary of almost every major economic question。 It’s full of logical arguments， abundant research， and vivid examples to present economic realities as they are。 Sowell masterfully tears down myths floating in the public discourse around rent control， “price gouging，” monopolies， labor exploitation， trade， Wall Street， the 1%， and many other hot-button issues。 For me， it’s most enduring （and harrowing） idea is: “There are no solutions， only trade offs。” A must-read。

Leafaven ，

Horrendously bad， he does nothing but state the economic obvious and paraphrasing the same ideas for 900 pages。 Had it been concise and been no more than 200 pages of abstract and everlasting theory， than this 900 tedious pages of empiricism bullshit that is only developed halfway， therefore of no value and does not apply to our society in 2020， then I would have rated it 5 stars。If you value your time， I would not go further than his first chapter， which is concise， clear and beautiful。 If you Horrendously bad， he does nothing but state the economic obvious and paraphrasing the same ideas for 900 pages。 Had it been concise and been no more than 200 pages of abstract and everlasting theory， than this 900 tedious pages of empiricism bullshit that is only developed halfway， therefore of no value and does not apply to our society in 2020， then I would have rated it 5 stars。If you value your time， I would not go further than his first chapter， which is concise， clear and beautiful。 If you are planning to read this book， have a bloc-note， and keep only the concise theories found while reading。 Remove all the paraphrases and empiricism nonsense meant to impress the illiterate and moronic economists， and you'll be left with a 100 pages of pure beauty and Thomas at his very best。In its current chaotic state， I cannot recommend it as there far better alternatives。 。。。more

John （Hey Y'all Listen Up） ，

A book everyone should read。 Dr。 Sowell explains economic concepts in everyday language。 The book covers a broad array of subjects。

Zack Foster ，

Probably won't read anything else by this author。 The title and introduction set the reader up to learn economic basics and focus on "just the facts。" By the middle of the book， I felt the author had communicated in bad faith。 How can you pontificate on such a wide range of complex topics from the role of unions to stocks and bonds to international trade， all the while presenting your views as the truth of "basic economics？"I gave two stars because there were some good parts that I thought were Probably won't read anything else by this author。 The title and introduction set the reader up to learn economic basics and focus on "just the facts。" By the middle of the book， I felt the author had communicated in bad faith。 How can you pontificate on such a wide range of complex topics from the role of unions to stocks and bonds to international trade， all the while presenting your views as the truth of "basic economics？"I gave two stars because there were some good parts that I thought were written in a reasonable， accessible way。 For example， the parts on prices， rent control， and trade balance were pretty good。There were a lot of parts that felt very hand-wavy and superficial， and Sowell gives non-Chicago schools of thought simplistic interpretations。 He doesn't really explore alternative views to any depth at all。 。。。more

Maria ，

I can probably write many pages describing how exactly this book made me feel。 The premise is that it aims to deliver understandable explanations of economic concepts for the general reader， which it definitely did。 At the same time， for the purpose of this it is oversimplifying many ideas （understandable） while only showing one very biased point of view （unforgivable）。 During a big part of it I just had the idea I'm reading a kind of a Bible worshipping the god "free market"。 I would say the th I can probably write many pages describing how exactly this book made me feel。 The premise is that it aims to deliver understandable explanations of economic concepts for the general reader， which it definitely did。 At the same time， for the purpose of this it is oversimplifying many ideas （understandable） while only showing one very biased point of view （unforgivable）。 During a big part of it I just had the idea I'm reading a kind of a Bible worshipping the god "free market"。 I would say the the one-sidedness of all the arguments in the book is a big weakness， made me very upset and skeptical towards the conclusions drawn and in many cases it was a real struggle to follow and I genuinely suffered through it。Despite all that， it was a useful read， definitely made clear some complicated concepts which I would probably never have tried to dig and understand otherwise。 Another short positive note was the historical perspective at the end， which was probably the only part of the book that I enjoyed reading。 。。。more

Duoglass ，

The main themes of economics being the study of trade offs between what can be done with resources and that the free market is generally preferable to government intervention for the establishment of wealth are well supported。 I appreciated the explanation that foreign trade is not a zero sum game。

Dallin Coons ，

Economics is a wet blanket of realism on the hopes and dreams of the American Left。 It also happens to be the number one reason why I consider myself a Classic Liberal。 Basic Economics， written by the great Thomas Sowell， is a potent， well researched， and exceptionally argued defense of free markets， and a denunciation of authoritarianism （no matter how well-intentioned）。 There was a bit of a downside to reading this， and that is I became more frustrated with the political process where politici Economics is a wet blanket of realism on the hopes and dreams of the American Left。 It also happens to be the number one reason why I consider myself a Classic Liberal。 Basic Economics， written by the great Thomas Sowell， is a potent， well researched， and exceptionally argued defense of free markets， and a denunciation of authoritarianism （no matter how well-intentioned）。 There was a bit of a downside to reading this， and that is I became more frustrated with the political process where politicians who have little understanding of the implications of their policies， and who are simply trying to convince a myopic voter base to elect them so they can stay in power， make bad economic decisions in the name of gaining votesI'm not sure how the typical Lefty views these kinds of free-market economic arguments: whether they've heard it all and have decided to consciously reject them or whether their echo chamber is impenetrable enough to the point that they haven't even had the opportunity to consider them （I really just don't know）。 Either way， this is a repudiation of most leftist ideas， around matters of money at least， but I think it would be a great way for a Leftist to gain an understanding of what Classic Liberals actually believe， and not just what NPR or CNN says they believe。If you're Classically Liberal， this will give you more research and data on conclusions that you have already come to， and many additional nuances that you hadn't considered before。 You may fleetingly wish that voters would take it upon themselves to educate themselves in matters of economics - before you realize that it will never happen and we're doomed to live with inept and inefficient economic oligarchy sooner or later。 。。。more

Troyj84 ，

This is an outstanding and common sense book on economics that will go a long way to helping the layman understand an otherwise complicated topic。

Jim Reynolds ，

Sowell's politics are inevitably going to stir up support/opposition more than the content of the book itself。As 'Basic Economics'， the book falls short。 The things Sowell chooses not to talk about are perhaps more problematic than those he does。 As a 'Guide to the Economy'， Sowell does a fairly good job of stating in plain English some of the mechanisms of politics and psychology that keep money， commodities and services moving around。 For the casual reader， this is useful - but the lack of det Sowell's politics are inevitably going to stir up support/opposition more than the content of the book itself。As 'Basic Economics'， the book falls short。 The things Sowell chooses not to talk about are perhaps more problematic than those he does。 As a 'Guide to the Economy'， Sowell does a fairly good job of stating in plain English some of the mechanisms of politics and psychology that keep money， commodities and services moving around。 For the casual reader， this is useful - but the lack of detailed analysis is troubling。 The exposition of incentives and scarcity of resources leads neatly to the conclusion that state healthcare， for example， can be sluggish and inefficient。 But Sowell does not linger on his points。 He does not consider， for example， the impact of the PPPs on the NHS since 1991， nor their resulting scandals of neglect and financial inefficiency。 He instead gestures that the wrong （state-led） incentives have made the NHS dysfunctional。 Free healthcare encourages people to see a doctor more than they need to。 Well， with all the talk of trade-offs， is there not at least room to *consider* the CBA more check-ups vs longer waiting times？Speaking of trade-offs， Sowell also focuses little on budget constraints。 The argument that a 'free market' helps move things more quickly to where they need to be is seductive but shallow。 Perhaps this is a problem of the format， all in prose and without graphs to show complex， competing variables。 Perhaps there is also a problem with defining the free market， which Sowell seems to holds as the singular stated alternative to the lumbering， corrupt shadow of communism。 A clear outline of the seemingly homogenous 'free market' would help here。 He seems to recognise that the state has some use in limiting and guaranteeing freedoms。 So state your parameters。 Perhaps I'm asking for too much。 Sowell does talk around a number of interesting issues and gives time to difficult and complex positions， highlighting the weaknesses of short political terms and democracy。 His discussion of diseconomies of scale in the private sector is interesting and important。 His explanation of how oil prices and banking work is also good。 But there were moments something just didn't sit right with me。 The book caricatures capitalism and socialism as tidy opposites and justifies one with the failures of the other， offering little in the way of potential rejoinders or alternative systems。 There's also a sneaky false equivalence between competition for survival and competition between businesses used to justify a certain economic model， which feels inappropriate。For what it is worth， I did enjoy the book。 It was refreshing to hear arguments that I have missed out on。 Basic Economics has prompted me， at least， to think critically about issues that seem obvious and true: the minimum wage， rent controls， rationing， income distributions and equality。。。 Perhaps it is down to my own laziness， but I would have appreciated the book a little more if it had taken the time to examine its own limitations along the way。 。。。more

Lachlan Phillips ，

A good introduction to how the economy works， mostly from a capitalist/free-market PoV。 I'm not 100% on board with everything Sowell says here （eg sometimes a lack of empathy）， but I agree that in general a free-market is probably the best way to run an economy for the benefit of the most people。No system is perfect， since mankind has a fallen nature， but this is probably the best way of doing it。 So far anyway， that I've read of。 A good introduction to how the economy works， mostly from a capitalist/free-market PoV。 I'm not 100% on board with everything Sowell says here （eg sometimes a lack of empathy）， but I agree that in general a free-market is probably the best way to run an economy for the benefit of the most people。No system is perfect， since mankind has a fallen nature， but this is probably the best way of doing it。 So far anyway， that I've read of。 。。。more

Jack Alexander ，

A brilliant introduction to basic principles of economics， with no charts or graphs。

Jonathan Dingani ，

Loved it explained economics in simple terms though it did not give a broader view on Foreign exchange markets。 Will need to read it again。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0