A new trade paperback edition of the 50th anniversary edition of this classic work. This edition is NOT the same as other editions and was updated and has new material.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
This 50th-anniversary edition of Hazlitt's million-selling volume has been updated to include current statistics and an introduction by presidential aspirant Steve Forbes. This lay reader's guide has a place in all collections.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Henry Hazlitt's explanation of how a price system works is a true classic: timeless, correct, painlessly instructive. --Milton Friedman
It is a brillant performance. It says precisely the things which need most saying and says them with rare courage and integrity. I know of no other modern book from which the intelligent layman can learn so much about the basic truths of economics in so short a time. --F. A. Hayek
Henry Hazlitt's explanation of how a price system works is a true classic: timeless, correct, painlessly instructive. --Milton Friedman
It is a brillant performance. It says precisely the things which need most saying and says them with rare courage and integrity. I know of no other modern book from which the intelligent layman can learn so much about the basic truths of economics in so short a time. --F. A. Hayek
Henry Hazlitt's explanation of how a price system works is a true classic: timeless, correct, painlessly instructive. --Milton Friedman
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Henry Hazlitt is best known for this brilliant work, one of the most concise and persuasive defenses of the free market ever written. One reason why socialism and statism appeal to the common man is that government actions are immediate and dramatic: they give the impression that something is being done about a specific problem or crisis. To show that government intervention in the economy isn't wise, one must "look not merely at the immediate but at the longer effect of any act or policy; one must trace the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups."
Hazlitt proceeds to apply the above lesson to numerous government actions. By drawing the reader's attention to the unseen effects, the failure of socialism is exposed. Take for example government "jobs programs." If the government employs 500 people, one might think that government has "created" 500 jobs. However, government had to tax its citizens to fund these jobs. Had the money been left in the hands of taxpayers, their spending would have resulted in an equivalent number of employed individuals. Government didn't "create" jobs - it merely destroyed jobs in the private sector. On issue after issue, Hazlitt demonstrates that government intervention in the economy fails to achieve its stated goals (although its real goal - an increase in government power - is always achieved). In addition, many basic economic falicies are refuted, such as "machines destroy jobs," and workers need "to earn enough money to buy back the products."
If you are new to the study of economics, don't stop here. Be sure to read Rothbard's "Man, Economy and State"; Von Mises' "Human Action"; and Reisman's "Capitalism." They are the twentieth century's "big three" works in economics.
32 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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!
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is perhaps the best book to introduce the layman to the field of economics... This book was a Godsend for me... I stumbled on it in my early college days when I was taking two semesters of Economics and neck-deep in a Keynesian textbook of Fabian socialist fallacies and lies. Hazlitt's book opened my eyes to an insightful intellectual library that supports free-markets and individual liberty. Economics in One Lesson enlightened me, while it helped develop my economic reasoning. It helped me confirm what common sense told me all along - that a laissez-faire free market is the way to go!
This book basically introduced me to the Austrian School of Thought on Economics. The "Austrians" vindicate the market economy's spontaneous order as the surest way to have optimal prosperity, opportunity, and individual liberty for the masses. The verbal logic and reasoning of the Austrian school is generally easy to understand and makes sense to the reader. Needless, to say my interest in the laissez-faire perspective grew - and I read and amassed a library of hundreds of interrelated books on various disciplines from economics to history to political theory. I also recommend any books by other "Austrian" luminaries such as Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, and Murray Rothbard. Hidden Order by David Friedman and Capitalism by Ayn Rand are also worth mentioning.
This book basically introduced me to the Austrian School of Thought on Economics. The "Austrians" vindicate the market economy's spontaneous order as the surest way to have optimal prosperity, opportunity, and individual liberty for the masses. The verbal logic and reasoning of the Austrian school is generally easy to understand and makes sense to the reader. Needless, to say my interest in the laissez-faire perspective grew - and I read and amassed a library of hundreds of interrelated books on various disciplines from economics to history to political theory. I also recommend any books by other "Austrian" luminaries such as Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, and Murray Rothbard. Hidden Order by David Friedman and Capitalism by Ayn Rand are also worth mentioning.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Readable, Relevant, but Not Always Right -- Overall, Eminently Worth...
Economics in One Lesson might be Hazlitt's most famous work, largely thanks to its readability and enduring relevance. Read more
Published 27 days ago by Jacob A. Geller
Great book but ...
Pyss on Steve Forbes! Too bad HE had to be the forward to such a wonderful continuation of the von Mises Austrian School of Economics!
Published 6 months ago by luvthearts
Today's Economic Hysteria Predictable Outcome of Policy
I read Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt more than a year ago with my then 10-yr. old son. The knowledge in it is so profound that I've put off writing this review for fear... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Paul Entin
I go back to it time and again
No matter what bone-headed decision a politician announces these days, I find that Mr. Hazlitt anticipated it in this book in the 1940s - and describes it with a great deal more... Read more
Published 16 months ago by subprimefree
Short-sighted
I had to read and analyze this book for class and I found the material to be rather dense. The author misrepresents Keynes frequently. My advice to Mr. Read more
Published on March 31, 2010 by M. Jeide
Very necessary reading for our day
Anyone interested in the study of economics should start with this book. Especially in our day of runaway government spending, we need to to be knowledgeable in this matter. Read more
Published on August 2, 2009 by Thomas Francis
Economics in One Lesson
My educated (self read) friends and I highly recommend this book. The liberal theologians, most highly educated people - not all, and the elitists (those that think the rest of us... Read more
Published on July 6, 2009 by MARK LANTIGUA
True Economics, More Actual Then Ever
After reading this fantastic book I realized that all I learned back in school was fundamentally wrong. Read more
Published on February 26, 2009 by Joao Cortez
This Book is NOT boring!
You will be surprised by this book. Economics will be so much easier to understand. If my economics teachers required everyone to read this book instead of the textbooks we were... Read more
Published on July 13, 2008 by Gina L. Gwozdz, CPA
Perfect intro to everyday economics
This is a great introduction to economics that ranks up there with Hayek's "Road to Serfdom".
Published on August 2, 2004 by Mehmet C. Yavuz
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