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.
| |||||||||||||||
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
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
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 48 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.
35 of 38 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
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!
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By R. Setliff
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
5.0 out of 5 stars
I have given away more of these than I can remember
excellent introduction to economics and cause-and-hidden-effect in the real world. i have probably bought and given away 6 or 7 copies of this excellent book
Published 3 days ago by Samuel Igwe
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book for a non-economist
This book is really good at explaining major issues discussed in economics in a straightforward way. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Aaron M. Willard
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great book to study for economics!
This book really gives anybody a good foundation on what economics is, how the government plays a role, and
studies the pros and cons of big business.
studies the pros and cons of big business.
Published 2 months ago by victoria godsoe
2.0 out of 5 stars
Libertarian, dogmatic stuff
If you want a balanced outlook in how economics work, you should look elsewhere. This is pure Libertarian propaganda, that may appeal to those who are intoxicated with the Austrian... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Unbiased
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good economics vs. bad government policies, all explained in an...
This book demonstrates that our "common sense" should tell us what constitutes good economic policies. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ronald E. Mathys
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Book on Economics Ever!
A very good book form a very smart man. Everybody needs to read this book, even Mr.Obama,(like that is ever going to happen.)it will change your world! Read more
Published 9 months ago by deirdre
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
This book is all the endorsers said it would be. If you read only one thing in your entire life on economics, this is the one. Totally understandable.
Published 10 months ago by frenier@together.net
4.0 out of 5 stars
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 12 months ago by Jacob A. Geller
4.0 out of 5 stars
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 18 months ago by luvthearts
5.0 out of 5 stars
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 on April 13, 2011 by Paul Entin
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
