Customer Reviews

Untruth : Why the Conventional Wisdom is (Almost Always) Wrong

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Jeez - I can't believe no one else has written a review of this book, which is the most persuasive, thought-provoking analysis of the American political, social and economic scene I've ever read. No hyperbole.

I agree with what George Will said about the author: "Samuelson needs Secret Service protection ... If we lose him, we're sunk."

Sameulson's essays all ring true. He is one of the few national journalists I'm familiar with who actually possesses a "healthy skepticism." He not only routinely questions and challenges the "conventional wisdom" he shows us the negative and costly consequences of basing policy decisions on fraudulent but generally accepted premises.

The author's last column is a tribute to the college professor who had the greatest impact on Samuelson's life. This professor taught Samuelson to think about old things in new ways and not to be afraid to come up with independent thoughts. To Samuelson, this was a great gift. Mr. Samuelson has helped pass along the same gift to this humble and grateful reviewer.

P.S. This book should be required reading for every journalist, editor, issue advocate and politician. It tells us why they know not what they do ...

Samuelson attacks what used to be conventional wisdom--that the government could solve all manner of concocted economic "problems"--and replaces it with the new conventional wisdom of free markets. His is the least interesting and innovative work of this genre. The generalities, the platitudes, the triumphalism border on the sickening. He brings now-popular Chicago and Austrian ideas (especially the idea that the government is often self-interested and that it can't possibly be expected to know all it needs to know to deal with our economic problems) to the most standard of problems (are layoffs really bad?; is it bad to be a "service" economy?; how the lefty media manufactures problems for government to solve).

Economic ideas are powerful. They are infinitely more forceful in the hands of true scholars (Friedman "Free to Choose" and Becker "The Economics of Life") and infintely more interesting when presented in an innovative style (as in Russell Roberts' love story, "The Invisible Heart"). I would recommend all these books way before Samuelson's; but most people will not be able stomach even three such books.

Come to think of it, I should have expected no more from a Newsweek columnist.