"The Conquest of Poverty" is a typical example as to why Henry Hazlitt has become one of the most influential economists over the last half century.
In an easily readable style, Hazlitt begins by first demonstrating the difficulty of objectively defining poverty, and how that problem hasn't stopped bureaucrats from executing public policy to combat it. He then recounts how societies have tried to alleviate poverty in the past - starting with ancient Rome, moving through England's "Poor Laws," and finally to modern-day America - all the while, using sound economic principles to demonstrate why each attempt failed. This part in particular is a stark commentary on how man keeps making the same mistakes in trying to eradicate poverty by not learning from history - even by policy-makers in America today.
He then tackles several individual topics such as the minimum wage, the affect of unions, income redistribution, government job programs, socialism, etc., and analyzes why each not only fails to reduce poverty, but actually exacerbates it. Finally, he discusses what the roles of the public and private sectors should be in alleviating poverty.
Since the book was written in 1973, it doesn't expound on the major economic events that have occurred since - like Jimmy Carter's "stagflation," which put a stake through the heart of Keynesian economics, and Reagan's successful supply-side revolution, which vindicates much of Hazlitt's economic philosophy. However, Hazlitt's historical analysis of man's attempt to eliminate poverty, as well as his analysis and conclusions of America's present attempt to do so, are transcendant - applying today just as they did in the early 1970s. This is a must-read for any serious scholar of economics in general and poverty in particular.
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Relevant Insight into Today's War on Poverty
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2006
"The Conquest of Poverty" is a typical example as to why Henry Hazlitt has become one of the most influential economists over the last half century.In an easily readable style, Hazlitt begins by first demonstrating the difficulty of objectively defining poverty, and how that problem hasn't stopped bureaucrats from executing public policy to combat it. He then recounts how societies have tried to alleviate poverty in the past - starting with ancient Rome, moving through England's "Poor Laws," and finally to modern-day America - all the while, using sound economic principles to demonstrate why each attempt failed. This part in particular is a stark commentary on how man keeps making the same mistakes in trying to eradicate poverty by not learning from history - even by policy-makers in America today.He then tackles several individual topics such as the minimum wage, the affect of unions, income redistribution, government job programs, socialism, etc., and analyzes why each not only fails to reduce poverty, but actually exacerbates it. Finally, he discusses what the roles of the public and private sectors should be in alleviating poverty.Since the book was written in 1973, it doesn't expound on the major economic events that have occurred since - like Jimmy Carter's "stagflation," which put a stake through the heart of Keynesian economics, and Reagan's successful supply-side revolution, which vindicates much of Hazlitt's economic philosophy. However, Hazlitt's historical analysis of man's attempt to eliminate poverty, as well as his analysis and conclusions of America's present attempt to do so, are transcendant - applying today just as they did in the early 1970s. This is a must-read for any serious scholar of economics in general and poverty in particular.
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2006
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 22, 2006
In an easily readable style, Hazlitt begins by first demonstrating the difficulty of objectively defining poverty, and how that problem hasn't stopped bureaucrats from executing public policy to combat it. He then recounts how societies have tried to alleviate poverty in the past - starting with ancient Rome, moving through England's "Poor Laws," and finally to modern-day America - all the while, using sound economic principles to demonstrate why each attempt failed. This part in particular is a stark commentary on how man keeps making the same mistakes in trying to eradicate poverty by not learning from history - even by policy-makers in America today.
He then tackles several individual topics such as the minimum wage, the affect of unions, income redistribution, government job programs, socialism, etc., and analyzes why each not only fails to reduce poverty, but actually exacerbates it. Finally, he discusses what the roles of the public and private sectors should be in alleviating poverty.
Since the book was written in 1973, it doesn't expound on the major economic events that have occurred since - like Jimmy Carter's "stagflation," which put a stake through the heart of Keynesian economics, and Reagan's successful supply-side revolution, which vindicates much of Hazlitt's economic philosophy. However, Hazlitt's historical analysis of man's attempt to eliminate poverty, as well as his analysis and conclusions of America's present attempt to do so, are transcendant - applying today just as they did in the early 1970s. This is a must-read for any serious scholar of economics in general and poverty in particular.
Relevant Insight into Today's War on Poverty
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 22, 2006
"The Conquest of Poverty" is a typical example as to why Henry Hazlitt has become one of the most influential economists over the last half century.Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 22, 2006
In an easily readable style, Hazlitt begins by first demonstrating the difficulty of objectively defining poverty, and how that problem hasn't stopped bureaucrats from executing public policy to combat it. He then recounts how societies have tried to alleviate poverty in the past - starting with ancient Rome, moving through England's "Poor Laws," and finally to modern-day America - all the while, using sound economic principles to demonstrate why each attempt failed. This part in particular is a stark commentary on how man keeps making the same mistakes in trying to eradicate poverty by not learning from history - even by policy-makers in America today.
He then tackles several individual topics such as the minimum wage, the affect of unions, income redistribution, government job programs, socialism, etc., and analyzes why each not only fails to reduce poverty, but actually exacerbates it. Finally, he discusses what the roles of the public and private sectors should be in alleviating poverty.
Since the book was written in 1973, it doesn't expound on the major economic events that have occurred since - like Jimmy Carter's "stagflation," which put a stake through the heart of Keynesian economics, and Reagan's successful supply-side revolution, which vindicates much of Hazlitt's economic philosophy. However, Hazlitt's historical analysis of man's attempt to eliminate poverty, as well as his analysis and conclusions of America's present attempt to do so, are transcendant - applying today just as they did in the early 1970s. This is a must-read for any serious scholar of economics in general and poverty in particular.
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