Basic Economics, Fifth Edition

Basic Economics

1. The author says that other people opinions are emotional and not rational, but he himself uses words such as “idiot”, “stupid”, “silly” or “hysterical” to describe these opinions, which shows that he also is being emotional (at least when speaking about them). 2. The author says that some people only use press articles and not factual data to support their points of view, but he also makes use of press articles to illustrate what he says. 3. The author says that people testifying in monopoly court cases put forward the argument that a company seeking to monopolize the market begin with low prices to put competitors out of this market and afterward(s) this company raises its prices. He criticizes these people because they always fail to show any real-life cases of such monopolies. Nonetheless, he also fails to show any example of, for example, a medical services free market that without any intervention by the state has demonstrated to have higher quality services and lower prices at the same time. 4. The main reason I give only one star to this book is that the 2008 economic crisis clearly proved deregulation (of which he shows to be is a strong advocate in this book) to have been the main incentive to financiers to provoke the real state bubble that finally exploded causing the crisis. Despite this global crisis, the author insists on defending deregulation as a whole. The “bankers” knew that they obtained a commission each time they made a subprime loan and each time they sold or resold a packet of mixed securities. They became richer because they knew there would be no punishment for doing what they did, but they did know that at the end many people would lose their houses, their pensions, their savings, and more. If there had been regulations against the predatory behavior of these financiers, if punishments had already been enacted by the US congress, they would have never dared to act in such an unethical manner. Although it is true that in some cases the intervention of the state through regulation causes negative results, it is also true that in some other cases no regulation at all causes serious long-lasting damage.

36 people found this helpful

The most eye-opening book I have ever read

A fantastic book by a brilliant author, fantastically read by a brilliant orator.
To anyone who thinks "economics does not interest me", I say: Give this book a try regardless. I promise that, unless you have read other economics books before, this one will feel truly earth shattering. It is well-written, well-researched, easily understandable by everyone and enormous in its educational value. Grab it while you can.

29 people found this helpful

Phenomenal!

People say that is all the time, but this REALLY NEEDS to be required reading (listening in this case), and here is why:

Mr. Sowell expertly explains economics in this 25 hour long monster in a way that everyone can understand and enjoy. Everything he says is very well supported either using simple logic, hypothetical situations and many real world international and domestic examples.

Even if you don't agree with his explanations, you will still come out of this book with a better understanding of economics as you would have to come up with a logical reason to disagree with him, because his beautiful explanations and examples are essentially devoid of emotion, which is a very good thing.

Some of my favorite things of the book are:
- His often repeated statement is his definition of economics: Utilization of scarce resources which have alternative uses.
- His explanation of the difference between prices and costs.
- His examples of the effects of price controls.
- The absolute lack of mudslinging towards liberals, he actually operates under the assumption of people encouraging government intervention all with the best of intentions.
- His reminders how economists are known for being boring because of splashing cold water on policies due to cold hard boring facts.

This thing is almost 25 hours long, takes a while to listen to but it is like music to your ears. It's economics pure and simple and is fascinating.

Thomas Sowell for president! (Hey he's only 85, that isn't too old is it?)

65 people found this helpful

Phenomenal Primer

Superior book on basic economics. Dr Sowell explains principles and gives examples that even an ol' boy with a Nebraska education can understand. Highly recommend this book to everyone, most especially to voters and potential voters. Politicians won't read it so we must...and then hold them accountable.

7 people found this helpful

Astonishing brilliance

Would you consider the audio edition of Basic Economics, Fifth Edition to be better than the print version?

I haven't ready the print version. But this translates well into audio; there are no charts or graphs in this economic tome. It's simple logic, presented clearly.

What did you like best about this story?

It's hard to argue with this guy. I have to be careful and not simply accept what he says at face value. Surely there are counter points! But how can you argue with history? That's his brilliance. History repeats itself, and Sowell uses history to demonstrate fallacy. Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it

What about Tom Weiner’s performance did you like?

He has a clear voice. I would imagine reading an economics book is difficult. He does a fine job

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

When I listen to the brilliant words of Thomas Sowell I feel my mind opening up to truth. Thank you, Thomas Sowell.

Any additional comments?

This should be required reading to anyone who votes. I admit I wish I knew someone who could present counter points to this; surely there must be a counter to his obvious brilliant analysis of the fallacy of anything other than free, open markets. He makes everything seem so self evident!

6 people found this helpful

Great Publication

This is one of the best audio books I've purchased so far. I believe it should be required reading and that the principles should be taught early in the educational system. There is a lot of information that explains a lot of economic problems - poverty and unemployment, for example - that could be eliminated through policy adjustments or eliminations. The concepts are so clearly conveyed, in fact, that it's difficult to fathom how or why any great society would implement contradictory regulations.

The narrator spoke at a pace and pitch that facilitated ease of reception of the material (this is subjective, I suppose).

36 people found this helpful

Economics does not need to be esoteric.

This properly named book explains complicated economic concepts in simple language that anyone can understand. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the fundamental forces at work in economics and to a certain degree, society as a whole.

5 people found this helpful

This book is as biased as it gets.

There are so many logical fallacies in this book I had to give up. This is the least objective spin to reach a predetermined goal of any book on economics I've read. Avoid.

4 people found this helpful

Excellent Book on Basic Economics

Not really a "story" but it does tell the history and continuing effect of economics on our lives.

Thomas Sowell presents Economics in a very easy to understand and well illustrated way. This is the 5th edition so is up to date with current examples. There is a lot of information and a plethora of quotable quotes, so probably warrants additional listens to absorb it all.

Tom Weiner is perfect for this type of a book as he reads as one would expect an "expert" in this field might read.

A great book that I will definitely listen to again.

19 people found this helpful

Not the book I thought it would be

This Book seems to be more of a comparison between capitalism and other economic systems. I get it, I agree capitalism is a great system. I don’t need something that is borderline propaganda for it. I wanted something that would help me better understand micro/macro economics better. Not how I could have more mental ammo against a communist in an argument. I think the results speak for themselves in that case. This book was not for me.

32 people found this helpful