Economics in One Lesson Paperback – 20 May 2010

I read this very quickly and enjoyed almost all of it, the only exception was some areas that were a bit repetitive as similar examples were given of the same point. The key lesson though being that economic policies are often designed for the group most immediately affected, but ignore the long-term, secondary and tertiary effects on everyone else. Some great examples of this are then given. It's also all written in an engaging and enthusiastic style, making it easy to read even for the non-expert.One point just to make though is that despite the title this is not an introduction to economics for a beginner. Instead this is a summary of his frustrations with common economic proposals, so it's easier to read if you already have some economics under your belt.Finally I'd mention that the author has some clear ideological views that he tries to push. A lot of this is because he repeatedly refutes arguments because they result in an inefficient economy, taking the view that a perfect world is one where every task is done by the person/country/company that can do that task most efficiently in terms of least capital, resources and personnel. This ignores two key points. Firstly, systems often have to sacrifice efficiency for robustness, and sometimes having inefficient local production subsidised in some way is useful as it is insurance against supply disruption. The other point is that at no point does he mention inequality as a factor. I'd think that there are many trade-offs where aggregate human happiness is greater with a smaller pie, more evenly shared, than a larger pie unequally divided.Overall though a good book, and a nice quick read. Whether you think government involvement in the economy should be increased or reduced this is a good book to read, making the argument for limited government involvement in the economy clearly and concisely, against which the reader can form their own view.

I would recommend this book for everyone who is really interested in economy.I choose this rating because it explains the idea of `free market` which is in this case an economy in which government and bureaucrats creating it make as little amount of regulations as possible. In the beginning of the book author says that it is his intention to convey his message to as wide number of people as possible. That is why he decided to use every-day language in its simplest form. I think that he menage to do it. Thanks to the simplicity of the language I could understand his lesson.In this book he gives numerous examples in which he shows government attempt to regulate an economy in the name of ..., to make it better and to improve the wellbeing of some groups of interest. He shows how those acts and policies often have unintended consequences which in many cases have derogatory effects on economy as a whole. He reminds as that as with many things there are two sides of the story, one negative and one positive.If you read it then you will be able to notice deceptions and illusions which are created intentionally or not by bureaucrats and politicians and other economist.It is a small refreshing book. In the end of the book you will be rewarded with a nice list of books to read.Everyone can read it, and that is what makes this book amazing. It was pleasure to read it because.If there is a common sense then this book is full of it. You will be surprised how insightful his observations are, just enough to convey the idea without loosing someone in detail.Someone in reviews wrote that this book is not about economics. That person is wrong. It`s all about economics. It is about the world in which we live and our cooperation with each other in it. It shows how that cooperation can improve our lives or not, and what has positive or negative impact on it.

I'm not an economist. This book explains much of why our societies are going the way they are and I appreciate it very much. I gave it 4 rather than 5 stars because like most economists the writer gives too little attention in my view to the role of cheap excess energy since WWIIBut well worth the money!

This is a very readable book, written without jargon. Mr Hazlitt argues against some popular beliefs about the benefit of government interventions (e.g. public spending, price-fixing, credit guarantees, export-subsidies, import-tariffs) as means of job-creation or job-protection. He considers the unseen people who pay for the interventions. The unseen people pay directly e.g. via taxes or higher prices, and indirectly by not getting what the money would otherwise have been spent on, and by having fewer choices. The interventions appear to work because their targeted, immediate beneficiaries do benefit in the short term. But the community as a whole is worse off in the long term. The long term cannot be flippantly dismissed because we are all now living in what was once someone else's long term.Mr Hazlitt accepts that economics is "hounded by fallacies" because of the "special pleading of selfish interests". Despite the abuse flung around by their spokespeople, these selfish interests cannot be isolated as pariah groups, because "each one of us has a multiple economic personality". We are both producer and consumer and tax payer. But even if your personalities have already settled on a view, then this book will help you. If you like big government it will give you a clear target to aim at. If you like small government, it will help you state your case.The book was first published in 1946 at the start of an exponential rise in population and consumption. It does not address current issues like pollution, which, ironically, is something else that affects those who aren't immediate beneficiaries of a transaction. The 1946 edition is online at [...]If you like this book, you may also like "Attacking faulty reasoning" and "The Richest Man in Babylon".