![]() ![]() First written in 1946, this text also has staying power, another boon. Most of the other presidents were in cahoots with the ultra rich, who will never be satisfied until they own every crumb of the economic pie. Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson ( view at Amazon) earned the best overall spot in part for its comprehensive take on basic economic theory, the intersection of the government and economics, and its anti-deficit position. The exceptions are Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Eisenhower, and Bill Clinton. Most presidents receive a failing grade from Goodwin. Since I'm basically a democrat (with a civil libertarian streak), I agreed with Goodwin's interpretations of historical events of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries - the Industrial Revolution, the rise of the robber barons, World War I, the Russian Revolution, the Roaring 20s, the Great Depression, World War II, the permanent war economy, Reagan's disastrous reign, Alan Greenspan's creepy machinations, and George Bush Junior's wholesale looting of the economy by giving tax cuts to the rich (which doesn't work). It becomes clear early on that Goodwin thinks laissez-faire capitalism leads to problems (like private affluence and public squalor) and that he favors a mixed economy (free enterprise combined with socialism). ![]() Markets won't enforce laws, protect borders, or provide public goods, such as street cleaning, that everyone wants but nobody has much incentive to provide.įor that matter, Smith thought government should favor war–related industries so they would be around if war came, protect wage workers (because they had less bargaining power than employers), keep banks honest, issue patents, protect new industries until they were on their feet, cap the interest rate, control disease, establish education standards (so brain–dead jobs like the one in the pin workshop didn't turn workers into brain–dead people), and even provide public amusements. From the book:Īdam Smith was never dogmatic he knew markets weren't perfect. He believed that monopolies and cartels will always try to escape the market and undermine public interest by tricking and corrupting the government into doing favors for them. I've often heard people cite Smith's Invisible Hand as the reason why a laissez-faire free market is the best economic policy, but Smith actually warned that free markets were vulnerable. It then spends some time examining Adam Smith's revolutionary book, Wealth of Nations. The first 20 pages or so are about the early history of economic policy (Jean-Baptiste's mercantilism and Francois Quesnay's laissez-faire ideas). Burr's appealing illustrations add punch, humor, and clarity to Goodwin's already-excellent storytelling skills. Told as a history, it ties important world events (wars, revolutions, technological progress, resource depletion, pollution, etc.) to their economic consequences, and explains the far-reaching (and often unintended effects) of economic policy decisions on people and the planet. Both McCloud and Gonick came to mind when I read Economix: How Our Economy Works (and Doesn't Work), by Michael Goodwin and illustrated by Dan E. ![]()
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