This is one the the most important books I have ever read. It is clear, concise, and very pertinent to modern day politics and public policy. It explains economic thinking without any of the math. What this book will give you is a understanding of how to use scarce resources that have alternative uses within an economy. This book scrutinizes policies that are meant to help people, but actually do more damage than good such as rent control, education subsidies, minimum wages, social security, "free" health care, and much more. This book or books like it should be required reading for all college students to inform voters of the dangers of bad policy which masquerade as some type of saving ordinance.

Fascinating, edifying, accessible, and insightful. An invaluable book for understanding an important topic. Everyone who intends voting ought to read this book so that they understand economic issues.

Basic (free-market) economics.

A very compelling argument for a free-market economy.

"Nothing is easier to proclaim than a wonderful goal"
"Much confusion comes from judging economic policies by the goals they proclaim rather than the incentives they create." and by extension, the results they achieve.

This overarching idea, along with numerous examples from history of how government intervention in the economy has almost always led to worse overall outcomes were two strong messages that I took away from this book. I was very disheartened by the discussions in the book about economic decisions made by politicians, which ties right back to the first quote above. Politicians get elected by the great sounding programs they propose and support, and when those programs either fail in their aims or have entirely the opposite result as the stated goal, the collective memory is not long enough that it makes any difference, so we end up with more and more programs that help special interest groups (like farm subsidies) to the detriment of the country's consumers as a whole. Not enough people in the country have enough knowledge of economics to allow a person to be elected on sound economic principles because they are attacked mercilessly as pandering to the rich and haters of the poor.

The most often repeated idea in the book is that the entire scope of economics is about allocating scarce resources with alternative uses. Centuries of experience has shown that free market economics is consistently the best way to allocate resources in a way that most efficiently meets the needs of the people. Government intervention in the form minimum wage laws, pricing limits, import tariffs, rent control, punishment for predatory pricing, etc. always ends up harming more people than it hurts. I will not attempt to explain it all here, but the author does a great job in the book.

I would recommend this introduction to anyone who wants to learn the basics of economics in order to be a better informed citizen. It doesn't use technical jargon, but outlines basic principles clearly and in plain language, without graphs or equations, using real life examples. Sowell is obviously annoyed by the general ignorance of economics experienced by your average person, particularly by journalists and even politicians, and he sets out to make the basics clear. The basic principles he outlines are true of any economy--whether capitalist, socialist, communist, or mixed—but he also goes on to show how specific economic policies work (or don't work) in specific contexts. Most importantly, he encourages "the reader to look at economic policies and economic systems in terms of the incentives they create, rather than simply the goals that they proclaim. This means that consequences matter more than intentions—and not just the immediate consequences. The longer run repercussions of any economic policy need to be considered by the public, especially because so many public officials may not look beyond the next election." He shows how politicians may pursue economically counterproductive policies to gain the votes of two separate groups of people, and he shows how government economic policy can breed shortages, increase the cost of oil and food, and cause the quality of products to decline.

This served as a good refresher for me as someone who majored in economics and reads books dealing with economics but who has not taken a class in the subject in years. It is certainly the most readable yet thorough introduction to Economics I have encountered.

Don't fall in the trap[ of the title the book is n0t basic. The book deals with economic problems without any graphs and statistics that's why the author has coined the term Basic Economics. The book is a general treatise on economics phenomenon that happens around us.
It provides a rudimentary knowledge about economics. It talks about the central problems of economics and some other basic understandings. The book is useful for those who want to step in the world of economics where they will have to face the complexity.

It was a while since I read a book with si much insight. You can listen to a simple, plain English sentence, that will completely change your views on important and complex subjects. Rough paraphrases ahead:

"There are no sollutions, just tradeoffs. If you do not see that, the decision is probably made by someone else for you."

"It is useless to look at an intend of a policy. The only important thing is, what insentives it creates."

Basic Economics is a introduction to economic principles, written in a clear and easy to understand style without relying on complex jargon. The book covers fundamental topics like supply and demand, price controls, international trade, and government intervention, all while using real-world examples to illustrate key concepts.

One of the book’s core arguments is that many economic fallacies stem from a lack of understanding of incentives and unintended consequences. Sowell emphasizes how free markets, when left to function with minimal interference, tend to allocate resources more efficiently than centralized planning. He critiques policies like rent control, minimum wage laws, and excessive government regulation, showing how they often produce the opposite of their intended effects.

A major highlight of Basic Economics is its historical approach. Sowell frequently references economic trends across different countries and time periods, illustrating how certain policies have consistently led to prosperity or stagnation. He argues that economic realities do not change based on political ideologies or good intentions—prosperity follows when people and businesses are free to operate in an environment of competition and price signals.

I find it amusing that after engaging with Sowell’s work—and economic history in general—tends to challenge left-leaning economic assumptions. The more one studies the consequences of government intervention and wealth redistribution, the more they tend to lean toward free-market principles, which are often associated with right-wing economic thought. This shift is not necessarily ideological but rather a response to historical patterns showing that market economies tend to produce more innovation, wealth, and overall well-being than centrally controlled ones.

An excellent book that should be read by everyone. I don't give 5 star ratings to most books, and while this is no phenomenal work of literature, it is none the less a very readable book on economics (not an easy task), and it does a great job explaining the basic principles of economics in a very friendly way. Given the great number of fallacies, and the ever-present misuse/abuse of basic economics by politicians and the media both, the book deserves a prime place in anyone's library... Its good enough that I'm actually starting the author's (other) books on economics as well.

Should be required reading for everyone especially anyone who holds public office.

Too much to easily encapsulate a review. The author tries hard to be as non-biased and nondogmatic as possible, and I think largely succeeds. Regardless of one’s ideological preconceptions, the book should help anyone open-minded be more skeptical about politicians of any brand claiming they can ‘fix’ the economy, if only they had more power, and enable readers to cut through rhetoric to make wiser choices. Highly recommended.

I wish economics was taught in school. You could incorporate it in to both history and math classes and it would give people a good foundation for being able to analyze trade offs and think through consequences.

Sowell's book in many ways is just common sense, but I think that's partly because thinking about the world in economic terms comes fairly naturally to me/was developed in me early thanks to my dad. I'll never forget when I was only about 7 and had a great solution to all the world's problems and excitedly told him about it. He took the time to explain to me that someone had already thought up my idea and it was called communism and why it doesn't work. I became a libertarian that day and haven't looked back. :)

Of course, just having everyone learn economics doesn't mean we'd all agree or there wouldn't be competing schools of thought within economics. But I do think it would people be able to think through the consequences of a policy or idea past the initial change they are hoping for.

For example, it's easy to say that anyone who needs medical attention should be able to go to the ER and get care. But what about when the ER is backed up with people seeking treatment for nonemergency issues cause someone to die of a heart attack while waiting on a doctor? I know that's a rather simple example and we will never all agree on how to solve it but economics gives us a foundation for evaluating the costs and benefits of actions.

This book provides very clear explanations and examples on a wide range of topics such as profits, productivity and pay, investments, minimum wage, banking system, the role of government, etc. I especially learned from the sections on international trade, transfers of wealth and disparities in wealth.

I highly recommend this and will definitely pick up some of his other books.