Basic Economics

De: Clarence B. Carson

Narrado por: Christopher Hurt

This sound primer of basic economics tells all you ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask about money, the market, prices, monopoly, competition, land, labor, capital, entrepreneurs, the Federal Reserve, and the distribution of wealth. For those desiring to educate themselves in economic principles, Carson will give you the tools to debate the warmed-over socialism presented by today’s media.

Carson defines and describes all of the major politico-economic systems of the past one thousand years. Feudalism, mercantilism, free enterprise, capitalism, welfarism, and communism are each allotted a chapter in the concluding section. The basics are all covered in clear, plain English, and Carson makes sure to keep his subject interesting.

©1988 Clarence B. Carson (P)1989 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Clarence B. Carson has made economics readable for the layman. In his latest book, Basic Economics, Carson does what he does best; he draws on his extensive knowledge of history and free market economic theory to lead his readers carefully through the intricacies and fallacies of economic thought.”

“As narrator, Hurt has a pleasant vocal quality…He succeeds by making the most of his instrument and treating the book almost as if it were a musical score written within that range.”

beyond the band of brothers

a wonderful and educational look at the group of men that winters was with in WWII. I went and bought the PBS series to watch again. A great read and great narrator. highly recommend this. will do Ambrose's book again now.

required reading

This book should be required reading in every high school in the country. It explains very simply why a market economy is the most efficient and thus delivers the highest standard of living for its participants. It points out where much that passes as common knowledge is wrong and why. Even those of us in the business world start to believe some of the common statements in the media about economics as we all here them day in and day out. It was nice to feel grounded again to be reminded how and why the system works and what happens when government tries to circumvent the market. Read it then give it to your kids.

Meh.

the problem is not in praising free markets and pointing out historical examples of folly in efforts to control them.

the issue is that in tone, the book regards military spending as the only valid use of discretionary resources. Military applications of scarce resources too can be tremendously wasteful. While it makes mention of this in terms of subsidies, not so in terms of direct military spending...

This feels to some extent like economic punditry. Several examples given with the intent to discredit the views of political observers in the past seem to have backfired with regard to the commentary here; most notably comments related to the California energy crises in the 2000s and the supposed always mutually beneficial long term effects of trade policies.

Time has not been as kind as it might have been. There are other problems herein, but there also useful information as well. As with all things, think for yourself and examine closely.

Good description and defense of capitalism

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

Very well thought out, rationale, and flows well. The author describes basic concepts of economics and why capitalism with whatever flaws it has is better inevitably than any type of central planning.

Basically, the freedom of the individual to act on that individual's values to accrue as much "good" as the individual can allows capitalism to fulfill the most needs most efficiently. When a single person or government tries to plan for millions of people, even if that entity is completely free of corruption, the amount of data that needs to be processed is overwhelming, and resources are wasted because the central planner is unable to respond quickly to changing needs/supplies/events.

Sometimes the book is repitative in making a point, unnecessarily drawing out an example or making the same example at multiple times throughout the book. It could be edited to be cleaner and more concise without giving up any of it's substance.

The book is great, I highly recommend it for anyone interested in a clear overview of economics.

Real World 101

Excellent overview of economics accessible to anybody, clearly explains why individualism and a free market economy are the foundations of a prosperous society and what happens when you mess with it.