Economics in One Lesson
Encyclopedia
Economics in One Lesson is an introduction to free market
economics
written by Henry Hazlitt
and published in 1946, based on Frédéric Bastiat
's essay (English: "What is Seen and What is Not Seen").
The "One Lesson" is stated in Part One of the book:
Part Two consists of twenty-four chapters, each demonstrating the lesson by tracing the effects of one common economic belief, and showing that common economic belief to be a fallacy
.
Among its policy recommendations are the advocacy of free trade
, an opposition to any and all price controls
, an opposition to monetary inflation
, and an opposition to "stimulative" governmental expenditures
:
In a paperback edition in 1961, a new chapter was added on rent control
, which had not been specifically considered in the first edition apart from government price-fixing in general. A few statistics and illustrative references were brought up to date.
In 1978, a new edition was released. In addition to bringing all illustrations and statistics up to date, an entirely new chapter on rent control replaced the previous one of 1961, and a final new chapter, "The Lesson After Thirty Years," was added.
The 50th Anniversary edition came out in 1996 from Fox & Wilkes
in paperback (ISBN 0930073193) and hardback (ISBN 0930073207)
The Madrid-based Spanish publishing house Unión Editorial, which traditionally publishes books in Spanish language
in defense of market economy and liberalism
, released La Economía en una lección in 1981, 1996 and 2005.
A German edition, titled , was first release in 1983 by Poller in Stuttgart
. In May 2009, it was reprinted by Olzog.
Called Hazlitt's "most enduring contribution," the book has sold nearly one million copies and is available in at least ten languages.
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
written by Henry Hazlitt
Henry Hazlitt
Henry Stuart Hazlitt was an American economist, philosopher, literary critic and journalist for such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, The American Mercury, Newsweek, and The New York Times...
and published in 1946, based on Frédéric Bastiat
Frédéric Bastiat
Claude Frédéric Bastiat was a French classical liberal theorist, political economist, and member of the French assembly. He was notable for developing the important economic concept of opportunity cost.-Biography:...
's essay (English: "What is Seen and What is Not Seen").
The "One Lesson" is stated in Part One of the book:
Part Two consists of twenty-four chapters, each demonstrating the lesson by tracing the effects of one common economic belief, and showing that common economic belief to be a fallacy
Parable of the broken window
The parable of the broken window was introduced by Frédéric Bastiat in his 1850 essay to illustrate why destruction, and the money spent to recover from destruction, is actually not a net-benefit to society...
.
Among its policy recommendations are the advocacy of free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
, an opposition to any and all price controls
Price controls
Price controls are governmental impositions on the prices charged for goods and services in a market, usually intended to maintain the affordability of staple foods and goods, and to prevent price gouging during shortages, or, alternatively, to insure an income for providers of certain goods...
, an opposition to monetary inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
, and an opposition to "stimulative" governmental expenditures
Fiscal policy
In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government expenditure and revenue collection to influence the economy....
:
In a paperback edition in 1961, a new chapter was added on rent control
Rent control
Rent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing. It functions as a price ceiling.Rent control exists in approximately 40 countries around the world...
, which had not been specifically considered in the first edition apart from government price-fixing in general. A few statistics and illustrative references were brought up to date.
In 1978, a new edition was released. In addition to bringing all illustrations and statistics up to date, an entirely new chapter on rent control replaced the previous one of 1961, and a final new chapter, "The Lesson After Thirty Years," was added.
The 50th Anniversary edition came out in 1996 from Fox & Wilkes
Laissez Faire Books
Laissez Faire Books is an online bookseller that was originally based in New York City when it first opened in 1972. The bookstore's ownership was transferred to the International Society for Individual Liberty in November 2007...
in paperback (ISBN 0930073193) and hardback (ISBN 0930073207)
The Madrid-based Spanish publishing house Unión Editorial, which traditionally publishes books in Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
in defense of market economy and liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, released La Economía en una lección in 1981, 1996 and 2005.
A German edition, titled , was first release in 1983 by Poller in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. In May 2009, it was reprinted by Olzog.
Called Hazlitt's "most enduring contribution," the book has sold nearly one million copies and is available in at least ten languages.
The contents of the fiftieth anniversary edition
- A Foreword by Steve ForbesSteve ForbesMalcolm Stevenson "Steve" Forbes, Jr. is an American editor, publisher, and businessman. He is the editor-in-chief of business magazine Forbes as well as president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes Inc. He was a Republican candidate in the U.S. Presidential primaries in 1996...
- Part One: The Lesson
- Part Two: The Lesson Applied
- The Broken Window
- The Blessings of Destruction
- Public Works Mean Taxes
- Taxes Discourage Production
- Credit Diverts Production
- The Curse of Machinery
- Spread-the-Work Schemes
- Disbanding Troops and Bureaucrats
- The Fetish of Full Employment
- Who's "Protected" by Tariffs?
- The Drive for Exports
- "Parity" Prices
- Saving the X Industry
- How the Price System Works
- "Stabilizing" Commodities
- Government Price-Fixing
- What Rent Control Does
- Minimum Wage Laws
- Do Unions Really Raise Wages?
- "Enough to Buy Back the Product"
- The Function of Profits
- The Mirage of Inflation
- The Assault on Savings
- The Lesson Restated
- Part Three: The Lesson After Thirty Years
External links
- The Foundation for Economic Education (pdf)
- Three Rivers Press, publisher of Economics in One Lesson
- Unión Editorial, publisher of the Spanish translation
- Economics in One Lesson (High quality PDF version) http://mises.org/books/economics_in_one_lesson_hazlitt.pdf
- Economics in One Lesson (PDF version) http://prawo.uni.wroc.pl/~kwasnicki/EkonLit/Economics%20In%20One%20Lesson.pdf
- Online HTML version (html)