"Economics is haunted by more fallacies than any other study
known to man." -- Henry Hazlitt, Economics in One Lesson
1946
Every day economic claims are used by the media or in
conversation to support social and political positions. Those on
the left tend to distrust economists, seeing them as friends of the
right. There is something to this, since professional economists
are almost all keen supporters of the free market. Yet while
factions on the right naturally embrace economists, they also tend
to overestimate the effect of their support on free-market
policies. The result is widespread confusion. In fact, virtually
all commonly held beliefs about economics--whether espoused by
political activists, politicians, journalists or taxpayers--are
just plain wrong.
Professor Joseph Heath wants to raise our economic literacy
and empower us with new ideas. In Economics Without
Illusions, he draws on everyday examples to skewer the six
favourite economic fallacies of the right, followed by impaling the
six favourite fallacies of the left. Heath leaves no sacred cows
untipped as he breaks down complex arguments and shows how the
world really works. The popularity of such books as Freakonomics
and Predictably Irrational demonstrates that people want a better
understanding of the financial forces that affect them.
Highly readable, cogently argued and certain to raise ire along all
points of the socio-political spectrum, Economics Without
Illusions offers readers the economic literacy they need to
genuinely understand and critique the pros and cons of
capitalism.
關於作者:
JOSEPH HEATH is an associate professor at the University of
Toronto, where he teaches in the Department of Philosophy and the
School of Public Policy and Governance. He is the
author of three previousbooks: Nation of Rebels: Why Counterculture
Became Consumer Culture with Andrew Potter; Communicative Action
and Rational Choice, which won the Canadian Philosophical
Association Book Prize for 2003; and The Efficient Society, a
Maclean''s and Globe and Mail bestseller selected by the Globe as
one of the best books of 2001. He writes a monthly column for the
journal Policy Options and is a frequent contributor to The
Montreal Gazette.