Just as we can look back, today, at economic failures and fallacies of the past, so too will those of the future look back at the economic policies (and much else for that matter) of today and see great flaws. While I understand that this is an introductory book, and thus should not go into too much detail critiquing modern-day economic policy, I wish I at least could have gathered the sense that the author realized there are many flaws with today's mainstream economic policies. Unfortunately, I think he finds little flaw in many of the popular policies and ideas of our day that (I believe) will surely be looked at more critically in the future.
As an example, I found it especially annoying that the author kept bringing up Bill Gates, once even making the argument that we're all better off because of this man. The great irony in this is that, not only does Microsoft make money by selling something non-scarce, they've been known to use dirty, anti-competitive tactics time and time again. It's not hard to imagine how this combination can make someone rich -- at the expense of others! The author obviously has no idea that there are alternatives to this model of "proprietary software", and I'm sure many would argue, alongside me, that we'd all be better off if Microsoft never did come to power, and the open, non-proprietary model (of creating software) produced the first mainstream desktop operating system.
And whether that comment about George W. Bush being a mature world leader was made in seriousness or not... Well, the author being an economist, I would think he'd at least make mention of the outrageous deficit spending of the U.S. government.
For a more honest introduction to economics, and a critical look at many of our modern-day economic fallacies, try reading [[ASIN:0517548232 Economics in One Lesson]]. Economics in One Lesson doesn't have as much of the humor of Naked Economics (which isn't really funny, but makes for lighter reading), but at least it uses good logic and examples for its arguments. (Naked Economics leaves out sound arguments in many cases.)
And for some insight into the great flaws with the monetary policy of most governments in the world today, try something [[ASIN:0945466447 like this]]. |
Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science Books In Print, Audio Books.