5 Thomas Sowell Books You Should Read - The Avid Reader

[@assomeoneelse2275]

Cool

[@azmamhussain3074]

Thanks a lot for the recommendation of Thomas Sowell's book. Actually, he is one of my favourite writers. You are really helping the readers. keep it up!

[@TheAvidReaderBookReviews]

Thanks. Will do! He is my favourite non-fiction writer so I do expect that I will review more of his books.

[@azmamhussain3074]

@@TheAvidReaderBookReviews William, Would you like to tell me about how the economic system runs at the international level and national levels? I mean some key points to understand easily the whole system of the economy.Please

[@TheAvidReaderBookReviews]

Alright. On the international level, the more free trade that is permitted, the more things are produced where it is most efficient with each country producing what it is relatively best at (comparative advantage). As tariffs and state subsidies exist, markets are distorted with resources misallocated to be produced at more inefficient place (e.g., US sugar price controls leads to sugar being produced in Florida when it could be far cheaper to produce it in the Caribbean). As energy is crucial to all economies nowadays to keep technology online (e.g., electricity grids, smartphones, etc.) fossil fuels are a key resource in trade that almost all countries rely on. Energy-rich regimes have leverage in international relations, with OPEC countries artificially keeping prices high to power their economies so much that in several countries (such as Saudi Arabia) the native population barely has to do any real work and just imports foreign labourers with their oil money to do it for them. As inequality exists everywhere in everything, this also applies to various resources, with for example shale being concentrated in the United States, Diamonds being concentrated in Southern Africa and a lot of food being produced in Russia and Ukraine. Things like the Russian invasion of Ukraine creates sanctions which decreases supply which lead to increased prices, which has decreased living standards in Europe. Very few countries are self-sufficient which means that most countries are dependent on trade and would starve if they stopped importing and exporting (which is especially the case in some poorer countries in Africa that have precipitously reduced absolute poverty recently but could easily retrogress if deglobalisation happened too much). Covid lockdowns reduced trade which led to a worldwide recession. On the national level, the more the government spends, the less resources are being allocated were they are most demanded leading to lower real wages for average people on most products. Regulations often restrict the flexibility of the economy leading to higher prices and shortages for consumers and less production in the economy overall while also making it less competitive. As governments often tend to favour their nation-based industries over multinational corporations they often give local producers subsidies and raise tariffs on imports, reducing competition and creating monopolies (which is why for example Samsung itself makes up about a fifth of the South Korean economy). Government taxes and spending redistributes resources from taxpayers and consumers to special interest groups such as pensioners and bureaucrats and on their own pet projects (e.g., green energy). Price incentives are a firm law of economics, so any meddling of the government in them will create an unintended consequence, probably benefitting a minority of people in the short-run at the cost of the majority in the long-run. Because government spending often exceed tax receipts and it needs more money to pay for its budget, the government either has to expand the money supply through central banking (which results in inflation which is a de facto tax on consumers) or borrow money through issuing bonds, taking on debt. Both these options reduce the purchasing power of consumers in the long run. There are many, many aspects to understanding how the economic system runs but that is a brief summary of some of its important aspects according to a neoclassical/geopolitical perspective.

[@azmamhussain3074]

@@TheAvidReaderBookReviews Thank you so much, William 🤗😇🌼

[@azmamhussain3074]

@@TheAvidReaderBookReviews William, would you like to tell me about the cold war era?(Its reason and impact on world.) I will be very grateful to you.

[@DesertThunderDownUnder]

Awesome suggestions of Thomas Sowell, already I’m hooked. Thank you 🫡🇦🇺📚

[@dberdes]

I read the first edition of Basic Economics back in the 1990’s. I could not put it down. A real page-turner.

[@assomeoneelse2275]

I reviewed a few of his books as well

[@TheAvidReaderBookReviews]

Cool. I’ll check out one of your reviews of him then.

[@user-xf9hz4iz1k]

This is a rare and valuable form on FB: a quick synopsis covering a wide range.

[@kigormley]

Thanks

[@TheAvidReaderBookReviews]

You are welcome

[@davidrandell2224]

1:”The Final Theory: Rethinking Our Scientific Legacy “, Mark McCutcheon for proper physics including the CAUSE of gravity, electricity, magnetism, light and well... everything. 2: “The Unique and Its Property “, Max Stirner,1844/2017 Landstreicher translation. 3: “The Bible Came from Arabia “, Kamal Salibi,1985, plus his 3 other bible study books and blog for facts not fantasies. 4: “No Treason: the Constitution of No Authority,1,2 and 6”, Lysander Spooner,1867-1870. Without such life is so trivial.

[@jannetteberends8730]

Just read a normal basic economics book first, so you understand why Sowell is not the one to learn economics from.

[@TheAvidReaderBookReviews]

@@jannetteberends8730 What would you suggest as a normal basic economics book?

[@jannetteberends8730]

@ is economics a subject in high schools? Then any high school book is a good start. Otherwise ask a university what they use. You need to start with an unbiased book. Sowell isn’t unbiased.

[@TheAvidReaderBookReviews]

@jannetteberends8730 I have done economics in high school (the economics teacher I had knew of Thomas Sowell and respected him). There are many elements of Sowell's book "Basic Economics" that overlap with the neoclassical perspective we learned during high school (not the only perspective we learned in econ class but the one the resonated with me most). Is Basic Economics biased towards free markets? Sure. That does not make him wrong. His work on price controls for example would be taken for granted in most beginner econ classes. Should one read left-wing equivalent to Sowell's books? Sure. But for laymen who want to bypass the math jargon in economics Sowell is a godsend (especially for those who lean towards the neoclassical or Austrian schools of economics). Sowell is the economist equivalent of a popular historian. If you want to become a professional economist or work in something related to economics then reading Sowell of course is not enough. But he should not be ignored either (so many things that are regularly asserted in the media have been debunked by him countless times).

[@kimobrien.]

@@TheAvidReaderBookReviews Sowell runs a coverup for capitalist exploitation as he never discusses what makes the capitalist era different from previous societies or seriously examines the issues of war and peace.

[@TheAvidReaderBookReviews]

@kimobrien Sowell’s has one chapter dedicated to war in his book Intellectuals and Society. He has also talked in other books about how the capitalist class has historically been antiwar (such as world war 1 being bad for business since it stops trade).

[@judihaynesworth]

Sorry,D! I not interested in any of that! That's a lot of "new age,socialism stuff! No thanks! Blessings

[@eletonjohns8361]

WHY??? He’s a Fraud Too!

[@TheAvidReaderBookReviews]

@@eletonjohns8361 How is he a fraud?

[@eletonjohns8361]

Because he’s a WANNABE! He can fool some of the People, Some of The Time. But, not All The People All The Time. He Can fool You, But, Not Me. I been Around. You know!