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Economic Facts and Fallacies
- Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
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Economic Facts and Fallacies
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Publisher's Summary
While all of these fallacies have a certain plausibility that gives them their staying power, this makes it even more important to carefully examine their flaws. Sowell holds these beliefs under the microscope and draws conclusions that are sure to inspire rigorous debate.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2017-10-30
Every person needs to hear this
If people of all walks of life took the opportunity to read or listen to this book - debates surrounding public policy and economy could much more effectively address problems. Political Correctness has been the ideology to follow and has led to the problems being unresolved for decades. If Political Correctness continues to be followed, those problems will drag on for decades yet.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous
- 2023-07-03
Necessary for unbiased study
I am not always agree with writer with my limited knowledge , but I really enjoy his vast knowledge and great addition to all aspects of Economy.
Entire book is great reading and deeply informative but the section I was connected the most was the section of the book which was referring to Fallacies in Universities and the way current system have been set up in favor of some professors and colleges at cost of others.
Thanks for another great book. Whoever wants to add to his or her knowledge, this is another great book which is must read and have to analyze impartially.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Peter S Teitelbaum
- 2022-12-18
A poke in the eye
Throughout the book I thought: “People, myself included, don’t think or see beyond their noses compared to what I’m hearing. We’re oblivious and quite satisfied with that.” Thomas Sowell’s active way of thinking is an inspiration.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Curtis Scoville, G7 Wealth Coach
- 2022-09-24
Essential Economic Wisdom
This is essential reading for everyone striving to go beyond economic knowledge to achieve some measure of wisdom and respect for truth.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rodney B.
- 2022-05-13
needs to be read by everyone
many things are believed by people who are unfamiliar with the facts and ideas that are presented in this book. believing and ordering our lives around fallacies is one of the reasons many of us are not able to rise above our situation. moreover we end up believing things about others that are not true. we all need to be reading books like this. education is not just reading books a reading the right kind of books with full and correct information
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2022-01-02
Easy to understand and well read
No one can listen to this book without having serious doubts about what we are told by so-called experts.
A truly eye opening and well written collection of facts and explanations.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Reviewer
- 2021-10-27
Clear minded, realistic and truthful
Thomas Sowell isn't afraid to expose the world of illusion we create for ourselves simply because we want things to be a certain way contrary to reality.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- RobKYEG
- 2018-09-04
Formidable
Here Thomas Sowell challenges deeply ingrained notions about the world today, as usual, with evidence.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 2008-05-08
Good with salt...
Although another reviewer points out, correctly, that the author's biases come across from start to finish, nevertheless this volume was quite interesting and informative, and well worth the time. Responsible, educated Americans are exposed to a constant barrage of statistics from all points of the political compass. This book is one attempt at encouraging a questioning of the underpinnings of any statistical factoids. For example, everyone has heard the statistic that women make only 75 cents for every dollar men make. I think most reasonable people suspect sexual prejudice is part of this difference, but also suspect there may be more to it than just prejudice. Sowell points out weaknesses of this factoid - including an analysis of subgroups of women and men that are most similar (adult, never married, no children) - in this subgroup women make substantially more than men. Although I do not agree with many of the author's political beliefs - I think anyone who wants to understand the danger of statistical factoids should take a listen (but keep a good supply of grains of salt handy).
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57 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Donald
- 2010-09-10
Not for closed minds
If you have an open mind, then this book is for you. It will confirm many of your beliefs and possibility challenge some others. But be forewarned, this book covers such as wide variety of topics that there is a good chance that you will find yourself on the wrong side of at least one good argument. What matters most is that you grow from the experience.
The book covers a number of topics. These include rush hour traffic, real estate prices in California, CEO pay, college personnel pay, pay by gender, crime in cities, urban slums, slavery outside North America, foreign aid, third world countries, and discrimination. Usually a chapter is devoted to a topic. Each topic contains many questions. Supporting information comes from history, census data, and other economic sources. For example, the lives of the Indians changed when the European settlers brought horses to North America.
Since 2008, many economic facts still ring true. In August, 2010, Beijing has a ten day traffic jam. California real estate prices are still high. CEOs still get paid a lot. The earthquake in Haiti reveals a poor government. Nigeria does not protect its oil industry. The nationalization of the oil and gas industry does not make a country rich.
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36 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2008-07-07
Best analysis I've read of Economic issues
This book debunks a lot of "studies" that find discrimination by linking it all to various statistical slights of hand. Professor Sowell goes indepth with his explanations of various cultural arguments. Warning, may persaude more liberal readers that their die-hard beliefs are wrong through the application of variables such as education and working hours to disprove many racial and sexist arguments made about our current times.
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31 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- DG
- 2009-07-02
Everything everyone needs to know about economics
This book will force you to think through the economic dogma you have been fed all your life. Much of what you thought you knew, you will realize, was indeed fallacious.
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17 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- NY2NPL
- 2008-05-03
No Facts just the author's Fallacies
The author's prejudices come across from the start and continue throughout his rants in subsequent chapters. Don't waste your time.
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15 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Jared
- 2010-12-17
If you don't know anything about economics, maybe
Claiming to be unbiased, this book has a very Neo-Conservative slant. If you know very little about Economics, you'll probably learn something, but you may also find that you see no point in sensible ideas like, say, the EPA--or parks! For instance, in presenting the way government policies effect rents (housing prices), Sowell presents that because such "planning" that mandates parks reduces land and thus raises prices, this (city "planning") is a bad thing. Similarly, because government market regulation reduces the set of viable trades (ie, if government says you can't sell your child's organs, your financial fortunes are thus 'limited') then this, also, is a bad thing and, to this author, an argument on first principles for a Laissez Faire government. Yes, this really is the kind of stupidity you can expect here.
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11 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- rob
- 2010-08-17
Brilliant
Economics explained in such an easy to understand narrative. This should be required reading in every high school.
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11 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- John
- 2009-12-05
Great Book by Great Thinker
The theme could be that it is not the things you don't know that create most problems, but the things you think you know but are false that create the real problems.
Dr. Sowell explains the common fallacies that undermine our thinking.
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11 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Luiz Pereda
- 2017-10-23
Great info, clarifying economics
Lots if numbers, statistics and counter intuitive facts that deeply challenges conventional wisdom found on every newsroom all over the planet. I've learned a great amount of examples and finished with that feeling we've been sorrounded by idiots. Great audio, but I would rather suggest to get the printed version, partly because all the data included in the text. It maybe hard to remember all that info without a pencil to take notes.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jim Fuqua
- 2014-10-17
An Excellent Book
One characteristic of Thomas Sowell's books, but not necessarily his newspaper columns, is extreme caution and carefulness to say little that cannot be proven by irrefutable supporting data cited in copious footnotes and end notes. This book follows that pattern.
It is true that he is conservative but he tries to be objective and accurate in his observations.
His conservatism comes from his life experience. He grew up in Harlem. Dropped out of high school and was a Marine in the Korean War. He returned from the war, got an undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard, a master's degree from Columbia and a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago where some of the conservatism of Milton Friedman undoubtedly influenced him.
This book has few flaws. It points out many instances where our politicians have done foolish things by not studying and understanding the data upon which their conclusions rested. He sites many instances where the population as a whole has based popular opinion on an inadequate factual foundation.
I will point out one instance where I think he made one of the mistakes he so ably pointed out in the thinking of others. That mistake is basing decisions on only part of the evidence.
He seems to think that focused, intelligent hard work can overcome any adversity. In general he may be correct, but there are situations where opportunity is stifled by circumstance. He does not subscribe to the belief that overpopulation causes poverty. He correctly cites the successes of resource poor counties like Singapore and Japan that have overcome their circumstances, but fails to grasp that some poor countries with people with little or no education struggling to survive on a fraction of an acre of arable land per person aren't likely to achieve the same result as Japan or Singapore. The same principles apply to families. Too many children competing for too few resources is a localized version of over population that can stifle opportunity.
Everyone would profit from reading this book. I rate it at five stars.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Antoine
- 2022-11-17
Misleading title
Besides the fact that it’s obsolete (most recent data: 2004), it’s hard to follow. But ideal if you want to know how extreme Republicans work with biased anecdotes and numbers.
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