Those books are helpful because they are much shorter and even more basic than Basic Economics, but Sowell’s volume belongs on the reading list because it more closely follows the syllabus of a basic economics course and is thus more comprehensive.Īs an economics textbook, Basic Economics does not differentiate itself by having a unique table of contents. For those unschooled in economics (or who haven’t read anything about it since High School), I would recommend beginning with Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson, followed closely by Gwartney and Stroup’s Common Sense Economics. Having just finished reading the fifth edition of Sowell’s Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy, I would advocate that this book be read widely. As an advocate of realistic economics with a free market emphasis who dealt with facts rather than political talking points, his common sense approach that relies on economic realities rather than wishful thinking made him a helpful voice in contemporary economic discussions. Thomas Sowell discusses his essay “‘Trickle Down Theory’ and ‘Tax Cuts for the Rich.Thomas Sowell recently announced his retirement from writing regular columns.Thomas Sowell discusses his newest book, Intellectuals and Race.Thomas Sowell Brings the World into Focus through an Economics Lens.

Discrimination And Disparities With Thomas Sowell.Robinson and Sowell discuss Sowell’s written works, his ideas of racial and economic inequality, the state of the United States today, and much more. He began to be discouraged by Marxism and the government in general and began searching for better economic ideas and solutions (the free market). He argues that the government has its own institutional interests in inequality that cannot be explained through Marxism. Sowell’s first job after his receiving his PhD in economics was working for the Department of Labor, and he says it was there that he realized Marxism was not the answer. He went on to serve in the Marine Corps before continuing his education in economics at Harvard and earning a master’s at Columbia and a PhD at the University of Chicago.

Marxism, he says, was the only explanation he could find at the time.

He admits to flirting with Marxism in his early twenties as he first tried to grapple with the housing inequality he saw across the neighborhoods of New York City. Sowell discusses his early life as a high school dropout and his first full-time job as a Western Union messenger delivering telegrams. He explains the economic theories behind these pervasive myths and proposes fact-based solutions for seemingly intractable situations. Thomas Sowell discusses economic inequality, racial inequality, and the myths that have continued to falsely describe the system of poverty among different racial and economic classes.

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