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There’s No Free Lunch: 250 Economic Truths
The best way to defend the cause of human flourishing against this current onslaught of dangerous economic thinking is to relearn time-tested economic truths.
The verdict is in: Free enterprise has lifted billions of people out of abject poverty all over the world and provided a higher quality of life than has ever been thought possible. But a growing case is forming in public opinion against free markets, and for a significantly larger command & control management of the economy. Whether you call it socialism or progressive leftism, more and more people are turning away from the forces of freedom and social cooperation that made the last two hundred years of prosperity possible, and embracing a system that deprives human beings of their dignity, impoverishing whole societies both financially and spiritually.
What David Bahnsen does here is pull from the masters—the great economic voices of the past and the present—to remind readers of the basic economic truths that must serve as our foundation in understanding the challenges of today. In 250 vital points, he combines pearls of wisdom from economic legends with his own careful commentary to provide readers the perspective, information, and reaffirmation they need in order to see economics for what it is. It will empower you and equip you with the truth—250 truths—that are crucially needed to keep the lights on in civilization and advance the cause of human flourishing.
The verdict is in: Free enterprise has lifted billions of people out of abject poverty all over the world and provided a higher quality of life than has ever been thought possible. But a growing case is forming in public opinion against free markets, and for a significantly larger command & control management of the economy. Whether you call it socialism or progressive leftism, more and more people are turning away from the forces of freedom and social cooperation that made the last two hundred years of prosperity possible, and embracing a system that deprives human beings of their dignity, impoverishing whole societies both financially and spiritually.
What David Bahnsen does here is pull from the masters—the great economic voices of the past and the present—to remind readers of the basic economic truths that must serve as our foundation in understanding the challenges of today. In 250 vital points, he combines pearls of wisdom from economic legends with his own careful commentary to provide readers the perspective, information, and reaffirmation they need in order to see economics for what it is. It will empower you and equip you with the truth—250 truths—that are crucially needed to keep the lights on in civilization and advance the cause of human flourishing.
320 pages, Paperback
Published November 9, 2021
141 people are currently reading
647 people want to read
About the author
David L. Bahnsen
9 books64 followersDavid L. Bahnsen, CFP®, CIMA® is the founder, Managing Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of The Bahnsen Group, a bi-coastal private wealth management boutique based in Newport Beach, CA and New York City. managing over $1.2 billion in client assets. David has been named as one of Barron’s America’s Top 1200 Advisors, as well as Forbes Top 250 Advisors and Financial Times Top 300 Advisors in America. He brought The Bahnsen Group independent through the elite boutique fiduciary, HighTower Advisors, in April 2015 after eight years as a Chairman’s Club Managing Director at Morgan Stanley and seven years as a First Vice President at UBS Financial Services. He is a frequent guest on CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg and is a regular contributor to National Review and Forbes.
David serves on the Board of Directors for the National Review Institute, is vice president of the Lincoln Club of Orange County, and is a founding Trustee for Pacifica Christian High School of Orange County.
David is a disciple of Milton Friedman, a lover of Ronald Reagan, and a “National Review kind of conservative” (the only kind). His prolific writings strive to reflect an ideology of freedom principles integrated with transcendent truths. His heroes are his late father, Dr. Greg Bahnsen, and Larry Kudlow, and he proudly claims heavy ideological influence from John Calvin, Abraham Kuyper, F.A. Hayek, Winston Churchill, C.S. Lewis, William Buckley, Margaret Thatcher, George Gilder, and Father Robert Sirico.
David’s true passions include anything involving related to USC football, the financial markets, politics, and his house in the desert. His ultimate passions are his lovely wife of 16+ years, Joleen, their gorgeous and brilliant children, sons Mitchell and Graham, and daughter Sadie, and the life they’ve created together in Newport Beach, California. David spends 18-20 waking hours per day thinking about the free and virtuous society.
His first book, Crisis of Responsibility: Our Cultural Addiction to Blame and How You Can Cure It, is scheduled for a February 2018 release.
David serves on the Board of Directors for the National Review Institute, is vice president of the Lincoln Club of Orange County, and is a founding Trustee for Pacifica Christian High School of Orange County.
David is a disciple of Milton Friedman, a lover of Ronald Reagan, and a “National Review kind of conservative” (the only kind). His prolific writings strive to reflect an ideology of freedom principles integrated with transcendent truths. His heroes are his late father, Dr. Greg Bahnsen, and Larry Kudlow, and he proudly claims heavy ideological influence from John Calvin, Abraham Kuyper, F.A. Hayek, Winston Churchill, C.S. Lewis, William Buckley, Margaret Thatcher, George Gilder, and Father Robert Sirico.
David’s true passions include anything involving related to USC football, the financial markets, politics, and his house in the desert. His ultimate passions are his lovely wife of 16+ years, Joleen, their gorgeous and brilliant children, sons Mitchell and Graham, and daughter Sadie, and the life they’ve created together in Newport Beach, California. David spends 18-20 waking hours per day thinking about the free and virtuous society.
His first book, Crisis of Responsibility: Our Cultural Addiction to Blame and How You Can Cure It, is scheduled for a February 2018 release.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
dnf
November 10, 2021What is that *insane* word break doing on the cover??
November 7, 2021
This is an interesting little book. Bahnsen offers a vigorous defense of the efficacy of markets and capitalism by quoting a wide range of economists from Bastiat,Hayek and Von Mises to Friedman, Gilder and Sowell. He then ties a quote to a short commentary. I am not sure how he did it but most of what he quotes are the key quotes from the authors he cites.
We seem to be stuck in a time of economic idiocy where the progressives seem to think that increasing the size and scope of government will lead to different results than it has in history. At the same time the right seems to think that denying basic notions about trade and immigration (as well as whether it is better to implement their grandiose spending plans) will come out differently. Bahnsen's book pillories both of those nonsensical notions and many more.
What intrigues me most about this work is that Bahnsen is an investment guy - so his depth of reading seems to be something of a well developed hobby. He has made a real gift to those of us who believe in the benefits of markets.
We seem to be stuck in a time of economic idiocy where the progressives seem to think that increasing the size and scope of government will lead to different results than it has in history. At the same time the right seems to think that denying basic notions about trade and immigration (as well as whether it is better to implement their grandiose spending plans) will come out differently. Bahnsen's book pillories both of those nonsensical notions and many more.
What intrigues me most about this work is that Bahnsen is an investment guy - so his depth of reading seems to be something of a well developed hobby. He has made a real gift to those of us who believe in the benefits of markets.
January 25, 2022
This book exceeded my expectations in every way. I learned so much, and earned a great respect for how virtue and human activity must connect in order for anything to flourish.
December 23, 2021
Great primer on economics. Bahnsen helps guide the person interested in both capitalism and human flourishing to a sound conclusion on markets.
October 5, 2023
Bahnsen’s book points out how capitalism has made US a prosperous nation because of the freedom of entrepreneurs. He creates a straw man socialism attacking it for all the evils in our country. Yet he never acknowledges how unchecked capitalism has abused children and poor to make the wealthy richer. Nor does he discuss any of the environmental consequences without a willingness of those who created it to take responsibility. Many of his premises for economic freedom are important to consider, but restrictions for the benefit of community of citizens is appropriate.
August 14, 2022
Well, When You Put it That Way….
Economics appears to be the science most susceptible to abuse in which falsehoods rise to the level of truths through sheer force of repetition, where anyone and everyone can claim to be an expert. There are, however, actual experts in the field of economics, people like Milton Friedman and Thomas Sowell and others. And sometimes they say or write things that become quotable because they are quick and to the point.
This book is an anthology of 250 of such quotes, along with some brief comments by the author. They are organized into 22 chapters that pertain to specific subject categories within the discipline of economics, and have titles like “human flourishing,” “social organization,” “virtue and discipline,” “covetousness and class envy,” and so on.
Some of these quotations are short, some are longer, and collectively they serve to advance the truth that free market economics, when combined with virtue and the rule of law, is the best path to human flourishing. I have included four of these quotations below.
1. In 1979, Milton Friedman was a guest on the Phil Donahue show, and the following exchange transpired.
Phil Donahue: “When you see around the globe the maldistribution of wealth, the desperate plight of millions of people in underdeveloped countries… When you see so few ‘haves’ and so many ‘have- nots’… When you see the greed and the concentration of power with it – did you ever have a moment of doubt about capitalism and whether greed’s a good idea to run on?
Milton Friedman: “Well first of all, is there some society you know that doesn’t run on greed? You think Russia doesn’t run on greed? You think China doesn’t run on greed? What is greed? Of course, none of us are greedy, it’s only the other fellow who’s greedy. The world runs on individuals pursuing their separate interests. The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus. Einstein didn’t construct his theory under order from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn’t revolutionize the automobile industry that way. In the only cases in which the masses have escaped from the kind of grinding poverty you’re talking about, the only cases in recorded history are where they’ve had capitalism and largely free trade. If you want to know where the masses are worst off, it’s exactly from the kinds of societies that depart from that. So that the record of history is absolutely crystal clear that there is no alterative way so far discovered of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system.
– Milton Friedman
2. “I have never understood why it is “greed” to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else’s money.”
– Thomas Sowell
3. “[There is] a strange split in thinking common to those on the religious left, who are quick to denounce the profit motive and commercialism. Yet, they seem to think that the key to happiness is giving people more stuff – by enlisting the coercive power of government. This perverse way of thinking holds that ‘social justice’ demands that we take money from those who have earned it and give it to those who have less of it. That’s not social justice; that’s materialism.”
– Father Robert Sirico
4. “Under capitalism, man oppresses man. But under socialism, it’s the other way around.”
– Russ Roberts
Nobody’s denying that capitalism can be abused to exploit people. The brilliance of this quote shows us that the dark side of the human condition does not disappear by switching from one economic system to another. And a moment’s reflection shows this to be obviously true.
The basic argument that author David Bahnsen is trying to convey in this book is that what is at stake in the battle of ideas regarding free market economics is the truth regarding the path to human flourishing, and that the critics of the free market who claim that socialism is somehow less materialistic have it exactly backwards.
“If I could only leave readers of this book with one message on the glory of free enterprise” [it would be to underscore the truth that] “the main thing is this – the human flourishing that feeds the soul of mankind through earned success. In this sense… I write about the existential value to human beings that comes from freedom, from adversity, and from the freedom to conquer adversity.” This is in stark contrast to socialism, which he argues is “materialistic to the core. One system is focused on human achievement and flourishing; the other wants to merely give physical things to someone.”
I do enthusiastically endorse this book. But by its nature as an anthology of quotations followed by brief comments, it is probably not meant to stand alone but should be read alongside other works on economics. To that end, a recommended reading list is provided, among which are titles such as “Basic Economics” by Thomas Sowell, an excellent, very readable systematic treatment on the subject, a book without any graphs or diagrams. Another book on the list is “Foundations of a Free & Virtuous Society” by Dylan Pahman, which I recently obtained and am very soon to pick up for the first time.
Economics appears to be the science most susceptible to abuse in which falsehoods rise to the level of truths through sheer force of repetition, where anyone and everyone can claim to be an expert. There are, however, actual experts in the field of economics, people like Milton Friedman and Thomas Sowell and others. And sometimes they say or write things that become quotable because they are quick and to the point.
This book is an anthology of 250 of such quotes, along with some brief comments by the author. They are organized into 22 chapters that pertain to specific subject categories within the discipline of economics, and have titles like “human flourishing,” “social organization,” “virtue and discipline,” “covetousness and class envy,” and so on.
Some of these quotations are short, some are longer, and collectively they serve to advance the truth that free market economics, when combined with virtue and the rule of law, is the best path to human flourishing. I have included four of these quotations below.
1. In 1979, Milton Friedman was a guest on the Phil Donahue show, and the following exchange transpired.
Phil Donahue: “When you see around the globe the maldistribution of wealth, the desperate plight of millions of people in underdeveloped countries… When you see so few ‘haves’ and so many ‘have- nots’… When you see the greed and the concentration of power with it – did you ever have a moment of doubt about capitalism and whether greed’s a good idea to run on?
Milton Friedman: “Well first of all, is there some society you know that doesn’t run on greed? You think Russia doesn’t run on greed? You think China doesn’t run on greed? What is greed? Of course, none of us are greedy, it’s only the other fellow who’s greedy. The world runs on individuals pursuing their separate interests. The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus. Einstein didn’t construct his theory under order from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn’t revolutionize the automobile industry that way. In the only cases in which the masses have escaped from the kind of grinding poverty you’re talking about, the only cases in recorded history are where they’ve had capitalism and largely free trade. If you want to know where the masses are worst off, it’s exactly from the kinds of societies that depart from that. So that the record of history is absolutely crystal clear that there is no alterative way so far discovered of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system.
– Milton Friedman
2. “I have never understood why it is “greed” to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else’s money.”
– Thomas Sowell
3. “[There is] a strange split in thinking common to those on the religious left, who are quick to denounce the profit motive and commercialism. Yet, they seem to think that the key to happiness is giving people more stuff – by enlisting the coercive power of government. This perverse way of thinking holds that ‘social justice’ demands that we take money from those who have earned it and give it to those who have less of it. That’s not social justice; that’s materialism.”
– Father Robert Sirico
4. “Under capitalism, man oppresses man. But under socialism, it’s the other way around.”
– Russ Roberts
Nobody’s denying that capitalism can be abused to exploit people. The brilliance of this quote shows us that the dark side of the human condition does not disappear by switching from one economic system to another. And a moment’s reflection shows this to be obviously true.
The basic argument that author David Bahnsen is trying to convey in this book is that what is at stake in the battle of ideas regarding free market economics is the truth regarding the path to human flourishing, and that the critics of the free market who claim that socialism is somehow less materialistic have it exactly backwards.
“If I could only leave readers of this book with one message on the glory of free enterprise” [it would be to underscore the truth that] “the main thing is this – the human flourishing that feeds the soul of mankind through earned success. In this sense… I write about the existential value to human beings that comes from freedom, from adversity, and from the freedom to conquer adversity.” This is in stark contrast to socialism, which he argues is “materialistic to the core. One system is focused on human achievement and flourishing; the other wants to merely give physical things to someone.”
I do enthusiastically endorse this book. But by its nature as an anthology of quotations followed by brief comments, it is probably not meant to stand alone but should be read alongside other works on economics. To that end, a recommended reading list is provided, among which are titles such as “Basic Economics” by Thomas Sowell, an excellent, very readable systematic treatment on the subject, a book without any graphs or diagrams. Another book on the list is “Foundations of a Free & Virtuous Society” by Dylan Pahman, which I recently obtained and am very soon to pick up for the first time.
March 21, 2022
This is a collection of 250 easily-digestible quotations from economists with accompanying brief commentary by David Bahnsen, and serves to outline first principles of economics that will contribute to the great goal of economics: human flourishing.
April 1, 2022
It's good to be reminded every once and a while of the moral necessity of free enterprise. Yes, you read that right. And Bahnsen does an excellent job of reminding. He does so by presenting two hundred fifty quotations of noted thinkers, addressing all sorts of economic issues, such as the "minimum" wage (we all know the true minimum is $0), private property, public debt, creative destruction, inflation, prices, and much more. I appreciated the pithy quotes (usually no more than a midlength paragraph) and also Bahnsen's reflections on each one. One could read this book straight through or dip here and there from time to time. It is well worth one's while either way.
December 15, 2024
This book is structured into short, daily readings and admittedly takes some patience and perseverance. But I can hardly overstate the amount of macro-economic wisdom found in it! Simply excellent.
April 10, 2024
"Blessed are the investment officers, for theirs is the Kingdom of God."
- David Bahnsen...probably
Every once in a while, I read a book I know I'll hate. As Bahnsen would quickly point out, the opportunity cost of such an action is high. Despite finding it in a Little Free Library, reading it has certainly been no free lunch. I could have read a different book, or just not read it at all. This would have improved human flourishing economically-speaking, but I've never claimed to be a rational decision maker.
I'm not anti-capitalist or anti-free market, and certainly not anti-liberty, but I am anti-dogma. Labeling these 250 quotes as containing "economic truths" is lazy and dishonest. Econ is not a math or science (as stated by the author), but in this book it's discussed as a reflection of Christianity. God is the ultimate innovator, Bahnsen says, and we must be as entrepreneurial as Him, or else our lives lack purpose. Perhaps this makes Elon Musk a saint, up there with Oppenheimer and the inventor of subprime mortgages. *Surely* they made God happy and promoted human flourishing.
Is it really a truth that giving people something makes them less entrepreneurial, and thus less like God? This is from Father Robert Sirico, who also writes on the back cover that Bahnsen has written a "reliable and useful tutorial on economic foundations." Not exactly unbiased, but heck, neither has human flourishing. Bahnsen likes to credit the free market, Christianity, and liberty with pulling much of the world out of deep poverty, using it as a "SEE? THIS STUFF REALLY WORKS!" The truth in India and China is much more complicated.
I questioned why this book was written. Who's the audience? Certainly not me. I assume everyone else who reads this already agrees with Bahnsen's conservative, Christian worldview. You'd have to. I mean, who doesn't like a free lunch? The smugness with which that line is used, both within the book and in conservative media, is maddening. Bahnsen seems to indicate the purpose is to promote liberty around the world. Thankfully, being the purist he is, I'm sure he wouldn't want his tax dollars going to promote liberty or Christianity abroad. As that would be really confusing. Speaking of which, how do fewer taxes make "our" tax-free churches stronger?
I also wasn't a huge fan of the format. Bahnsen grabs 250 quotes and then paraphrases them, often poorly, and always dogmatically, below. The quotes without the commentary would have gotten two or three stars.
TL;DR I started out as a free market capitalist, but after reading Bahnsen's book, I'm starting a free lunch campaign and advocating for a UBI.
P.S. Why in the name of Father Robert Sirico is the word "There's" split into "Ther" and "e's" on the cover? Blasphemous.
- David Bahnsen...probably
Every once in a while, I read a book I know I'll hate. As Bahnsen would quickly point out, the opportunity cost of such an action is high. Despite finding it in a Little Free Library, reading it has certainly been no free lunch. I could have read a different book, or just not read it at all. This would have improved human flourishing economically-speaking, but I've never claimed to be a rational decision maker.
I'm not anti-capitalist or anti-free market, and certainly not anti-liberty, but I am anti-dogma. Labeling these 250 quotes as containing "economic truths" is lazy and dishonest. Econ is not a math or science (as stated by the author), but in this book it's discussed as a reflection of Christianity. God is the ultimate innovator, Bahnsen says, and we must be as entrepreneurial as Him, or else our lives lack purpose. Perhaps this makes Elon Musk a saint, up there with Oppenheimer and the inventor of subprime mortgages. *Surely* they made God happy and promoted human flourishing.
Is it really a truth that giving people something makes them less entrepreneurial, and thus less like God? This is from Father Robert Sirico, who also writes on the back cover that Bahnsen has written a "reliable and useful tutorial on economic foundations." Not exactly unbiased, but heck, neither has human flourishing. Bahnsen likes to credit the free market, Christianity, and liberty with pulling much of the world out of deep poverty, using it as a "SEE? THIS STUFF REALLY WORKS!" The truth in India and China is much more complicated.
I questioned why this book was written. Who's the audience? Certainly not me. I assume everyone else who reads this already agrees with Bahnsen's conservative, Christian worldview. You'd have to. I mean, who doesn't like a free lunch? The smugness with which that line is used, both within the book and in conservative media, is maddening. Bahnsen seems to indicate the purpose is to promote liberty around the world. Thankfully, being the purist he is, I'm sure he wouldn't want his tax dollars going to promote liberty or Christianity abroad. As that would be really confusing. Speaking of which, how do fewer taxes make "our" tax-free churches stronger?
I also wasn't a huge fan of the format. Bahnsen grabs 250 quotes and then paraphrases them, often poorly, and always dogmatically, below. The quotes without the commentary would have gotten two or three stars.
TL;DR I started out as a free market capitalist, but after reading Bahnsen's book, I'm starting a free lunch campaign and advocating for a UBI.
P.S. Why in the name of Father Robert Sirico is the word "There's" split into "Ther" and "e's" on the cover? Blasphemous.
November 29, 2021
This is a wonderful overview about economics. If you haven’t had the edifying fortune to read Mises, Hayek, Sirico, Hazzlitt, and Sowell, and you really want to get a general grasp of what economics/markets are then pick up this book.
David Bahnsen has divided the book up into about 20 sections dealing with everything from what economics is/for (human flourishing/human action) to what stymies it, and how human flourishing is best achieved.
Do you want a simple but not simplistic overview of more complex economic subcategories as the knowledge problem, taxation, value and price discovery, credit and sound money among many others?
Then grab this book. It’s very readable and Bahnsen does a wonderful job succinctly augmenting or making clear the many quotations he pulls from.
This would make a great night stand book because each page contains an entire idea to itself.
What I most value is that Bahnsen never loses sight that man is made in the image of God and his telos.
Pick up and read!
David Bahnsen has divided the book up into about 20 sections dealing with everything from what economics is/for (human flourishing/human action) to what stymies it, and how human flourishing is best achieved.
Do you want a simple but not simplistic overview of more complex economic subcategories as the knowledge problem, taxation, value and price discovery, credit and sound money among many others?
Then grab this book. It’s very readable and Bahnsen does a wonderful job succinctly augmenting or making clear the many quotations he pulls from.
This would make a great night stand book because each page contains an entire idea to itself.
What I most value is that Bahnsen never loses sight that man is made in the image of God and his telos.
Pick up and read!
September 28, 2022
Great title and while the concepts are certainly important, the book relies too much on quotations - albeit mostly by members and adherents of the Austrian School. Perhaps the best point author David Bahnsen makes in this book is about how a more accurate description of what Economics is actually about (imho trade-offs and unforeseen consequences) could yield salubrious results (e.g., in the form of “human flourishing”). Unfortunately, the public’s perception of the field unduly places too much emphasis on money and numbers, allowing opponents of capitalism, through sophistry and rhetoric, to conflate Economics with greed. Some other gud points made by Mr. Bhansen: beware of statism and the pitfalls of the Fatal Conceit (Hayek), even with the best of intentions; why is it considered greedy to want to keep your own money but not considered greedy to want someone else’s? (Sowell); and the State must be the entity which protects property rights but the State cannot be the one who grants them (Schumpeter).
October 14, 2024
This book is a phenomenal read for anyone interested in human flourishing and how it intersects with economics, which should be all of us. I truly believe it is deep enough to be helpful to a professional economist but accessible enough to be an excellent supplement to a middle/high school economics curriculum. I certainly plan to use it for my kids when they get to that point. It is composed of key quotes from many great economists and philosophers of the past and present along with commentary and application from a guy who got his earliest theological training from Greg Bahnsen and manages large amounts of capital for his day job. As a bonus, there’s a great recommended reading list at the end. There is so much to learn here on how we approach both personal and society-wide economic decisions, and this book has my highest recommendation regardless of one’s political or philosophical viewpoint.
December 27, 2021
This is an indispensable collection of insights and quotes from the titans of classical liberalism and the free enterprise system. I appreciate that Bahnsen includes some lesser known writers; I now have an expanded list of economic authors to read.
The book also functions as a bit of a “sparknotes” for famous philosophers of political economy too, for the quotes selected basically are the ones that defined their contributions to economic thought.
We need more economic education than ever before in this country, and books like this are integral in getting the average citizen to think twice before voting for economic policies that sound appropriate on paper, but in practice make our nation poorer.
The book also functions as a bit of a “sparknotes” for famous philosophers of political economy too, for the quotes selected basically are the ones that defined their contributions to economic thought.
We need more economic education than ever before in this country, and books like this are integral in getting the average citizen to think twice before voting for economic policies that sound appropriate on paper, but in practice make our nation poorer.
May 28, 2022
i have to say at first i felt very slighted jilted by this book when i realized it was a series of quotes with added commentaries.
but as i read along, i realized that this was really an incredibly useful series of little lessons, and as a whole something really unique and very practical.
i've studied a bit of economics and done enough reading to have fully absorbed the basic case for free markets and trade and all that good stuff, and reading another book on those topics would just be returning to the same waters for another drink. this does something different, and cumulatively i found it really useful and actually quite powerful in a quiet way.
great.
but as i read along, i realized that this was really an incredibly useful series of little lessons, and as a whole something really unique and very practical.
i've studied a bit of economics and done enough reading to have fully absorbed the basic case for free markets and trade and all that good stuff, and reading another book on those topics would just be returning to the same waters for another drink. this does something different, and cumulatively i found it really useful and actually quite powerful in a quiet way.
great.
May 13, 2022
Just finished this book by David Bahnsen, which is brilliant. So often economics can be about detailed analysis yet what Bahnsen does in going through quotes on different topics shows what is really at the heart of these debates. Highly Recommend to all who want to grasp on why a free enterprise economy is necessary for a flourishing society. This book is probably better read more than a daily devotion typoe book rather than as you would a normal book, however I did read it like a norml book and will probably be going back through it as a daily thing next time I pick it up.
July 28, 2023
The quotes are great, helpful, and thought provoking. The comments beneath each quote are sometimes helpful, sometimes strained (as if he's trying to add but doesn't really have anything to improve upon the quote or helpfully elucidate the point), frequently in need of editing.
The latter point on editing was far and away my biggest disappointment with the book. But the quotes, organized under various headings related to economics, are worth reading on their own; I'm grateful to Bahnsen for pulling them together.
The latter point on editing was far and away my biggest disappointment with the book. But the quotes, organized under various headings related to economics, are worth reading on their own; I'm grateful to Bahnsen for pulling them together.
February 18, 2022
An interesting summary of key economic truths combined with a good contrast between free markets and collectivism. The author selects key quotes by Hayek, Sowell, Williams, Mises , Friedman and other champions of capitalism and expands on the quotes to demonstrate why they are true. He does a pretty good job of pointing out the fallacies of communism and socialism and makes a strong case for capitalism and free markets. It’s a short book that I found worthwhile.
May 18, 2022
Solid introduction to key economic realities. I especially enjoyed the unique layout and organization of the book: Bahnsen defines the point of economics (human flourishing) then has several sections covering particular topics and within those topics read page contains a quote from economist and then Bahnsen gives his commentary on the quote. Was a great book to read slowly and chew on over time. Will probably be one I return to on a somewhat regular basis.
July 13, 2022
This was a valuable collection of quotations from economic thinkers. The author did well in expanding in his own words, on these views. However, the format was tedious. It was a long line of quotes and expansions. It would be better to read this a couple pages at a time but having tried that I was still frustrated with the monotony.
I still benefited from this book and will return to some of the quotes. I think a revised format would make this more readable.
I still benefited from this book and will return to some of the quotes. I think a revised format would make this more readable.
June 19, 2023
It took me over half the book to find appreciation in how Bahnsen presents his pro-capitalism perspectives. By giving credit to the originators of economic thoughts and theories, Bahnsen establishes credibility for his controversial views on society.
This is a digestible introduction for those (like myself) looking to gain a greater understanding of American Society as a whole. I look forward to learning more.
This is a digestible introduction for those (like myself) looking to gain a greater understanding of American Society as a whole. I look forward to learning more.
Read
December 29, 2021Economics is the study of human activity, which inevitably includes the human will and moral choices.
Bahnsen is insightful and short. He uses lots of quotes and ideas from other prominent believers in the free market. Although he is way too libertarian for where I stand, he still makes a lot of great points about free enterprise and the way humans make financial choices.
Bahnsen is insightful and short. He uses lots of quotes and ideas from other prominent believers in the free market. Although he is way too libertarian for where I stand, he still makes a lot of great points about free enterprise and the way humans make financial choices.
May 30, 2022
I got half way through and couldn’t finish the book. It’s kind of like a television show that wants to save money by making a “flashback episode”. I kept finding that I wanted to read his source material rather than read his commentary. His added analysis on each passage rarely added more insight or provided more clarity on what was already said by the author.
April 2, 2024
did not care for this book. Kept wanting the writer to get to the point. Way to wordy for me. I got lost in the details as they say. I took Economics in High School and found it interesting. However this book was not for me. I read it only because I had to for a book club I am in. Way over my head and way to wordy. So much so I could not finish it.
March 5, 2022
This book reads like a daily devotional on economics. Sure he tries to categorize his points, but I was not fond of his approach - one out of context quote, followed by a few sentences expressing his opinion
Maybe bathroom read? Or better yet just flush it down the toilet
Maybe bathroom read? Or better yet just flush it down the toilet
December 11, 2022
This book won't make you an expert in economics, but it will give you a foundation to build from and to judge economic theories for yourself. It is short, easy to read, and the myriad of quotes in it make for a reference for books, authors, and subjects to loom into at a later date.
June 30, 2023
Great little book for short readings on economic theory and capitalism. The format is a quote from an economist or thinker, and then a short paragraph with the editor's thoughts. Worth picking up and reading one or two a day.
June 11, 2022
No more than a mere compilation of quotes with some light commentary. The quotes are good but there’s just little substance, overall, to this that did not keep me engaged.
Want to read
August 29, 2022Recommended on TWEII
September 16, 2022
Two hundred fifty quotes from important figures in classical economics. This might have made more sense as one of those desk calenders with which daily pages are pulled off.
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