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The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity
Stanford University student and Cuban American tennis prodigy Ramon Fernandez is outraged when a nearby mega-store hikes its prices the night of an earthquake. He crosses paths with provost and economics professor Ruth Lieber when he plans a campus protest against the price-gouging retailer--which is also a major donor to the university. Ruth begins a dialogue with Ramon about prices, prosperity, and innovation and their role in our daily lives. Is Ruth trying to limit the damage from Ramon's protest? Or does she have something altogether different in mind? As Ramon is thrust into the national spotlight by events beyond the Stanford campus, he learns there's more to price hikes than meets the eye, and he is forced to reconsider everything he thought he knew. What is the source of America's high standard of living? What drives entrepreneurs and innovation? What upholds the hidden order that allows us to choose our careers and pursue our passions with so little conflict? How does economic order emerge without anyone being in charge? Ruth gives Ramon and the reader a new appreciation for how our economy works and the wondrous role that the price of everything plays in everyday life. The Price of Everything is a captivating story about economic growth and the unseen forces that create and sustain economic harmony all around us.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
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December 7, 2009
Simplistic, unimaginative, outdated & cliched attempt to glorify the market and analogize human economic behavior with natural phenomena. Roberts wants us to believe that birds, ants, and markets mystically/magically achieve the best for all without any group communication or intentionality.
The analogy fails. He is either incredibly lazy(well, he does base his bird theory on one anecdote & ask readers to write in ...he couldn't be bothered to google for confirmation ) or willfully ignorant. Group intentonality exists even in e. coli. Even E coli punish cheaters, have a communication system and use a diversity of strategies. the hive's cognition is made from the cognition of individual bees, but there are conflicts.
Even if he had not oversimplified nature, the analogy would provide no evidence for why the market should not be balanced. His economic theory ignores the effects of recession and depression on the individual/family while pretending to a higher ethical base--people of the future will always have a higher standard of living. Soclal mechanisms to suppress selfish parts are found throughout nature. Roberts un-artfully lectures us through his professor character that individual selfishness will inevitably result in a better, more prosperous society. I would suggest cancer vs. the immune system as an anolagy--the individual cell reproducing itself against the good of the whole organism.
Roberts' economic theory privileges the good of the whole. Amazing that living in the era of "irrational exuberance" selfishness & the failure of a strong enough immune/ethical regulatory /criminal system , he still blindly stuck to his theory that the individual profit motive should be fetished, decriminalized, praised, and encouraged as ethical, moral, and in the best interest of society.
The analogy fails. He is either incredibly lazy(well, he does base his bird theory on one anecdote & ask readers to write in ...he couldn't be bothered to google for confirmation ) or willfully ignorant. Group intentonality exists even in e. coli. Even E coli punish cheaters, have a communication system and use a diversity of strategies. the hive's cognition is made from the cognition of individual bees, but there are conflicts.
Even if he had not oversimplified nature, the analogy would provide no evidence for why the market should not be balanced. His economic theory ignores the effects of recession and depression on the individual/family while pretending to a higher ethical base--people of the future will always have a higher standard of living. Soclal mechanisms to suppress selfish parts are found throughout nature. Roberts un-artfully lectures us through his professor character that individual selfishness will inevitably result in a better, more prosperous society. I would suggest cancer vs. the immune system as an anolagy--the individual cell reproducing itself against the good of the whole organism.
Roberts' economic theory privileges the good of the whole. Amazing that living in the era of "irrational exuberance" selfishness & the failure of a strong enough immune/ethical regulatory /criminal system , he still blindly stuck to his theory that the individual profit motive should be fetished, decriminalized, praised, and encouraged as ethical, moral, and in the best interest of society.
August 27, 2012
The Price of Everything by Russell Roberts utilizes fiction to educate the reader about economic theory, taking events from everyday life and divulging the principles that explain how markets work, and entertains and engages the reader to think about what Adam Smith called “the Invisible Hand.”1
The story begins with an earthquake causing Ramon Fernandez and his girlfriend, Amy, to shop for flashlights first at Home Depot, where the supply has run out, and then at Big Box, where prices have been raised to prevent shortages, but causes outrage and indignation by Ramon and his fellow shoppers. Ramon and his mother escaped Castro’s Cuba when he was a child, and he comes to the rescue of a Spanish-speaking mother in the checkout line at Big Box who did not have enough money to pay her bill at the higher prices. Thus the stage is set for what Roberts calls “A parable of Possibility and Prosperity.”
Ramon helps plan a protest against Big Box’s price gouging on the campus of Stanford University, where he is a nationally known star tennis player and scheduled to be the speaker at his upcoming graduation, in front of a building on the campus funded by Big Box donations. The Big Box CEO is not happy about the situation and confronts Ruth Lieber, Provost and Economics professor, to limit the damage done to his company’s reputation and maintain his good (philanthropic) relations with the university.
Ruth has a passion for teaching, as well as the best interests of the university at heart, and uses her time planning graduation with Ramon to mentor him as he leads the protest and develops his commencement address. It is almost as if she is wishes to disprove Friedrich August von Hayek, 1974 Economic Nobel winner, who said I have arrived at the conviction that the neglect by economists to discuss seriously what is really the crucial problem of our time is due to a certain timidity about soiling their hands by going from purely scientific questions into value questions. 2
Ruth listens to Ramon as he decries the injustices of the price-gouging incident at Big Box. She queries him regarding his concerns about social and economic inequalities. She encourages his questions about his view of the failures of the system. She comprehends Ramon’s unique position as a famous Cuban refugee, and sees his potential as a future leader, but understands that Ramon has much to learn about the fundamentals of the free market economy. Roberts juxtaposes in the book the back-story of Ramon’s mother leaving Cuba, the economic hardships she faced and the sacrifices she made to give Ramon a better life. In addition, he takes the failing health of Castro, and the potential for a free Cuba upon his death, to set up future events for Ruth and Ramon.
Regarding the “price-gouging” incident at Big Box, Ruth helps Ramon see that freely fluctuating prices allow scarce resources to be acquired by the person with the greatest need or utility in incidences such as the night of the earthquake. When she asked Ramon who should have the flashlights, he replied the ones who most need them. Since Home Depot had sold out, the people who needed them went without. At Big Box, the prices were higher, so only those who really needed them spent their hard-earned money on them. However, more importantly, the market worked this matching of need and product because of freely fluctuating pricing in the system without central planners –it is as if the Invisible Hand of the market maximizes the utility of the participants. Big Box is compensated for carrying extra inventory to handle the crisis, and buyers get the products they want at the hour of their most need.
It is rather a problem of how to secure the best use of resources known to any of the members of society, for ends whose relative importance only those individuals know. Friedrich August von Hayek2
While Ramon starts to understand the pricing mechanism of the marketplace, he raises questions about the economic injustice of the system. On page 141 he complains, “Sure the rich get wealthier. But what kind of country is it, what kind of brutal system punishes its poor that way – by putting them out of work to make factory owners and stockholders richer?” He feels that the system’s obsession with profits has a hidden cost of low wages. Charles Wheelen reports in Naked Economics that American households in the bottom fifth of the income distribution were earning only 2% more in 2004 (adjusted for inflation) than they were in 1979 while the top quintile (20%) saw household income growth of 63% adjusted for inflation.3
The real tragedy of the poor is the poverty of their aspirations. Adam Smith5
Ruth explains to Ramon the dynamism of a free economy. In 1900, America had 30M jobs, a century later, 130M jobs. Lots of creative destruction took place as the industrial revolution changed the nature of jobs; farmers moved into the cities, immigrants brought their skills to America. She explained that the market did not work like musical chairs, so more jobs are created than destroyed in all but a few years of depression or recession. Even so, the poor have benefits today unavailable 20, 50, 100 years ago. Longer life spans, less infant mortality, more conveniences, and stores like Wal-Mart which provide low prices protecting purchasing power from the effects of inflation. She concedes that the market is not perfect. Low skilled workers continue to struggle. The Wall Street Journal reported less than 40% of the 25 million Americans over age 25 who lack a high-school diploma are employed. And those who are working don't earn much. High-school dropouts earn about $23,400 on average, compared with $33,500 for those with a high-school diploma and $54,700 for four-year college grads, the labor bureau says.4 As the article reports, many workers are going back to school to complete their education; the price of being a dropout has increased and is motivating new behaviors.
A claim for equality of material position can be met only by a government with totalitarian powers. Friedrich August von Hayek2
Finally, Ramon understands what Ruth has been sharing with him. He restates her lesson the United States has achieved the standard of living it has today because profits and prices give entrepreneurs and creative people an incentive to discover new stuff that people value. He then asks why all countries do not share in this wealth; Ruth explains rich countries have more freedom. More freedom to innovate, compete, take risks, fail, and finally succeed.
Near the end of the book, Ruth summarizes her mentoring advice for Ramon as he finalizes his commencement address:
Each of us takes the unique strands of our hopes and dreams and adds them to everyone else’s. Yet somehow they all fit together and the tapestry of our lives just gets more interesting and varied and human.
Ramon asks, But how do our choices manage to fit together without a weaver of dreams?
She answers, The prices. Our choices fit together because the price of everything can adjust and steer resources and knowledge throughout the economy…. No one has to know the price of everything even though the price of everything is always adjusting in response to all the changes going on in our incredibly dynamic economy….And because no one had to know the price of everything, our knowledge grows, our world gets better, and no one has to master all the dreams going all at once to make sure they somehow fit together.
I wanted you to understand that not everything glorious that we observe in the world around us is the result of someone’s intentions. There is wonder in the world that we humans create without any one of us fully understanding it. Appreciating that is part of being an educated person. Someday you’ll be glad to know about it.
At the end of the story, Ramon returns to visit Ruth after many years. He is planning to run for office in Cuba, is married to Amy and has a family. Ruth is not surprised. She could see his potential and invested her time and efforts. In the short term, she helped avert a crisis with the Big Box CEO and Ramon delivered an excellent commencement address, and in the long term, she prepared Ramon for greatness.
Robert’s passion for economics is evident in the dialogue, setting and character development within The Price of Everything. He weaves the Invisible Hand throughout Ramon’s life – his coming to America, his skill at sports, his success at Stanford, and his trip to Big Box all lead him to his encounter with Ruth Lieber where she imparts valuable life lessons on the free market economy that Ramon will need in his future endeavors. The reader is left with the impression that Cuba will finally benefit from “The Wealth of Nations.”
1. Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)
2. Charles Wheelan, Naked Economics (2010) W.W. Norton & Company, New York and London, p 141
3. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/aut...
4. Clare Ansberry, The Wall Street Journal 2/21/12 As Job Market Mends, Dropouts Fall Behind http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001...
5. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/aut...
I enjoyed the book – even found myself tearing up at some of the more tender passages of the book -which is why I included them in the report above. They were much more philosophical than I expected. (I seriously thought I was having a chocolate moment or something – emotional about an econ novel?!?!) I especially appreciated Roberts’ discussion in the afterword regarding emergent order where he said you can be grateful to God for embedding such wonders in our world. To me, this embodied the Invisible Hand of which Adam Smith writes.
Like Ramon, I grapple with the problem of the poor in our economy and the disadvantages that seem imbedded in their struggle for advancement. I have mentored an at-risk high school student to get her to graduate. In many cases, she did not have the perspective of how short term decisions such as skipping class and partying and missing assignments would affect her long-term potential. She came from a home where ambition and application were not modeled. As a mentor, it was my job to help her envision the possibilities of the future. I encouraged her aspirations, helped her build a path to achieve them and cheered her on. She did graduate and went onto community college. In addition, even though my children attended private schools, I have invested a lot of time and effort in the public school system volunteering, serving on community boards and promoting bond issues because education is key to the economic future of our country. I appreciated Ruth’s passion for her students.
My belief that Americans, and especially politicians, do not understand, or fail to acknowledge, basic economic theory was reinforced by Roberts’ story. Roberts presents the material in such a straightforward fashion. He has an argument for each of Ramon’s concerns and objections. While I believe a more worthy opponent would have had more counter arguments for Ruth – in the vein of the Milton Friedman videos, I do still have questions on how to solve the short-term inefficiencies of our system. However, I do have faith in the long run, with good public policy, they will resolve themselves. Although from our discussion in class last Saturday regarding our votes not counting, it is possible, I should not be so optimistic. I am often reminded of:
The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.
Alexis de Tocqueville
I have run my own business for almost 20 years and am back in MBA School to reinvent myself. The creative destruction of which Ruth speaks has directly been applicable to my business. In the 90’s, we were early adopters of outsourcing, as the Internet grew we adopted more distributed processing, and as automation improved, the tasks of my employees were performing became obsolete. Now we provide more advanced knowledge based services. The market has motivated and directed our efforts. It is not productive to complain about what is lost by change, but change must be embraced. I firmly believe the Invisible Hand is watching out for me. Thanks for letting me know about Roberts and his novels.
The story begins with an earthquake causing Ramon Fernandez and his girlfriend, Amy, to shop for flashlights first at Home Depot, where the supply has run out, and then at Big Box, where prices have been raised to prevent shortages, but causes outrage and indignation by Ramon and his fellow shoppers. Ramon and his mother escaped Castro’s Cuba when he was a child, and he comes to the rescue of a Spanish-speaking mother in the checkout line at Big Box who did not have enough money to pay her bill at the higher prices. Thus the stage is set for what Roberts calls “A parable of Possibility and Prosperity.”
Ramon helps plan a protest against Big Box’s price gouging on the campus of Stanford University, where he is a nationally known star tennis player and scheduled to be the speaker at his upcoming graduation, in front of a building on the campus funded by Big Box donations. The Big Box CEO is not happy about the situation and confronts Ruth Lieber, Provost and Economics professor, to limit the damage done to his company’s reputation and maintain his good (philanthropic) relations with the university.
Ruth has a passion for teaching, as well as the best interests of the university at heart, and uses her time planning graduation with Ramon to mentor him as he leads the protest and develops his commencement address. It is almost as if she is wishes to disprove Friedrich August von Hayek, 1974 Economic Nobel winner, who said I have arrived at the conviction that the neglect by economists to discuss seriously what is really the crucial problem of our time is due to a certain timidity about soiling their hands by going from purely scientific questions into value questions. 2
Ruth listens to Ramon as he decries the injustices of the price-gouging incident at Big Box. She queries him regarding his concerns about social and economic inequalities. She encourages his questions about his view of the failures of the system. She comprehends Ramon’s unique position as a famous Cuban refugee, and sees his potential as a future leader, but understands that Ramon has much to learn about the fundamentals of the free market economy. Roberts juxtaposes in the book the back-story of Ramon’s mother leaving Cuba, the economic hardships she faced and the sacrifices she made to give Ramon a better life. In addition, he takes the failing health of Castro, and the potential for a free Cuba upon his death, to set up future events for Ruth and Ramon.
Regarding the “price-gouging” incident at Big Box, Ruth helps Ramon see that freely fluctuating prices allow scarce resources to be acquired by the person with the greatest need or utility in incidences such as the night of the earthquake. When she asked Ramon who should have the flashlights, he replied the ones who most need them. Since Home Depot had sold out, the people who needed them went without. At Big Box, the prices were higher, so only those who really needed them spent their hard-earned money on them. However, more importantly, the market worked this matching of need and product because of freely fluctuating pricing in the system without central planners –it is as if the Invisible Hand of the market maximizes the utility of the participants. Big Box is compensated for carrying extra inventory to handle the crisis, and buyers get the products they want at the hour of their most need.
It is rather a problem of how to secure the best use of resources known to any of the members of society, for ends whose relative importance only those individuals know. Friedrich August von Hayek2
While Ramon starts to understand the pricing mechanism of the marketplace, he raises questions about the economic injustice of the system. On page 141 he complains, “Sure the rich get wealthier. But what kind of country is it, what kind of brutal system punishes its poor that way – by putting them out of work to make factory owners and stockholders richer?” He feels that the system’s obsession with profits has a hidden cost of low wages. Charles Wheelen reports in Naked Economics that American households in the bottom fifth of the income distribution were earning only 2% more in 2004 (adjusted for inflation) than they were in 1979 while the top quintile (20%) saw household income growth of 63% adjusted for inflation.3
The real tragedy of the poor is the poverty of their aspirations. Adam Smith5
Ruth explains to Ramon the dynamism of a free economy. In 1900, America had 30M jobs, a century later, 130M jobs. Lots of creative destruction took place as the industrial revolution changed the nature of jobs; farmers moved into the cities, immigrants brought their skills to America. She explained that the market did not work like musical chairs, so more jobs are created than destroyed in all but a few years of depression or recession. Even so, the poor have benefits today unavailable 20, 50, 100 years ago. Longer life spans, less infant mortality, more conveniences, and stores like Wal-Mart which provide low prices protecting purchasing power from the effects of inflation. She concedes that the market is not perfect. Low skilled workers continue to struggle. The Wall Street Journal reported less than 40% of the 25 million Americans over age 25 who lack a high-school diploma are employed. And those who are working don't earn much. High-school dropouts earn about $23,400 on average, compared with $33,500 for those with a high-school diploma and $54,700 for four-year college grads, the labor bureau says.4 As the article reports, many workers are going back to school to complete their education; the price of being a dropout has increased and is motivating new behaviors.
A claim for equality of material position can be met only by a government with totalitarian powers. Friedrich August von Hayek2
Finally, Ramon understands what Ruth has been sharing with him. He restates her lesson the United States has achieved the standard of living it has today because profits and prices give entrepreneurs and creative people an incentive to discover new stuff that people value. He then asks why all countries do not share in this wealth; Ruth explains rich countries have more freedom. More freedom to innovate, compete, take risks, fail, and finally succeed.
Near the end of the book, Ruth summarizes her mentoring advice for Ramon as he finalizes his commencement address:
Each of us takes the unique strands of our hopes and dreams and adds them to everyone else’s. Yet somehow they all fit together and the tapestry of our lives just gets more interesting and varied and human.
Ramon asks, But how do our choices manage to fit together without a weaver of dreams?
She answers, The prices. Our choices fit together because the price of everything can adjust and steer resources and knowledge throughout the economy…. No one has to know the price of everything even though the price of everything is always adjusting in response to all the changes going on in our incredibly dynamic economy….And because no one had to know the price of everything, our knowledge grows, our world gets better, and no one has to master all the dreams going all at once to make sure they somehow fit together.
I wanted you to understand that not everything glorious that we observe in the world around us is the result of someone’s intentions. There is wonder in the world that we humans create without any one of us fully understanding it. Appreciating that is part of being an educated person. Someday you’ll be glad to know about it.
At the end of the story, Ramon returns to visit Ruth after many years. He is planning to run for office in Cuba, is married to Amy and has a family. Ruth is not surprised. She could see his potential and invested her time and efforts. In the short term, she helped avert a crisis with the Big Box CEO and Ramon delivered an excellent commencement address, and in the long term, she prepared Ramon for greatness.
Robert’s passion for economics is evident in the dialogue, setting and character development within The Price of Everything. He weaves the Invisible Hand throughout Ramon’s life – his coming to America, his skill at sports, his success at Stanford, and his trip to Big Box all lead him to his encounter with Ruth Lieber where she imparts valuable life lessons on the free market economy that Ramon will need in his future endeavors. The reader is left with the impression that Cuba will finally benefit from “The Wealth of Nations.”
1. Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)
2. Charles Wheelan, Naked Economics (2010) W.W. Norton & Company, New York and London, p 141
3. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/aut...
4. Clare Ansberry, The Wall Street Journal 2/21/12 As Job Market Mends, Dropouts Fall Behind http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001...
5. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/aut...
I enjoyed the book – even found myself tearing up at some of the more tender passages of the book -which is why I included them in the report above. They were much more philosophical than I expected. (I seriously thought I was having a chocolate moment or something – emotional about an econ novel?!?!) I especially appreciated Roberts’ discussion in the afterword regarding emergent order where he said you can be grateful to God for embedding such wonders in our world. To me, this embodied the Invisible Hand of which Adam Smith writes.
Like Ramon, I grapple with the problem of the poor in our economy and the disadvantages that seem imbedded in their struggle for advancement. I have mentored an at-risk high school student to get her to graduate. In many cases, she did not have the perspective of how short term decisions such as skipping class and partying and missing assignments would affect her long-term potential. She came from a home where ambition and application were not modeled. As a mentor, it was my job to help her envision the possibilities of the future. I encouraged her aspirations, helped her build a path to achieve them and cheered her on. She did graduate and went onto community college. In addition, even though my children attended private schools, I have invested a lot of time and effort in the public school system volunteering, serving on community boards and promoting bond issues because education is key to the economic future of our country. I appreciated Ruth’s passion for her students.
My belief that Americans, and especially politicians, do not understand, or fail to acknowledge, basic economic theory was reinforced by Roberts’ story. Roberts presents the material in such a straightforward fashion. He has an argument for each of Ramon’s concerns and objections. While I believe a more worthy opponent would have had more counter arguments for Ruth – in the vein of the Milton Friedman videos, I do still have questions on how to solve the short-term inefficiencies of our system. However, I do have faith in the long run, with good public policy, they will resolve themselves. Although from our discussion in class last Saturday regarding our votes not counting, it is possible, I should not be so optimistic. I am often reminded of:
The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.
Alexis de Tocqueville
I have run my own business for almost 20 years and am back in MBA School to reinvent myself. The creative destruction of which Ruth speaks has directly been applicable to my business. In the 90’s, we were early adopters of outsourcing, as the Internet grew we adopted more distributed processing, and as automation improved, the tasks of my employees were performing became obsolete. Now we provide more advanced knowledge based services. The market has motivated and directed our efforts. It is not productive to complain about what is lost by change, but change must be embraced. I firmly believe the Invisible Hand is watching out for me. Thanks for letting me know about Roberts and his novels.
May 25, 2021
This is the third work of fiction by economist Russ Roberts. I enjoyed this one the most. The bulk of the story follows Ramon Fernandez during his years at Stanford and his interactions with an economics professor named Ruth Lieber. They discuss emergent order, the role of prices, and the good life. The discussions start as the result of an earthquake and a big box retailer doubling all prices to respond to the increase in demand. Is that the right thing to do? Is price gouging evil? What is the role of pricing? Can we know the price of everything?
I loved the novel format for this book. Russ had a few unexpected twists and some poignant moments to make you think. Very enjoyable book I wish I had read during economics class in college.
I loved the novel format for this book. Russ had a few unexpected twists and some poignant moments to make you think. Very enjoyable book I wish I had read during economics class in college.
August 23, 2014
What category should this fall under? I picked this off of a list of "Libertarian Fiction" although it is only Libertarian so as free markets are concerned. Of the four tenants of Libertarianism; Don't hurt people, Don't take their stuff, Be responsible, and Mind your own business this really only approaches the 'Mind your own business' aspect.
This story is a primmer on Austrian Economics. It uses a conversational lecture style to convey many fundamental ideas about pricing and markets. I have read in other reviews negative disclaimers about the economic views portrayed here citing the recent economic events as proof. Most anyone who has really look at the events of recent history can see that the "Invisible Hand" of the market doesn't really apply when the jack-boot of government is on its neck. It is exactly the recent events that PROVE the elements of this parable.
The characters are thin and just a prop mostly for delivering the lectures. It does do a nice job of explaining some complex ideas in an easy to understand format.
This story is a primmer on Austrian Economics. It uses a conversational lecture style to convey many fundamental ideas about pricing and markets. I have read in other reviews negative disclaimers about the economic views portrayed here citing the recent economic events as proof. Most anyone who has really look at the events of recent history can see that the "Invisible Hand" of the market doesn't really apply when the jack-boot of government is on its neck. It is exactly the recent events that PROVE the elements of this parable.
The characters are thin and just a prop mostly for delivering the lectures. It does do a nice job of explaining some complex ideas in an easy to understand format.
May 11, 2020
A wonderful story about the journey towards Ramon Fernandez’s graduation speech. With every conversation with Ruth Lieber, an economics teacher who was going to retire, Ramon Fernandez grows his understanding of economics and the situations of life. With that, the audience would also understand more about economics. I’m an 11-year-old girl who recently finished reading “The Price Of Everything” with my tutor. The book teaches you about how everything comes together magically using prices without anyone really telling everyone what to do. The book also shows many up and down realities of the world which brings the reader closer to the book as the reader can relate more. I really like how the story grabs the reader’s attention and makes the reader think every chapter using all the conversations Ramon and Ruth have together, these conversations can help the reader as well. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in economics and would like it to be seen in a different way. This book has some complicated sentences and words, so I would recommend that if you are a kid who is reading this, you can find an adult to help you. This book is a delight, it’s very nice to see non-fiction in fiction since it doesn’t always happen, from this book, you can learn a lot about economics and develop many different opinions. The story of this book can make the reader be empathetic about almost every character in the story, the author can make everything he describes seem real. Overall, this book is a joy to read!!
May 4, 2025
"Our choices fit together because the price of everything can adjust and steer resources and knowledge throughout the economy...No one has to know the price of everything even though the price of everything is always adjusting in response to all the changes going on in our incredibly dynamic economy."
A story about the power of education told through the lens of economics. Loved it! thanks for the book rec, Hunter!!
A story about the power of education told through the lens of economics. Loved it! thanks for the book rec, Hunter!!
March 26, 2017
Wonderful read. Has to be in the top 2 books I have read this year.
January 30, 2016
The Price of Everything is an economics novel about the virtues of prices and markets, explaining how they work to maximize efficiency and spread goods out among those who need them and are willing to pay. Like The Invisible Heart, it is a policy treatise in novel form. There, an economics professor fell in love with a liberal English professor and slowly worked his dark-side libertarian magic on her. Here, another economics professor, this one the provost of a university, takes a passionate youth leader with a social-justice agenda under her wing. Roberts is harder on his ideological opponents here than in The Invisible Heart, possibly there because his doppelganger there was trying to seduce his opponent, while his professor is only trying to turn her target into the man who will bring the free market to Cuba.
The kickoff issue in The Price of Everything is a minor earthquake which causes a run on supply stores. Home Depot and like stores quickly sell out, but Big Box, a megacorporation which makes Wal-Mart look like a mom and pop operation, doubles its prices to take advantage of the uptick in demand. This causes outrage among customers, who are catalyzed by the presence of a pregnant woman who is unable to afford her groceries and led by young Ramon Fernandez, who condemns the store in a speech and then takes up an offering to allow the lady to meet her need. Having discovered a knack for impassioned rabble-rousing, Fernandez decides to hold a rally on his university campus, protesting the fact that a new building is named after the Big Box corporation, who are donors. That attracts the attention of the professor, who chatting with Fernandez under the pretense of grooming him to be a more effective youth leader, engages him in questions and discussion.In reality, she's ever-so-slightly steering him toward her point of view. Look at it this way, she says: before the earthquake, both Home Depot and Big Box had the supplies on hand. After the earthquake, Home Depot maintained its price (fair to the consumer) and Big Box doubled its own. But from whom did the lady find her supplies? Big Box, because it ensured that the only people taking the supplies were those for whom they were most important. Had Big Box maintained its normal prices, all the supplies might have been bought up by whoever happened by first and decided to grab some extras. Home Depot's approach might be 'nicer', but who served the lady's needs? (Well, the crowd did, but that's not the point she wanted to make.)
Roberts' arguments make a horrible kind of sense, though it goes against the grain to hear a defense for 'price gouging'. More palatable is his attempt to convey the 'genius' of prices as regulating agents, ensuring that everyone looking for lead (his example of choice) gets enough, but not too much, the balancing being set by competition between firms trying to acquire supplies. This argument is especially convincing because the counter is so weak: if markets don't set prices, what will? Who can acquire and process all of the information needed to decide whose needs are greater than anyone else's? (Maybe Google and the NSA, if they joined forces...) And by what standard are they using? Who plans for whom?
The Price of Everything is not quite as potent as The Invisible Heart, but it's still a fun little way to digest economic arguments from an author who is passionate, but not obnoxious; bold, but altogether pleasant.
The kickoff issue in The Price of Everything is a minor earthquake which causes a run on supply stores. Home Depot and like stores quickly sell out, but Big Box, a megacorporation which makes Wal-Mart look like a mom and pop operation, doubles its prices to take advantage of the uptick in demand. This causes outrage among customers, who are catalyzed by the presence of a pregnant woman who is unable to afford her groceries and led by young Ramon Fernandez, who condemns the store in a speech and then takes up an offering to allow the lady to meet her need. Having discovered a knack for impassioned rabble-rousing, Fernandez decides to hold a rally on his university campus, protesting the fact that a new building is named after the Big Box corporation, who are donors. That attracts the attention of the professor, who chatting with Fernandez under the pretense of grooming him to be a more effective youth leader, engages him in questions and discussion.In reality, she's ever-so-slightly steering him toward her point of view. Look at it this way, she says: before the earthquake, both Home Depot and Big Box had the supplies on hand. After the earthquake, Home Depot maintained its price (fair to the consumer) and Big Box doubled its own. But from whom did the lady find her supplies? Big Box, because it ensured that the only people taking the supplies were those for whom they were most important. Had Big Box maintained its normal prices, all the supplies might have been bought up by whoever happened by first and decided to grab some extras. Home Depot's approach might be 'nicer', but who served the lady's needs? (Well, the crowd did, but that's not the point she wanted to make.)
Roberts' arguments make a horrible kind of sense, though it goes against the grain to hear a defense for 'price gouging'. More palatable is his attempt to convey the 'genius' of prices as regulating agents, ensuring that everyone looking for lead (his example of choice) gets enough, but not too much, the balancing being set by competition between firms trying to acquire supplies. This argument is especially convincing because the counter is so weak: if markets don't set prices, what will? Who can acquire and process all of the information needed to decide whose needs are greater than anyone else's? (Maybe Google and the NSA, if they joined forces...) And by what standard are they using? Who plans for whom?
The Price of Everything is not quite as potent as The Invisible Heart, but it's still a fun little way to digest economic arguments from an author who is passionate, but not obnoxious; bold, but altogether pleasant.
March 3, 2013
I wish I could offer two ratings here, one for the ideas behind the book and one for its execution.
First, the ideas. Roberts' goal is a most worthy one: to challenge and educate the reader about an often misunderstood aspect of the market, prices, and how prices send signals that help individuals unintentionally but efficiently coordinate their actions. (Thus the much-maligned phenomenon of "price gouging" after disasters, for example, serves important purposes: not only to encourage those who need an item less to leave it for those who need it more, but also to communicate to other suppliers where more of the item is needed immediately.) Roberts, a professor of economics at George Mason University, understands prices and their relationship to innovation and prosperity, and I applaud him for looking for new ways to impart his insights.
Now to the execution. Unfortunately, this reads like a case study of how not to write a novel (or "a parable"). This is a series of economics lectures (in some instances, with paragraphs an entire page long) put in different settings - a classroom, a park bench, a coffee shop - linked by the skeleton of a story, flanked by two-dimensional characters. (These include a university provost/economics professor, a Cuban undergraduate and international tennis star, his Anglo-American girlfriend who is also a senator's daughter, the CEO of a chain retail store, and a perpetual graduate student/political activist/general agitator. It's ironic that the only character for whom I felt anything was the off-screen mother of the protagonist, who had risked all to escape the repression of Cuba and make a better life for her son in the United States.)
The flimsy set-ups for the monologues are sometimes painful to read, but not as painful as the stilted responses of the students as they sit dutifully for hours of "infodump-ery." (Does Roberts every listen to students? They don't talk this way.) Which brings me to my main complaint about the novel: the "lectures" (disguised as conversations, though the students rarely get a word in edgewise) are simply anemic rehashes of far better, more imaginative, and more compelling analyses. I can understand writing a novel to show, to demonstrate, these ideas rather than simply telling them, but Roberts is a "tell-don't-show" kind of author. And why "tell" an idea second-hand and watered down, when the original treatments are far better crafted and more interesting? For example, one of the first monologues is simply a weak revisitation of Leonard Read's brilliant 1958 essay "I, Pencil." Roberts adds no value to it. So why shouldn't readers simply go straight to Read instead? The answer: they should.
If Roberts had managed a deep and multi-layered story that brought a new or different light to the economic ideas (here I think of the genius of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South or Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress), I would have welcomed it with open arms. Instead, I'd recommend skipping this text altogether and diving directly into the "Sources and Further Reading" appendix at the back.
First, the ideas. Roberts' goal is a most worthy one: to challenge and educate the reader about an often misunderstood aspect of the market, prices, and how prices send signals that help individuals unintentionally but efficiently coordinate their actions. (Thus the much-maligned phenomenon of "price gouging" after disasters, for example, serves important purposes: not only to encourage those who need an item less to leave it for those who need it more, but also to communicate to other suppliers where more of the item is needed immediately.) Roberts, a professor of economics at George Mason University, understands prices and their relationship to innovation and prosperity, and I applaud him for looking for new ways to impart his insights.
Now to the execution. Unfortunately, this reads like a case study of how not to write a novel (or "a parable"). This is a series of economics lectures (in some instances, with paragraphs an entire page long) put in different settings - a classroom, a park bench, a coffee shop - linked by the skeleton of a story, flanked by two-dimensional characters. (These include a university provost/economics professor, a Cuban undergraduate and international tennis star, his Anglo-American girlfriend who is also a senator's daughter, the CEO of a chain retail store, and a perpetual graduate student/political activist/general agitator. It's ironic that the only character for whom I felt anything was the off-screen mother of the protagonist, who had risked all to escape the repression of Cuba and make a better life for her son in the United States.)
The flimsy set-ups for the monologues are sometimes painful to read, but not as painful as the stilted responses of the students as they sit dutifully for hours of "infodump-ery." (Does Roberts every listen to students? They don't talk this way.) Which brings me to my main complaint about the novel: the "lectures" (disguised as conversations, though the students rarely get a word in edgewise) are simply anemic rehashes of far better, more imaginative, and more compelling analyses. I can understand writing a novel to show, to demonstrate, these ideas rather than simply telling them, but Roberts is a "tell-don't-show" kind of author. And why "tell" an idea second-hand and watered down, when the original treatments are far better crafted and more interesting? For example, one of the first monologues is simply a weak revisitation of Leonard Read's brilliant 1958 essay "I, Pencil." Roberts adds no value to it. So why shouldn't readers simply go straight to Read instead? The answer: they should.
If Roberts had managed a deep and multi-layered story that brought a new or different light to the economic ideas (here I think of the genius of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South or Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress), I would have welcomed it with open arms. Instead, I'd recommend skipping this text altogether and diving directly into the "Sources and Further Reading" appendix at the back.
February 23, 2019
This is a purely didactic novel, and as such it consists of lengthy passages of dialogue that expound on principles of economics - most particularly how supply, demand, and prices work, why markets are important, and why it's a bad idea for the government to control prices. As such, it's not much of a story. It lacks tension, and because the characters are largely props, it's not possible to become attached to them. It has a forced feel to it.
The economic lessons are well explored and illustrated with examples, and this book might be a good introduction for anyone who lacks a basic understanding of economics. It's the sort of thing I'd hope anyone who thinks price controls are a good idea would read and consider. The author uses the dialogue between the characters to communicate some of his moral philosophy as well, and he attempts to instill in the reader a sense of awe for how things work out efficiently through the economic system.
However, if I were new to economics, I think I would much prefer to read a 20-page essay explaining these things than a 200-page novel. It dragged quite a bit.
The economic lessons are well explored and illustrated with examples, and this book might be a good introduction for anyone who lacks a basic understanding of economics. It's the sort of thing I'd hope anyone who thinks price controls are a good idea would read and consider. The author uses the dialogue between the characters to communicate some of his moral philosophy as well, and he attempts to instill in the reader a sense of awe for how things work out efficiently through the economic system.
However, if I were new to economics, I think I would much prefer to read a 20-page essay explaining these things than a 200-page novel. It dragged quite a bit.
September 2, 2009
If you are curious about some of the basic principles of microeconomics and don't know anything about them, this might be a lovely book to read. The lectures - which are most of it - are lucid and straightforward and clear. Beyond that: it's hard to get mad about this, because (a) the book is labeled as a "parable", not a novel, and (b) the book imparts the sense that Russell Roberts, the author, writes this kind of stuff out of a genuine desire to educate, but to this reader anything that wasn't these lectures was basically risible in its level of imagination and authorial proficiency. The book also, for reasons that are unclear given that it's published professionally, appears not to have been copy-edited.
If you're curious about the economics and know nothing about them, pick it up for a nice introductory ride (with some awareness that Roberts does simplify the views of those less free-market oriented than himself). If not, no need.
If you're curious about the economics and know nothing about them, pick it up for a nice introductory ride (with some awareness that Roberts does simplify the views of those less free-market oriented than himself). If not, no need.
January 16, 2021
I have been a big fan of Russ Roberts for years via his podcast. Saccharine but sincere, Roberts is an astute moderator and very principled Austrian-school economist. He is consistent in his beliefs, demonstrates exceptional epistemic humility, and clearly has as heartfelt passion for education. I wish I could have had him as a professor in college. Lacking that, this book is a good substitute. Tackling classical economic theory via fiction, Roberts lays out the basic arguments in favor of the free marketplace of ideas and prices. It is not the most captivating book, and those seeking literary fiction should look elsewhere. But as a primer on how economists try to look at the world, it works.
Read more at https://znovels.blogspot.com/2021/01/...
Read more at https://znovels.blogspot.com/2021/01/...
November 20, 2016
A simple economic primer on how prices help to balance supply and demand, how they impact the allocation of resources, and how they are a prime motivator in our societal advancement. I recommend this book to EVERYONE, as I find most people are economically illiterate. The neat little thing is the author, Russell Roberts, has put the economics lessons into a novel. This is not his first effort in economic fiction having also written The Choice, and The Invisible Heart, both of which I also recommend.
July 28, 2018
A book that manages to be self-consciously didactic and yet works as fiction. Sure, there is no complex plot or a lot of character development, but the conversation between the two main characters has an authenticity that is refreshing and interesting. The light touch of Roberts combined with the inter-twinning biographical elements makes it an interesting read for anyone interested in economics. A surprisingly compelling novella that was both thought provoking and inspiring.
December 4, 2017
An accessible Fountainhead!
This is a touching book in many ways, but it really is a story of choices. It is told through the conversation between a Cuban Immigrant and a Stanford professor. The conversation is one that any high school, college student, or even an adult not well versed in economics.
This is a touching book in many ways, but it really is a story of choices. It is told through the conversation between a Cuban Immigrant and a Stanford professor. The conversation is one that any high school, college student, or even an adult not well versed in economics.
March 19, 2023
This was so embarrassingly awful and if I wasn't already incredibly cynical about academia I would be appalled that this was required reading for a graduate degree.
"Most of the impetus for [limiting expansion, raising wages for workers, and increasing health benefits] comes from competitors who want to handicap a successful rival"
^ the kind of earth breaking analysis you can expect
Several (selected) things which stood out as exceptionally questionable:
The repeated appeals to "order" that reasserts itself in "chaos" in the first part of the book reveals that (in opposition to the author's implied self perception) the understanding of the economy throughout the book is quite limited. It has an Inside and an Outside in the sense that it is acted upon by external items. It's the failure to consider an understanding of general economy that prevents the author from feeling the need to voice the series of large assumptions (exchange value as an essential aspect of an item and not of the commodity form, for example) that this book rests on.
The book is filled with awful arguments that I've seen form organically in my old highschool's Socratic Seminars, and which were received similarly. There is nothing special here in regards to the discussion and points raised, and nothing convincing about the condescending narrative framework (wisened mentor and idealist, foolish student). This work is like a philosophy 101 textbook written by the econ 101 teacher who has somehow never once thought too hard about the whole philosophy thing (he would rather maintain a state of reverent wonder than rigorous investigation).
The author's strange fixation on Cuba which (I had to investigate) does not seem tied to any personal experience whatsoever. This isn't an issue of policing his politics (which I get the ever "subtle" gist that I don't agree with anyways) but pointing out that absolutely vapid meditations on the death of Castro do not enhance the quality of this book, which is already quite poor. The strange sexual attraction of the provost to the student (springing from or intensified by his economic curiosity) was also a very strange recurring theme.
Finally, I've seen it written that this author's "brilliance" is in aligning narratives in parallel with economic concepts, but this doesn't seem a unique notion at all. Economics, as an active construction of knowledge, is itself a narrative. Ignoring that it overcodes and permeates the fictions of everyday life is to lose sight of it entirely. Ironically by constructing a narrative framework to point this out, the work leans towards suggesting this is not the case elsewhere.
The cherry on top of it all?, the author's self-insert at one point asks "Why would people line up to be oppressed?"
"Most of the impetus for [limiting expansion, raising wages for workers, and increasing health benefits] comes from competitors who want to handicap a successful rival"
^ the kind of earth breaking analysis you can expect
Several (selected) things which stood out as exceptionally questionable:
The repeated appeals to "order" that reasserts itself in "chaos" in the first part of the book reveals that (in opposition to the author's implied self perception) the understanding of the economy throughout the book is quite limited. It has an Inside and an Outside in the sense that it is acted upon by external items. It's the failure to consider an understanding of general economy that prevents the author from feeling the need to voice the series of large assumptions (exchange value as an essential aspect of an item and not of the commodity form, for example) that this book rests on.
The book is filled with awful arguments that I've seen form organically in my old highschool's Socratic Seminars, and which were received similarly. There is nothing special here in regards to the discussion and points raised, and nothing convincing about the condescending narrative framework (wisened mentor and idealist, foolish student). This work is like a philosophy 101 textbook written by the econ 101 teacher who has somehow never once thought too hard about the whole philosophy thing (he would rather maintain a state of reverent wonder than rigorous investigation).
The author's strange fixation on Cuba which (I had to investigate) does not seem tied to any personal experience whatsoever. This isn't an issue of policing his politics (which I get the ever "subtle" gist that I don't agree with anyways) but pointing out that absolutely vapid meditations on the death of Castro do not enhance the quality of this book, which is already quite poor. The strange sexual attraction of the provost to the student (springing from or intensified by his economic curiosity) was also a very strange recurring theme.
Finally, I've seen it written that this author's "brilliance" is in aligning narratives in parallel with economic concepts, but this doesn't seem a unique notion at all. Economics, as an active construction of knowledge, is itself a narrative. Ignoring that it overcodes and permeates the fictions of everyday life is to lose sight of it entirely. Ironically by constructing a narrative framework to point this out, the work leans towards suggesting this is not the case elsewhere.
The cherry on top of it all?, the author's self-insert at one point asks "Why would people line up to be oppressed?"
November 13, 2017
Interest in the Russ Robert's econtalk podcast led me to pick up his fiction book, The Price of Everything. The idea of an economist writing fiction intrigued me.
I wish I could say I loved it as much as I love econtalk, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. I found both the storyline and the conversations too forced. It was not like historical fiction where fact and fiction blur seamlessly... it was more like an intro to acting class practicing a choppy conversation about basic economics. At no point in the book was I able to escape my reality and dive into the story like a good work of fiction allows.
The economics of it were interesting albeit basic, and I enjoyed the examples, analogies, and statistics used to defend the free market. I just think it would be a more enjoyable read if written as a traditional nonfiction (a book about Russ Robert's views on economics) instead of this weird quasi-fiction.
I wish I could say I loved it as much as I love econtalk, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. I found both the storyline and the conversations too forced. It was not like historical fiction where fact and fiction blur seamlessly... it was more like an intro to acting class practicing a choppy conversation about basic economics. At no point in the book was I able to escape my reality and dive into the story like a good work of fiction allows.
The economics of it were interesting albeit basic, and I enjoyed the examples, analogies, and statistics used to defend the free market. I just think it would be a more enjoyable read if written as a traditional nonfiction (a book about Russ Robert's views on economics) instead of this weird quasi-fiction.
June 26, 2018
When I started this book, I thought it might be interesting. The opening telling about the past created an interest in me to see how the author would weave this into the narrative. Rather than weave this bifurcated narrative together, Roberts forges ahead with complex discussions about economics. These discussions form the bulk of the narrative, with primarily one character talking. The ending could be seen a mile off and feels a bit fairy tale. Roberts attempted to set that up early in the book but the choices the economics professor character makes, not only do not make sense for the character, they also do not make sense at all, especially with the sense of grandeur Roberts attempts to imbue these choices with.
The only reason I finished the book (or picked it up at all in the first place) is because it is required for the economics class I am taking.
I do not recommend this book.
The only reason I finished the book (or picked it up at all in the first place) is because it is required for the economics class I am taking.
I do not recommend this book.
March 29, 2020
This a very engaging book, I think, both experts and beginners would enjoy.
This is also not your usual economics book. The author explains the role prices play in our lives via a dialogue between two imaginary characters - a professor in economics and a student.
Stanford University student Ramon Fernandez is outraged when a nearby megastore hikes its prices the night of an earthquake. He crosses paths with economics professor Ruth Lieber when he plans a campus protest against the price-gouging retailer and Ruth begins a dialogue with Ramon about prices, prosperity, and innovation and their role in our daily lives.
Milton Friedman said that Economics is simple. All you have to remember is that demand slopes downward and nothing’s free. In this book, Russell Roberts gives insight into these and other “simple” basic economic ideas. He does such a good job at communicating them in understandable terms, as usual (e.g. find ‘It’s A wonderful loaf’ (2017) on YouTube). He is also the host of a popular economic podcast EconTalk, which I would very much recommend.
This is also not your usual economics book. The author explains the role prices play in our lives via a dialogue between two imaginary characters - a professor in economics and a student.
Stanford University student Ramon Fernandez is outraged when a nearby megastore hikes its prices the night of an earthquake. He crosses paths with economics professor Ruth Lieber when he plans a campus protest against the price-gouging retailer and Ruth begins a dialogue with Ramon about prices, prosperity, and innovation and their role in our daily lives.
Milton Friedman said that Economics is simple. All you have to remember is that demand slopes downward and nothing’s free. In this book, Russell Roberts gives insight into these and other “simple” basic economic ideas. He does such a good job at communicating them in understandable terms, as usual (e.g. find ‘It’s A wonderful loaf’ (2017) on YouTube). He is also the host of a popular economic podcast EconTalk, which I would very much recommend.
January 19, 2025
This is a good read for beginner economics students. An introduction to economics disguised as a novel. That’s the best way I can describe this story. While there are characters and there is some pieces of a plot, this work serves to educate readers on the free market and the effect of price as the guiding hand in American economics. Roberts demonstrates a deep passion for capitalistic economics and addresses all the hard, personal questions that many uneducated Americans ask about our economy and its effects on the impoverished, immigrants, and the average American. Ultimately, it’s a good educational work for beginner economics students. My only criticisms are of this story’s repetitive nature in some of the examples used. If you don’t begin this work with the expectation of reading a rich, entertaining novel, then you will get more out of its intent.
November 7, 2022
I enjoyed reading this book because it clearly shows the economic world in which we live today, its drivers, its forces and the essence of it all. The many questions that come to mind regarding poor people, purchasing power, profits, prices, and of course the never ending impact of supply and demand on everything that is sold in this world are addressed in this book with metaphors and parables that make it easier to understand or at least to analyze the different views. Simple, yet precise a must read for college students interested in understanding the economics of todays markets… New generations should read this without a doubt.
July 7, 2024
A delightful read with interludes of intensity.You are surfed with ease through different but widely overlapping naratives that fruitfully glide over to economics of things or as I must say, The Price of Everything.
The story is propelled around a first generation Cuban in an American setup whose genetic athleticism picks onto Tennis. He is completing undergrad at the prestigious Stanford University which becomes the solvent to the curiously intellectual exhanges that would make you notice and love the chaos you might have not noticed before.
Well, You are the chaos. A beautiful chaos. A part of one. Why I am saying that? Well, the book's for the answer!
The story is propelled around a first generation Cuban in an American setup whose genetic athleticism picks onto Tennis. He is completing undergrad at the prestigious Stanford University which becomes the solvent to the curiously intellectual exhanges that would make you notice and love the chaos you might have not noticed before.
Well, You are the chaos. A beautiful chaos. A part of one. Why I am saying that? Well, the book's for the answer!
November 26, 2019
I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in dipping their toe into the world of economics. Spontaneous order also known as the principle of the invisible hand is the concept most greatly highlighted in this book but all principles are covered in an easy down to earth way. It can be a bit cheesy at times, but I think the attempt at real-world relevance is affective. Highly recommend to everyone I know.
August 2, 2020
What a fantastic book! The author’s writing captures so much into a short read of around 200 pages. Prices are the great balancer in economics. No one is managing all the events taking place at once. Rather the activities of each individual accumulate into what we know as a market. I loved the reasoning behind why businesses raise prices during catastrophic events and why no one person can make a pencil.
A must read!
A must read!
January 15, 2019
The novel's main focus, which it doesn't try to hide, is to teach economic principles. Russ's enthusiasm for the topic, which listeners of his podcast EconTalk will be familiar with, seeps through as he teaches and marvels at the phenomena of emergent order and the vital function price plays in allocating resources to circumvent society's knowledge problem.
It's a very accessible starting point to learn Hayek's deepest insights.
Although it was self-consciously didactic, it was too heavy-handed at times. Also, as a piece of fiction, it lacked in story and character development.
It's a very accessible starting point to learn Hayek's deepest insights.
Although it was self-consciously didactic, it was too heavy-handed at times. Also, as a piece of fiction, it lacked in story and character development.
April 16, 2020
Bringing economics to the people
Professor Roberts distills some basic economics into an easy to read and engaging narrative. I heard him when he was my teacher in the 80s, at Stanford, which is the stage for this novel, and his passion and ability to convey his message in a thought provoking way is not only undiminished, but has greatly increased. Look forward to the sequel.
Professor Roberts distills some basic economics into an easy to read and engaging narrative. I heard him when he was my teacher in the 80s, at Stanford, which is the stage for this novel, and his passion and ability to convey his message in a thought provoking way is not only undiminished, but has greatly increased. Look forward to the sequel.
June 3, 2021
A great fictional story to explain how capitalism, democracy, and socialism relate to each other in the real world via the prices of goods and services. Also the best explanation I’ve seen of why some countries are wealthier than others.
June 25, 2018
Even though there's kind of a twist ending, this is still basically an extended economics lecture on prices.
January 21, 2021
He book is good in explaining the role of prices and freedom in economy although I would have liked to have more economics.
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