Economics in One Lesson: Part 1 | Walter Block

Recorded during the 2008 Mises University, Jeffrey Tucker interviews Walter Block on the topic of Henry Hazlitt's classic book "Economics in One Lesson." This is the first in a series of twelve interviews with leading Austrian Economists discussing each chapter of Hazlitt's book.

• Category

  News & Politics

[bcsizemore]

Why shouldn't we raise the minimum wage to $50.00 an hour? If you can answer that rationally, then you will understand why we should not have a minimum wage.

[DaveC86]

i never thought i'd ever be interested in economics, all thanks to henry hazzlit!

[Pedro Morales S]

I just lost my ''economic in one lesson'' book. I just read a few pages, I miss it.

[Todd Parris]

7:00

[Todd Parris]

Australia has a strong economy and has not suffered from capital consumption like the United States has over the past half century. Their economy is more productive, allowing the least skilled workers to have a higher standard of living. Try raising their minimum wage to $100 and see them priced out of the market. Your examples given (other comments) are over simplified. There are other factors at work than a single policy.

[Abdala zédou]

Economics is the best way to understand human activities from the single agent to the whole wold's through the national activities. No other science can do this so properly as it does! I like Economics and more the 'moral' one! Yes, there is one kind of understanding the subject which can be really damageable to the global economy.

[Ben Russell]

If you were a student of economics, you would understand the term "ceteris paribus": all else being equal. This is the failure of econometrics, which treats complex economies like physics or chemistry. The fact is that economics is not a hard science, so Austrian economists resort to praxeology: developing theory from irreducible and undeniable truths about humanity. It's difficult to make a claim about individual economies because there are so many other differences that muddy the picture.

[December151791]

Holy Rocky Horror Picture Show!

[evanr00]

America during the 20th century is an example, but an even better one IMO is Hong Kong. 80 years ago Hong Kong was just a small fishing village, now it has one of the richest and most prosperous nations(its really a city state though) in the world. There are no natural resources and people flocked there with no wealth at all, just a desire to better themselves. The government kept taxes very low, and left people alone and they prospered because of it.