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How to Think about the Economy: A Primer
This little book was written to accomplish something economic literacy. It is intentionally kept very short to be inviting rather than intimidating. You will gain life-changing understanding of how the economy works in practically no time.Per Bylund will make you excited about what economics has to offer. Because economic literacy is mind-opening. Sound economic reasoning is an enormously powerful tool for understanding both the economy and society. Economic literacy uncovers what is going on under the surface and why things work out as they do. There is no magic to it. In fact, economic literacy is necessary to properly understand the world.Short, direct, axiomatically unassailable, and devastating to the mythology of modern economics. This book not only promote Mises' views, but refutes and attacks the tragicomic orthodoxy of today’s economics mainstream.
121 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 15, 2022
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October 8, 2022
Economics in an Austrian Lesson — A Review of Per Bylund’s ‘How to Think about the Economy.’
The review has been published here: https://mises.org/wire/review-how-thi...
Economics, like physics, is in essence a simple science. It has a subject matter that covers a very wide scope — in physics, the scope is the whole universe, and in economics, all human choices. And just as there are many natural laws that govern the physical universe, there are laws that govern human interactions. Often the physical laws can be stated in simple mathematical formulas, and likewise, economic laws can be stated in words that act as ‘formulae,’ or simply: Rules. Of course, the task of the physicist is to understand what the symbols of the formula mean, what is the domain of their applicability, and what is the range of things they can explain. In Per Bylund’s Primer, we are offered that for the field of economics: An exposition of the science in a way that clarifies the social laws that govern our interactions.
Of course, the first task of any scientist is to define his field of inquiry. And though many scientists bicker about what their field actually studies, they have to agree upon certain ideas and themes that they are mostly concerned with. From the first page, we are introduced to economics as a discipline that studies [1] ‘human actions and interactions,’ and stresses the Austrian inclination toward Methodological Individualism in treating individuals as the smallest acting unit in an economy. This, as opposed to considering economics as a science of how to organize the production and distribution of goods, or the focus on the scarcity of resources as we see in Lionel Robbins’ approach. The author was very careful to define the terms to be used in the rest of the book in a clear manner that many modern economics or political philosophy best-sellers can learn from [2].
The first three chapters cover the general subject to be inspected focusing on the individuals partaking in the production and consumption of the goods and services, how the scientific theory is organized in the Austrian tradition, and the main interactions people can engage in, given an economy. The second part of the book goes over the machinery of the market while considering the psychological and sociological drives that regulate people and their community as a whole, and the third and final part looks at where and when the system can fail following Hayek’s and Bastiat’s terminologies, but really in a way mostly reminiscent of Rothbard’s Man Economy and State [3].
The book is very simple and succinct. It is even easier to read than Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson or Thomas Sowell’s Basic Economics, both of which are mainstream economics books that stress this common-sense introduction to the main topics, and present economics principles in a rational and rigorous manner. Professor Bylund’s book is not intended as a textbook, and it does not cover the theory as one might see in Thomas Taylor’s Introduction to Austrian Economics, but it does justice to its name in providing a good primer. What the book aims at is a basic understanding for the largest possible audience. (In a funny marketing ploy, signed copies of the book were posted on the Mises Institute Twitter account for Klaus Schwab, Robert Reich, and Alexandria Cortez [4].) Other than a bibliography to aid the new reader into Austrian Economics, the book offers much even for those who have read the books by Taylor, Sowell, and Hazlitt mentioned above, since it is more dedicated to the entrepreneurial spirit and with a focus on production. These ideas are in constant need of being refreshed since we have become politically polarized in a very critical way that it’s hard to look at the basic principles behind why we support what we do, and can only point out what problems await the plans of our opponents, and why they are economically infeasible. In such a charged atmosphere, we forget to consider Hayek’s reminder [5]: ‘We must first explain how an economy can possibly work right before we can meaningfully ask what might go wrong.’
In a private communication with the author, I asked him what might Austrian Economics be called if it hadn’t acquired this name. And he responded with ‘Causal-realist economics.’ This gives us a great intuition about what such a book will provide, and it starts with [6]:
And ends with [7]:
The most important takeaway from the book is to come to know what metaphysical rules regulate our behavior, and what language Austrian economists use to attribute causes and understand social phenomena. This is done to show that this ‘dismal science’ is a legitimate effort to study the consequences of our choices.
Unlike the German Historical School which does not recognize immutable laws governing societies and human action and interaction, or the Keynesian economics of today whose [8] ‘propensity to imitate as closely as possible the procedures of the brilliantly successful physical sciences’ has shifted the focus on economics on experimentation [9] instead of logical deduction, the book, following Hoppe [10] and Rothbard [11], explains how we can revive this tradition in a noncompromising manner. For that, it has done its job spectacularly.
[1] Per L. Bylund, How to Think about the Economy: A Primer, Mises Institute, 2022, p. 15.
[2] For recent books that leave some of the main economic ideas in their books vague, see for instance Ha-Joon Chang’s 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism, John Perkins’ The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism, and Christopher Ryan’s Civilized to Death.
[3] Murray N. Rothbard, Man, Economy, and State, Mises Institute, 2009, Chapter 12 and Power and Market.
[4] I believe another one was also written for Richard Wolff, but I could not locate it. For the others, the links can be found here: https://twitter.com/mises/status/1559..., https://twitter.com/mises/status/1565..., https://twitter.com/mises/status/1559....
[5] Roger W. Garrison, F. A. Hayek as ‘Mr. Fluctooations’: In Defense of Hayek's ‘Technical Economics,’ LSE's Hayek Society Journal, vol. 5, no. 2 (Spring), 2003.
[6] Per L. Bylund, How to Think about the Economy: A Primer, Mises Institute, 2022, p. 15.
[7] Ibid, p. 131.
[8] Friedrich August von Hayek – Nobel Prize Lecture: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/eco....
[9] This can be seen quite clearly in the most recent Nobel prizes that were attempting to survey regions to cast doubt into economic facts or experiment on poverty.
[10] Hans Hermann Hoppe, Economic Science and the Austrian Method, Mises Institute, 2007.
[11] Murray N. Rothbard, Economic Controversies, Mises Institute, 2011.
The review has been published here: https://mises.org/wire/review-how-thi...
“It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a ‘dismal science.’ But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.”
— Murray N. Rothbard.
Economics, like physics, is in essence a simple science. It has a subject matter that covers a very wide scope — in physics, the scope is the whole universe, and in economics, all human choices. And just as there are many natural laws that govern the physical universe, there are laws that govern human interactions. Often the physical laws can be stated in simple mathematical formulas, and likewise, economic laws can be stated in words that act as ‘formulae,’ or simply: Rules. Of course, the task of the physicist is to understand what the symbols of the formula mean, what is the domain of their applicability, and what is the range of things they can explain. In Per Bylund’s Primer, we are offered that for the field of economics: An exposition of the science in a way that clarifies the social laws that govern our interactions.
Of course, the first task of any scientist is to define his field of inquiry. And though many scientists bicker about what their field actually studies, they have to agree upon certain ideas and themes that they are mostly concerned with. From the first page, we are introduced to economics as a discipline that studies [1] ‘human actions and interactions,’ and stresses the Austrian inclination toward Methodological Individualism in treating individuals as the smallest acting unit in an economy. This, as opposed to considering economics as a science of how to organize the production and distribution of goods, or the focus on the scarcity of resources as we see in Lionel Robbins’ approach. The author was very careful to define the terms to be used in the rest of the book in a clear manner that many modern economics or political philosophy best-sellers can learn from [2].
The first three chapters cover the general subject to be inspected focusing on the individuals partaking in the production and consumption of the goods and services, how the scientific theory is organized in the Austrian tradition, and the main interactions people can engage in, given an economy. The second part of the book goes over the machinery of the market while considering the psychological and sociological drives that regulate people and their community as a whole, and the third and final part looks at where and when the system can fail following Hayek’s and Bastiat’s terminologies, but really in a way mostly reminiscent of Rothbard’s Man Economy and State [3].
The book is very simple and succinct. It is even easier to read than Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson or Thomas Sowell’s Basic Economics, both of which are mainstream economics books that stress this common-sense introduction to the main topics, and present economics principles in a rational and rigorous manner. Professor Bylund’s book is not intended as a textbook, and it does not cover the theory as one might see in Thomas Taylor’s Introduction to Austrian Economics, but it does justice to its name in providing a good primer. What the book aims at is a basic understanding for the largest possible audience. (In a funny marketing ploy, signed copies of the book were posted on the Mises Institute Twitter account for Klaus Schwab, Robert Reich, and Alexandria Cortez [4].) Other than a bibliography to aid the new reader into Austrian Economics, the book offers much even for those who have read the books by Taylor, Sowell, and Hazlitt mentioned above, since it is more dedicated to the entrepreneurial spirit and with a focus on production. These ideas are in constant need of being refreshed since we have become politically polarized in a very critical way that it’s hard to look at the basic principles behind why we support what we do, and can only point out what problems await the plans of our opponents, and why they are economically infeasible. In such a charged atmosphere, we forget to consider Hayek’s reminder [5]: ‘We must first explain how an economy can possibly work right before we can meaningfully ask what might go wrong.’
In a private communication with the author, I asked him what might Austrian Economics be called if it hadn’t acquired this name. And he responded with ‘Causal-realist economics.’ This gives us a great intuition about what such a book will provide, and it starts with [6]:
‘The Economics of old sought to uncover how the world works. It showed, or even proved, that there is a natural order to it.’
And ends with [7]:
‘Nothing about the market economy is magic. … [T]he market is quite real and mundane. It functions in a certain and knowable way; it has a specific behavior, which emerges from and arises out of people’s actions and interactions.’
The most important takeaway from the book is to come to know what metaphysical rules regulate our behavior, and what language Austrian economists use to attribute causes and understand social phenomena. This is done to show that this ‘dismal science’ is a legitimate effort to study the consequences of our choices.
Unlike the German Historical School which does not recognize immutable laws governing societies and human action and interaction, or the Keynesian economics of today whose [8] ‘propensity to imitate as closely as possible the procedures of the brilliantly successful physical sciences’ has shifted the focus on economics on experimentation [9] instead of logical deduction, the book, following Hoppe [10] and Rothbard [11], explains how we can revive this tradition in a noncompromising manner. For that, it has done its job spectacularly.
[1] Per L. Bylund, How to Think about the Economy: A Primer, Mises Institute, 2022, p. 15.
[2] For recent books that leave some of the main economic ideas in their books vague, see for instance Ha-Joon Chang’s 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism, John Perkins’ The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism, and Christopher Ryan’s Civilized to Death.
[3] Murray N. Rothbard, Man, Economy, and State, Mises Institute, 2009, Chapter 12 and Power and Market.
[4] I believe another one was also written for Richard Wolff, but I could not locate it. For the others, the links can be found here: https://twitter.com/mises/status/1559..., https://twitter.com/mises/status/1565..., https://twitter.com/mises/status/1559....
[5] Roger W. Garrison, F. A. Hayek as ‘Mr. Fluctooations’: In Defense of Hayek's ‘Technical Economics,’ LSE's Hayek Society Journal, vol. 5, no. 2 (Spring), 2003.
[6] Per L. Bylund, How to Think about the Economy: A Primer, Mises Institute, 2022, p. 15.
[7] Ibid, p. 131.
[8] Friedrich August von Hayek – Nobel Prize Lecture: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/eco....
[9] This can be seen quite clearly in the most recent Nobel prizes that were attempting to survey regions to cast doubt into economic facts or experiment on poverty.
[10] Hans Hermann Hoppe, Economic Science and the Austrian Method, Mises Institute, 2007.
[11] Murray N. Rothbard, Economic Controversies, Mises Institute, 2011.
March 7, 2023
Great starter Econ book. I would recommend starting here before moving on to Hazlitt’s “Economics in One Lesson.” This book gets you in the right frame of mind, but doesn’t chase down a ton of specific issues (although inflation, minimum wage, etc. are certainly mentioned). Hazlitt will help you dive into more specifics. This book is also extremely concise, maybe 4 or so hours of total read time.
January 10, 2023
I think this book is the perfect example to say something like: "simple ain't easy", a famous sentence from Rich Hickey about programming.
There's this complaint that Mises' theories are based on axioms and not on observation of empirical results, but the fact is that statistics are an easy liar, and usually take us to the wrong models, predictions, and conclusions, which leads us to take wrong decisions and most of the times negatively influencing the market. This makes us willing to avoid seeing the unseen and living with the booms we've been living lately, mainly since the big financial crisis of 2008.
I really enjoyed this book, at least as a beginner in the subject (economics, but not statistics).
I can easily see the economy as a system. A system where the social part is very, very important and where we should expect the free market to dictate the rules and not impose limitations on it with unpredictable causality.
I also enjoyed the part about specialization. Creating specialized people and teams can increase productivity in 24k times (p.85). I'm emphasizing teams, where a group of specialized workers depends on each of its members to attain a certain goal.
Last but not least, "Economic literacy is the antidote to destructive policy. But it is so much more. Economic literacy is mind-opening because it allows us to truly understand how the world works".
And this is simply fascinating "per se".
As a Portuguese, I can talk about the Portuguese educational system. And one of the things I can now clearly see it lacks is to teach economics, entrepreneurship, and simple laws of the free market.
We still have a long journey until we understand how to become more productive and stop living around concrete, tourism, and political/economical speculation. Instead, we should learn more about entrepreneurship and start to use each and every opportunity of selling our so top quality products.
I'm giving 5 stars to this book because I find it kind of a life-changer manifesto.
There's this complaint that Mises' theories are based on axioms and not on observation of empirical results, but the fact is that statistics are an easy liar, and usually take us to the wrong models, predictions, and conclusions, which leads us to take wrong decisions and most of the times negatively influencing the market. This makes us willing to avoid seeing the unseen and living with the booms we've been living lately, mainly since the big financial crisis of 2008.
I really enjoyed this book, at least as a beginner in the subject (economics, but not statistics).
I can easily see the economy as a system. A system where the social part is very, very important and where we should expect the free market to dictate the rules and not impose limitations on it with unpredictable causality.
I also enjoyed the part about specialization. Creating specialized people and teams can increase productivity in 24k times (p.85). I'm emphasizing teams, where a group of specialized workers depends on each of its members to attain a certain goal.
Last but not least, "Economic literacy is the antidote to destructive policy. But it is so much more. Economic literacy is mind-opening because it allows us to truly understand how the world works".
And this is simply fascinating "per se".
As a Portuguese, I can talk about the Portuguese educational system. And one of the things I can now clearly see it lacks is to teach economics, entrepreneurship, and simple laws of the free market.
We still have a long journey until we understand how to become more productive and stop living around concrete, tourism, and political/economical speculation. Instead, we should learn more about entrepreneurship and start to use each and every opportunity of selling our so top quality products.
I'm giving 5 stars to this book because I find it kind of a life-changer manifesto.
September 10, 2022
I think this book achieves exactly what it sets out to do; a clear and short introduction to economic thinking. It is surprisingly broad, a lot of ground gets covered in these 130 pages. It will be The Book I recommend to someone coming to the subject (alongside maybe Callahan's Economics for Real People). Even for someone who's read a bit of (Austrian) economics it's worth a go; the parts on the market and entrepreneurship are great, and the explanation of the business cycle theory is fantastic.
December 25, 2022
This is an excellent introductory book on the main tenets of Austrian economics. It successfully summarises the ideas of a wide range of economists, including Menger, Wicksell, von Mises, Hayek, Schumpeter, and Kirzner, among others. Although each topic mentioned in the book deserves more detailed discussion, the book provides a unique and comprehensive perspective on how to think about these issues in order to truly understand economic phenomena. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to not only improve their understanding of economic issues, but also their reasoning skills to see what is unseen.
November 21, 2023
One of the greatest books ever written. Per Bylund successfully tackles the common misperceptions in politics, media and academia. He provides an obvious realistic, logical and Austrian perspective on the everyday and practical economy that is fully comprehensible to average Joes and Marys. He appeals to commonsense and human intelligence. He shows why all the current theoretical jargoon in economics is completely meaningless.
April 7, 2024
It was just OK, pretty derivative of stuff that has come before it (I, Pencil and Economics in One Lesson) but more condensed and in one book that's in modern prose.
Personally, I also just find the topic of "humans will do X if Y" when it comes to libertarian/Austrian economics old hat. There are far more important things to focus on than postulating human spending patterns according to your "it works great on paper" theory.
Otherwise a good intro to economics for those that need it.
Personally, I also just find the topic of "humans will do X if Y" when it comes to libertarian/Austrian economics old hat. There are far more important things to focus on than postulating human spending patterns according to your "it works great on paper" theory.
Otherwise a good intro to economics for those that need it.
October 23, 2023
It's hard to read about Economics when dominated in Fiat currency. Per handles all subjects well and gives a general outline. The larger capitol and structured markets I can't help to feel that the manipulation is beyond fair with the collapse of the US Dollar and Euro. If like to think that Bitcoin can realign market denomination but I'm not so sure even though I'm very bullish on Bitcoin.
April 15, 2024
The author really goes to great lengths to educate the reader on the subject of how to think of the economy. Using examples that are as simple as they are poignant, he takes the reader through first principles and ends with a more complex - yet still easy to understand - issue using all of the skills already spoken of earlier. Worth the price and multiple reads.
August 30, 2022
How to Think about the Economy is a short, direct, easy to understand economics book.
As economics impacts nearly every decision we make, I recommend Bylund's book to anyone that wants to be more economically literate and to make wiser choices.
As economics impacts nearly every decision we make, I recommend Bylund's book to anyone that wants to be more economically literate and to make wiser choices.
October 7, 2022
Really great intro - there's somethings that I know (statist) people would push back on/not satisfied by (the minimum wage policy example in Chp. 9) - but super readable intro to economics and economics in the Austrian school.
January 29, 2024
Per Bylund is completely sound, and correct, and this is good. No quibbles on the economic side whatsoever. It is impervious to critique on that score. So I guess I have to give it 4 stars though it is surprisingly dry (considering what a tornado Per is on Twitter).
August 30, 2022
This book contains the best and clearest explanation of the Austrian business cycle theory that I've yet seen. Professor Bylund's tone throughout the book is perfect, his exposition is clear, and the emphasis on entrepreneurship is especially welcome.
September 10, 2022
so basic
December 25, 2022
Marrow: chapter 9!
Regulatory Intervention
The Seen
The Unseen
The Unrealized
Regulatory Intervention
The Seen
The Unseen
The Unrealized
December 27, 2022
If you're a beginner in economics I advise you start with this one. Per Bylund could not have been any clearer!
December 29, 2022
Should be required reading, both in high school and in government.
February 4, 2023
Especially liked his coverage of the entrepreneur in the economy and how it relates to boom/bust. (Supposed to be my own personal notes, not a review for public eyes.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2023
not the best approach
November 25, 2023
excellent primer
Great starting place for thinking about the nature of economics, with an excellent further reading list at the end of the book.
Great starting place for thinking about the nature of economics, with an excellent further reading list at the end of the book.
January 16, 2024
Good content, but not well delivered.
Kindle version has lots of typos.
Kindle version has lots of typos.
January 24, 2023
An excellent introduction to solid economic reasoning
Professor Bylund provides a brief, yet thorough, explanation of how the economy actually works. It is a little weighty at some points, but no more so than necessary in order to challenge many of the commonly-held errors regarding the market. He concisely shows how the market operates according to immutable laws, how a the consumer is sovereign in the market, and how regulations disrupt the normal flow of the economy - typically with consequences that can be foreseen with those who understand those economic laws.
This is definitely a useful book to introduce any thoughtful individual to the "Austrian School" of economics.
Professor Bylund provides a brief, yet thorough, explanation of how the economy actually works. It is a little weighty at some points, but no more so than necessary in order to challenge many of the commonly-held errors regarding the market. He concisely shows how the market operates according to immutable laws, how a the consumer is sovereign in the market, and how regulations disrupt the normal flow of the economy - typically with consequences that can be foreseen with those who understand those economic laws.
This is definitely a useful book to introduce any thoughtful individual to the "Austrian School" of economics.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews