Thomas J. DiLorenzo - The Politically Incorrect Guide to Economics

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Economics

Thomas J. DiLorenzo

Bestselling Author of The Problem with Socialism

Economics is not brain surgery.Ben Carson

In the spirit of Regnerys Politically Incorrect series, Professor DiLorenzo de-bamboozles economics in the most engaging ways possible. From markets to monopolies, from perfect competition nirvana to socialist predation, this book is maybe the single best introduction (or refresher) to economics Ive ever seen. Bravo!

Jeff Deist, president of the Ludwig von Mises Institute

Since its onset during the Progressive Era, the economics profession has been the handmaiden of political power. Thankfully, Thomas DiLorenzo is a card-carrying member of an older, nobler tradition in economics. He has spent his illustrious career speaking truth to power and louder than ever in his latest book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Economics.

Dr. Jeffrey Herbener, chair of the Department of Economics and Sociology, Grove City College

In his characteristically lively, engaging style, Tom DiLorenzo knocks down one myth after another about the alleged shortcomings of markets and competition. A great introduction not only to economic policy, but also to how (good) economists think.

Peter Klein, professor of entrepreneurship at Baylor University

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Economics by Thomas DiLorenzo is the Economics in One Lesson (by the late, great Henry Hazlitt) for the twenty-first century, a must-read for everyone who values economic freedom over bureaucratic control, political cronyism, and socialism.

David Stockman, former Michigan congressman and director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in the Reagan administration

American History

Thomas Woods

9780895260475

The American Revolution

Larry Schweikart

Dave Dougherty

9781621576259

The Bible

Robert J. Hutchinson

9781596985209

The British Empire

H. W. Crocker III

9781596986299

Capitalism

Robert P. Murphy

9781596985049

Catholicism

John Zmirak

9781621575863

Christianity

Michael P. Foley

9781621575207

The Civil War

H. W. Crocker III

9781596985490

Communism

Paul Kengor

9781621575870

The Constitution

Kevin R. C. Gutzman

9781596985056

Darwinism and Intelligent Design

Jonathan Wells

9781596980136

English and American Literature

Elizabeth Kantor

9781596980112

The Founding Fathers

Brion McClanahan

9781596980921

Global Warming

Christopher C. Horner

9781596985018

The Great Depression and the New Deal

Robert Murphy

9781596980969

Hunting

Frank Miniter

9781596985216

Immigration

John Zmirak and Al Perrotta

9781621576730

Islam (And the Crusades)

Robert Spencer

9780895260130

Jihad

William Kilpatrick

9781621575771

The Middle East

Martin Sieff

9781596980518

The Presidents, Part 1

Larry Schweikart

9781621575245

The Presidents, Part 2

Steven F. Hayward

9781621575795

Real American Heroes

Brion McClanahan

9781596983205

Science

Tom Bethell

9780895260314

The Sixties

Jonathan Leaf

9781596985728

Socialism

Kevin D. Williamson

9781596986497

The South (And Why It Will Rise Again)

Clint Johnson

9781596985001

The Vietnam War

Phillip Jennings

9781596985674

Western Civilization

Anthony Esolen

9781596980594

Women, Sex, and Feminism

Carrie L. Lukas

9781596980037

Copyright 2022 by Thomas J. DiLorenzo

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, website, or broadcast.

Regnery is a registered trademark and its colophon is a trademark of Salem Communications Holding Corporation

Cataloging-in-Publication data on file with the Library of Congress

ISBN: 978-1-68451-298-0

eISBN: 978-1-68451-313-0

Published in the United States by

Regnery Publishing

A Division of Salem Media Group

Washington, D.C.

www.Regnery.com

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Cover design by Jason Sunde

Dedicated to the memory of my friend and colleague, Professor Walter E. Williams, champion of freedom and economic educator extraordinaire

I n the academic world, university economics departments are usually where you will find the most conservatives and the least politically correct foolishness. Understanding even the most elementary economic principles inoculates one against the utopian fantasies of liberals and socialistssuch as curing poverty with minimum wage laws (why not make it $1,000 per hour and end poverty once and for all?); controlling inflation with price-control laws (yeah, like Nixon did); enriching the working class by taking more money out of their pockets in taxes; cutting the cost of medical care by giving government bureaucrats a monopoly in its provision; putting the nations entire money supply under the control of political appointees in a secret organization (the Fed) that has never been audited; giving politicians legal rights to counterfeit money (monetary policy); and so forth. This is why economists are often treated like the skunks at the picnic by liberal and socialist utopians in academe and elsewhere. They point out the obvious.

This general truth is far from universal, however; there are plenty of economics departments at American universities where just about everyone is to the left of a Hillary Clinton or a Barack Obama. Then there are the celebrity economists chosen by the government elites and crony capitalist corporate bureaucrats who are featured on the network television stations and in the New York Times and the Washington Post. Some of them, like Clinton administration labor secretary Robert Reich, are not even economists but lawyers and political hacks.

A Book Youre Not Supposed to Read

James T. Bennett and Thomas J. DiLorenzo, Official Lies: How Washington Misleads Us (Alexandria, Virginia: Groom Publishing, 1993).

Government lies to us about just about everything.

Most people largely ignore economics because, lets face it, the dismal science (Thomas Carlyles name for it) is not quite as simple and easy as watching a TV sitcom or an episode of