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| Economic Facts and Fallacies | 
 enlarge | Author: Thomas Sowell
Publisher: Basic Books
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy New: $15.97
You Save: $10.03 (39%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  55 reviews
Sales Rank: 986
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0465003494
Dewey Decimal Number: 330
EAN: 9780465003495
ASIN: 0465003494
Publication Date: December 31, 2007
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| Customer Reviews:
 Check for the Appropriateness of Comparisons Before Drawing Conclusions March 17, 2008
24 out of 36 found this review helpful
Economists are driven crazy by the misleading conclusions that journalists and politicians draw from using numbers in the wrong way. Dr. Sowell uses this book as an opportunity to challenge some of the conclusions that abound concerning cities, male-female incomes, academia, middle-class incomes and size of the group, racial differences, and characteristics of the third world versus the developed countries. It also points out that these errors have consequences in misallocating resources that could be better applied elsewhere.
If you have never sat through a class on what it takes to make a valid comparison, this book is one long essay on that point. That's the meta-message.
The micro-messages relate to suggesting that problems aren't as large and serious as they seem from frequently quoted statistics. I thought that Dr. Sowell was at his best in describing mismeasurements about middle class income in Chapter 5.
In several of the other chapters, especially Chapter 3, it seemed to me like he was over arguing about statistics at the expense of drawing the right conclusion from looking at the context of what is going on. There seemed to be a desire to show virtuosity that appeared to get in the way of answering the question posed in the chapter. Of course, it's absurd to say that if half of an employer's employees are women that management positions should also be 50 percent female. But if the management positions are only held by women 13 percent of the time, it does seem like something else might be going on (including possible discrimination against women). Dr. Sowell would prefer to leave the argument at the apples and oranges stage.
Some of the historical comparisons are interesting (such as how the number of highly educated women in the workforce has changed in the last 110 years). Parents who resent the high tuition their children's colleges charge will resent those charges even more after understanding more how those high prices are reached and maintained.
The book would have been a lot better if it had included a more solid description of what questions we should be asking and answering in each of these areas to understand what's going on. Without that fully developed foundation, even after reading this book many will be at sea in understanding what's going on in society and the world.
 Fell Short January 31, 2008
19 out of 109 found this review helpful
Dr. Sowell is obviously an accomplished educator and economist. However, this effort fell quite a distance short of the mark. Beginning with a definition of four common fallacies, he then proceeded to use them (particularly the fallacy of "construction") throughout his book. At times, it seemed more of a rant against those taking opposing positions on selected issues. The problem comes from his initial assumptions as to the reasons his positions were opposed in the first place. It seems each of his arguments was based upon a simplistic reduction to a single-variable relationship of cause and effect. If life were truly that simply, the book might have been more worthwhile.
 If only Sowell's knowledge and wisdom were more widely known April 18, 2008
17 out of 20 found this review helpful
There is no end to the exposure of crackpot left-wing theorists in the media. Happening upon an appearance of a conservative economist like Thomas Sowell in the media, however, is extraordinary, which is the nation's loss.
Sowell is a prolific writer, but I doubt he reaches a fraction of the audience of a crank like Paul Krugman.
In this slim volume, Sowell exposes, refutes and debunks six of the major economic fallacies of our time:
1. Urban Facts and Fallacies
2. Male-Female Facts and Fallacies
3. Academic Facts and Fallacies
4. Income Facts and Fallacies
5. Racial Facts and Fallacies
6. Third World Facts and Fallacies
As you've probably noticed, these are six of the major flashpoint issues of our times - and Sowell knocks down the myths and lies the left-wing has worked so hard to spread.
For example, Sowell shows how elitists have made the most desirable areas of California unaffordable for all but the very rich through restrictive policies. This results in various hypocrisies, such as driving out poor blacks from places like San Francisco and also contributes to the fallacy of a lack of "affordable housing". The latter is not the fault of evil conservatives, but of very selfish left-wingers.
Sowell applies his truly formidable knowledge and scalpel-like logic to each of these six fallacies, slicing away the untruths and revealing that the United States is not a nation of massive inequalities, but is in fact still the land of opportunity.
As Sowell puts it so well, "[s]ome things are believed because they are demonstrably true. But many things are believed because they are consistent with a widely held vision of the world - and this vision is accepted as a substitute for facts." For those willing to learn, Sowell demolishes six major myths here. Would that there were more like Sowell - and those willing to learn from him.
Jerry
Hmmmm.... March 4, 2008
9 out of 17 found this review helpful
Dr. Sowell is a gifted economist, and this book would be an excellent introduction to Economics for someone who felt that the mainstream is far too market-unfriendly.
Unfortunately, his analysis all too often sets up straw man arguments, which he is able to tear apart with evident ease.
His frame leaves out much though: in discussions of race discrimination, for instance, he seems to totally ignore the issues of "buyer preference" i.e. whether an employer would actually PREFER to hire a white employee, and be prepared to pay such a preference.
An excellent introduction to the concept of markets as applied to contemporary political issues and some widely held misconceptions. However, by omitting issues like externalities etc., "Economic Facts and Fallacies" unfortunately presents a distorted, if compelling read.
No Such Thing as Too Much Truth March 5, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Those interested in the pursuit of truth and the dangers of falsehoods masquerading as truth will enjoy this book. Those needing an education in economics as well as those already well-versed in economic reasoning will find this book entertaining and informative. Fans of Sowell's many other outstanding books--this reviewer is one of them--will enjoy this effort. I am sending copies of this to both of my daughters in college. We hear the mantra "critical thinking" frequently. In Economic Facts and Fallacies, Thomas Sowell shows readers how it should be done. If eligibility to vote ever depends on passing a test, I hope the questions are based on the reasoning in this book!
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