Seven Deadly Economic Sins

Obstacles to Prosperity and Happiness Every Citizen Should Know

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This book was one of the nominees for the 2022 Hayek Book Prize, so I thought it might be a good choice to obtain via the Interlibrary Loan services of the University Near Here Library. Soon enough, it arrived from the good people at Michigan State.

I had previously read the winning book, Joseph Henrich's The WEIRDest People in the World, which I liked; and Gerald Gaus's The Open Society and Its Complexities, which (I admit) was way too advanced for me. This one's good but a tad on the too-simple side.

And the title's a little misleading. The author, James R. Otteson, doesn't really organize his book around those seven "sins"; the title might have been an eye-grabbing effort by the publisher. (Those wild and crazy folks at Cambridge University Press!) Instead, Otteson details seven economic and philosophical principles underlying progress and prosperity, showing how those principles contradict corresponding popular fallacies.

Those principles: (1) Voluntary economic transactions are positive-sum, adding to wealth, in contrast to "extractive" coerced transactions, which are often zero-sum at best, and usually negative-sum. (2) A rational economic order requires attention to opportunity costs. (3) Economic decision-making involves local knowledge unavailable to would-be central planners; (4) Economic progress relies on a supporting foundation of public processes and institutions that should not be taken for granted. (5) Another vital foundation of prosperity is recognizing the virtue inherent in lightly-regulated markets. (6) The only "equality" worth defending is the equal moral worth of individuals. And finally, (7) markets are great, but inapplicable in numerous settings.

I've simplified Otteson's points considerably. He draws on the wisdom of Adam Smith, Frédéric Bastiat, Hayek, McCloskey, and numerous others in support.

The book can seem a little repetitious at times, and this was apparent right from Chapter One. Forty-nine pages to hammer home, belabor, dwell on, and emphasize the nature of wealth-creating economic transactions? Certainly in my case he was preaching to the choir and pushing on an already wide-open door, but …

However, I think Otteson's overall approach is valuable, providing an overall moral case for the free market. I'd recommend this for any bright high schooler or undergrad who's economics-curious.


Last Modified 2024-01-17 9:33 AM EDT