Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life
by David D. Friedman
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Book Summary Information
Author: David D. FriedmanEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1997-07-18
ISBN: 0887308856
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: HarperBusiness
Book Reviews of Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life
Book Review: The loss of a star is only because it's a bit confusing...
Summary: 4 Stars
Not everyone has heard of David Friedman, son of the Milton Friedman, but he's a professor of economics and has written several books. I had a different book on my list to read first, The Machinery of Freedom, but I came across this title and it looked interesting enough, so I picked it up and I'm glad I did.
Friedman tries to bring economics, the study of the allocation of scarcity, into everyday life situations, job hunting, wife hunting and why kids behave as well as discussing how economic policies on a larger scale (government edict) effect everyday life, purchasing power, costs, production, etc.
His effort is a mixed of insights and confusion, and he notes near the beginning of the book that if a reader understands all the concepts, even upon a second read, that person might as well be teaching the stuff. I have to agree I was lost in much of the explanations and didn't completely understand a good portion of the logic and how it all worked, however, I did grasp a basic understanding of the overall concepts and even in areas that I couldn't explain myself, I have a better picture of how it all works.
One of the reasons this book, and others like it, are important reads is simply because economic policy decisions by our elected leaders make such a long range impact upon our normal lives, it's not that any one voter has much of an effect upon an election, and Friedman goes into depth explaining why most people don't really spend much time or effort to learn about issues or politician's that they are casting votes for, if everyone's basic understanding level was increased, it might have a positive impact upon our lives. Perhaps. Perhaps not.
One of the interesting things about how politics work, from an economic viewpoint, is explained by Friedman. He shows how a major bill, whether trade tariff, tax or what not, is huge to a small group, but small to a huge group. Think of it like this; if a bill will cost every American a few dollars in increased costs, but delivers a benefit to a small group in the millions of dollars, who will spend the time and money to see to it that the bill passes? Obviously the small group can focus time and money, it's worth it to them, the large group however, not only is harder to coordinate (assuming someone even tries), it's not necessarily in someone's interest to spend time and money to save a few dollars, so because the cost is spread out, it's harder to coordinate a concentrated effort to stop such a bill.
Think of the implications of the economics in the explanation there, a thousand bills passed in congress, each costing you only a few dollars each, cost you thousands a year, yet each one by itself is only a negative of a few bucks, so how much time is it worth it to you to defeat that particular bill? However each of these thousand special interests has millions to gain, so to them, spending thousands and thousands has a positive expectation.
The other areas that I found very interesting in this book were the discussions of criminal law and the economics faced by the accused, how the D.A.'s allocate resources (plea agreements), the prisoner's dilemma and other such interesting ways to look at normal everyday problems of society through the lens of economics. There is a little bit of discussion of the drug trade and other libertarian ideas, but mostly the book concentrates on explaining the economics of policy's and laws and of course, supply, demand, monopoly's and the like without much pontificating on Friedman's part about what choices are better or worse for society.
There is a discussion of trade and tariffs, how wheat can be turned into cars and how lot's of stuff you hear on the news is uttered by people that have no idea what they are talking about, and often make pronouncements that are the polar opposite of reality.
In conclusion, I'd highly recommend this work to anyone even slightly interested in how economics works, and also how they may have been fooled into thinking certain things about laws, trade, benefits, anti-trust, supply and demand and such that are simply wrong and misleading. It may change how you vote, it will certainly challenge the way you view the current political world.
Highly recommended.
Summary of Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life
David Friedman has never taken an economics class in his life. Sure, he's taught economics at UCLA. Chicago, Tulane, Cornell, and Santa Clara, but don't hold that against him. After all, everyone's an economist. We all make daily decisions that rely, consciously or not, on an acute understanding of economic theory--from picking the fastest checkout tine at the supermarket to voting or not voting, from negotiating the best job offer to finding the right person to marry.
Hidden Order is an essential guide to rational living, revealing all you need to know to get through each day without being eaten alive. Friedman's wise and immensely accessible book is perfect for amateur economists, struggling economics students, young parents and professionals--just about anyone who wants a clear-cut approach to why we make the choices we do and a sensible strategy for how to make the right ones.
To David Friedman (son of Milton Friedman), economics explains everything. In a way, that's an odd thing for him to say: Friedman Jr. has never taken an economics course in his life (by training he's a physicist). Yet he defines economics broadly and uses it as a tool to understand all aspects of human behavior, from selecting a mate to picking a grocery store line to switching lanes in rush-hour traffic jams. If you like the economics-for-everyman approach of such writers as Steven E. Landsburg, then Friedman is for you.
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