Economic Facts and Fallacies is one of many books that famed economist and professor Thomas Sowell has authored over the years. With his age he has acquired opinions that he not only feels strongly about, but also vocally defends on a regular basis. Sowell’s views are undeniably abrasive and he brashly reiterates them while disguising each as fact. The title is an important thing to acknowledge – Economic Fact and Fallacies. Facts are undeniable truths and distinguishable among fallacies because of this. The implication of the title is that Thomas Sowell with his vast knowledge of economics (which he sincerely has) is going to educate the layman, i.e., the reader, about economics. While Sowell would argue that he does just that, using this book as a means of education would definitely instill a bias in any susceptible mind.

The book is divided into six categories of facts and fallacies: urban, male and female, academic, income, racial, and third world. All of these sections cannot easily be summarized, for there are also many subdivisions within these categories that Sowell addresses.

The book states, “Fallacies are not simply crazy ideas. They are usually both plausible and logical – but with something missing. This gains them political support.” This excerpt comes from the very beginning of the book where he proposes his ideas as to why fallacies are commonly accepted and why certain widely accepted fallacies are not true. While writing about the facts and fallacies in this book, I am tempted to write quotation marks surrounding the words “fact” and “fallacy” simply because the contents of this book are far more subjective than Sowell acknowledges. At times this book seems to be a complete refutation of Keynesian economics or any sort of ideology that supports government intervention in the market. Sowell boldly tries to debunk the necessity of much government involvement in economics and in doing so, ostracizes any reader with opposing views. This could make the book seem to resemble the political commentary of a cunning dogmatist.

Do not mistake his bias for an attempt to shroud the truth with lies. He supports his points diligently with statistics, each having a reputable source. Therefore, there is an audience for this book while it may be selective. Any person who supports small government and is looking for a book that economically explains the benefits of small government would enjoy reading this. However, anybody that feels like it is the government’s responsibility to continually intervene in economic issues may find Sowell’s rhetoric to be obnoxious and misguided. It would take someone with a very open mind to read this book, having opposing viewpoints with Sowell, and enjoy it.

I enjoyed the way he wrote the novel with understandable diction. It is very common to read a book about economics and be bombarded with economist dialect that nobody without a PhD could understand. However, Sowell refrains from this and writes in an intelligent manner that is easy to understand yet does not patronize the reader. I also like the way he invokes statistics and other sources to support all of his opinions. The one negative thing about the book, as I mentioned before, is Sowell’s evident bias.

I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to understand social issues and their relationship to economics. I would suggest that the reader should read the book with an open mind and have the understanding that economics is as subjective as political science. If you take this into account, Economic Facts and Fallacies can be a useful artifice in developing an informed opinion about the broad field of economic sciences.