Everything from huge Keynesian "stimulus" policies to the war in Ukraine is dovetailing in a bout of stagflation: the simultaneous growth of inflation and unemployment.
The world is in chaos, so politicians MUST do something. Hence, they demand autarky, which is like attempting to put out a fire by pouring gasoline on it.
Critics of free markets claim that capitalism causes poverty. After economic restrictions against India's Dalits caste were lifted, many Dalits were able to secure a better life and rise from poverty.
In the long run, economic stimulus creates no shortage of losers. The state’s objective is always to extract as many eggs from the golden goose as possible, only now it's not important to keep the goose alive.
Hazlitt takes on a humble objective: to deliver an “unblushingly ‘classical,’ ‘traditional,’ and ‘orthodox’” synthesis of economics. This is the most fitting way to approach the layman, who will only retain a few lessons from an introductory book.
