The Best Book on the Market

One of the most admirable think tanks that I have had occasion to visit is the Adam Smith Institute based in the UK. Eamon Butler is its director and has just written a book under the title, The Best Book on the Market. On the podcast available here he discusses the ideas contained in the book. A reverberating idea in there is the deficiency of text books in stating clearly how markets arise and for emphasizing that it is not a machine but rather an institution created from human action.

In the interview conducted by Alex Singleton, he responds to the question of the most mischievous idea in the text by stating that first it is desirable for every person to own a text book on economics and that ownership should be followed by ripping off the chapters on perfect markets because that chapter's description of markets is bound to be wrong. He also puts forth a strong defense of the market as a surprisingly moral institution by harnessing self interest. A text that I will be acquiring presently.