The book presents a fresh viewpoint on free-market economics, shifting the defense from efficiency to a moral argument. It contends that coercive policymaking conflicts with the rights-based concept of justice inherent in Western thought. By emphasizing the ethical implications of market freedom, it challenges traditional utilitarian justifications and advocates for a perspective that prioritizes individual rights and justice over top-down approaches.
This book offers the reader a new perspective on free-market economics, one in which the defense of markets is no longer based upon the utilitarian claim that free markets are more efficient; rather, the defense of markets rests upon the moral argument that top-down coercive policy-making is necessarily in tension with the rights-based notion of justice typical of the Western tradition.
The Economics You Need provides the ideal introduction for students approaching economics from other academic disciplines, as it uses only a limited amount of economics jargon, and is constructed so that several chapters can be read independently of the others. This book is structured around the premise that a set of theoretical steps are necessary for understanding economics as a way of thinking, rather than as a set of solutions. It also encourages the reader to consider alternatives to common assumptions, to acknowledge the need for value judgements and to foster fresh thinking in an imperfect world.