A lone voice of economic sanity in the U.S. after World War II was Henry Hazlitt, who had moved in 1946 from the New York Times editorial page to Newsweek magazine where he wrote until the late 1960s. He wrote a column every week on the most important economic topic being discussed in politics and the media. Each column was about 800 words, and each taught a lesson using logic and evidence. His column was always a wonderful annoyance to the political class and a ray of bright light for freedom lovers everywhere.
None of these columns have appeared in print since. This wonderful book BusinessTides brings them all back to light in a gorgeous and easy-to-read format, arranged from the first to the last. The topics are the same ones that are in the news today: deficits, spending, tariffs and trade, inflation and the gold standard, wage and price controls, regulations, presidential intervention, stimulus and laissez-faire, government spending on research. In other words, he deals with all the same issues we are dealing with today!
Reading this book is like getting your own personal guided tour of the economic history of the postwar world. It enlightens on every page. It is a kind of live blog of the entire period of history. Hazlitt s tone is always sober, stable, and fluid, with a timeless quality that impresses the reader with its logic and erudition. It appears on issue after issue, in every article without exception.
Of course you can turn to any page and enjoy his commentary. But it is especially interesting to read the articles in sequences because, quite often, Hazlitt elaborates on particular points as a debate developments and then he further refines his points in light of critics. In this way, the reader gains a through understanding of the topic in question.
The real beauty of this volume is that it rescues from history some of the most powerful and important economic commentary ever. It came about during the great transition out of the war and into peaceful economic planning of the sort inspired by Keynes. Hazlitt fought it every step of the way, valiantly and with the cool light of reason and wisdom. We will never know for sure how many bad policies were stopped by his writing, but he sure did leave a wonderful legacy for future generations.