The Scope and Boundaries of Economic Science
2. How We Develop Economic Principles
Purposeful Action versus Mindless Behavior
The Social versus the Natural Sciences
The Success of the Natural Sciences versus the Social Sciences
How We Develop Basic Economics
3. Economic Concepts Implied By Action
Preferences Are a Ranking, Not a Measurement Using Numbers
Different Individuals’ Preferences Can’t Be Combined
4. “Robinson Crusoe” Economics
Crusoe Creates Goods With His Mind Powers
Consumer Goods versus Producer Goods
Land, Labor, and Capital Goods
Income, Saving, and Investment
Pulling It All Together: What Should Crusoe Do With Himself?
PART II: CAPITALISM: THE MARKET ECONOMY
5. The Institution of Private Property
Capitalism: This Is Private Property
The Market Economy and Free Enterprise
6. Direct Exchange and Barter Prices
Why Do People Trade With Each Other?
How Prices Are Formed in Barter
7. Indirect Exchange and the Appearance of Money
The Limitations of Direct Exchange
The Advantages of Indirect Exchange
8. The Division of Labor and Specialization
The Division of Labor and Specialization
Why Specialization Makes Labor More Productive
Enriching Everyone By Focusing on Comparative Advantage
9. Entrepreneurship and Competition
Competition Protects Customers
10. Income, Saving, and Investment
Income, Saving, and Investment
Investment Increases Future Income
How Saving and Investment Increase An Economy’s Future Output
Supply and Demand: The Purpose
Demand: Its Definition and Its Law
Supply: Its Definition and Its Law
Using Supply and Demand to Explain the Market Price
Using Supply and Demand to Understand Price Changes
12. Interest, Credit, and Debt
Savings, Investment, and Economic Growth
13. Profit and Loss Accounting
Profit and Loss Guide Entrepreneurs
The Social Function of Profit and Loss Accounting
The Limits of Profit and Loss Accounting
Why Issue Stock? (Debt versus Equity)
The Social Function of Stock Speculation
PART III: SOCIALISM: THE COMMAND ECONOMY
15. The Failures of Socialism—Theory
Socialism’s Calculation Problem
16. The Failures of Socialism—History
PART IV: INTERVENTIONISM: THE MIXED ECONOMY
How Government Finances Its Spending
The General Case for Free Trade
20. The Economics of Drug Prohibition
Drug Prohibition Corrupts Government Officials
Drug Prohibition Fosters Violence
Drug Prohibition Reduces Product Safety
Money Inflation vs. Price Inflation
How Governments Make Prices Rise
The Danger of Government Price Inflation
Government Debt and Future Generations
How Governments Cause the Business Cycle
The Inevitable Bust Following an Artificial Boom
The Causes of Mass Unemployment