# Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell

3 Hacker News commenters recommended Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a clear, accessible introduction to economic concepts such as scarcity, worth reading at least once as an adult. One critic calls its approach ideological.

## Why people recommend it

- Clear introduction to scarcity (1 comments): "An explanation of scarcity is available in Basic Economics and should be required reading" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47142613))
- Worth reading as an adult (1 comments): "I suggest everyone read Sowell's Basic Economics at least once as an adult." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49251120))

## What people warn about

- Seen as ideologically driven (1 comments): "A.K.A creationism for economics." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49497515))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty](https://hackerapproved.com/p/capital-in-the-twenty-first-century.md): 12 recommend
- [Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson](https://hackerapproved.com/p/why-nations-fail.md): 9 recommend
- [Progress and Poverty by Henry George](https://hackerapproved.com/p/progress-and-poverty.md): 6 recommend
- [Free to Choose by Milton Friedman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/free-to-choose.md): 5 recommend
- [Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism by Vladimir Lenin](https://hackerapproved.com/p/imperialism-the-highest-stage-of-capitalism.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465022529?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780465022526) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell", https://hackerapproved.com/p/basic-economics/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).