Economics In One Lesson By Henry Hazlitt

In his book, Economics in One Lesson, Henry Hazlitt (1946) told a simple, yet thought provoking, story about a little town and a broken window. In this story, a baker’s window is broken by a young boy who threw a brick through it. Then, after a crowd has gathered to gaze upon the baker’s misfortune, the crowd mentions that at least the broken window created a new job. Obviously, if the boy had not broken the window, the glazier would never have gotten this job opportunity to fix the window. The story continues to state that this one act of business for the glazier will lead to many more sales in the economy because the glazier now has more money, thus enhancing the economy. So, in the end, the boy who broke the window ought to be considered a hero (p. 23). The boy who interfered in this town’s economy by breaking a window seems to have bettered the economy. There are some similarities between this scenario and …show more content…
Keynes stated that “the more troublous the times, the worse does a laissez-faire system work” (as cited in French, 2015). Others, such as Grant, said that “if a government wishes to alleviate, rather than aggravate, a depression, its only valid course is laissez-faire – to leave the economy alone” (As cited in French, 2015). Both sides seem bitterly opposed to each other and equal in number, but supporters of the laissez-faire system seem to be lacking according to Klein and Stern (2007): “8 percent of AEA [American Economic Association] members can be considered supporters of free-market principles, and that less than 3 percent may be called strong supporters” (p. 2). However, even though free-market ideas may be in the minority, they prove themselves worthy when examined in history. Free-market principles must be followed and government intervention eliminated in order to enhance the freedoms, financial situations, and the productivity of America’s