Fundamentals
[A]ll these economic theories are at least debatable and often highly questionable. Contrary to what professional economists will typically tell you, economics is not a science. All economic theories have underlying political and ethical assumptions, which make it impossible to prove them right or wrong in the way we can with theories in physics or chemistry.
- Ha-Joon Chang, Economics is too important to leave to the experts | Ha-Joon Chang | Comment is free | The Guardian
The majority of economic activity takes place without any direct connection to markets, undertaken in the household or government sector, or within large corporations that trade in the market sector, but use central planning to organize their own activities.
- John Quiggin, I Pencil: A product of the mixed economy (updated) — Crooked Timber
Subtopics
Sources
Recommended by me
These look promising
- What should everyone know about economics? - Quora
- Economics 101 - Critiques Of Libertarianism
- lots of good sources recommended, and lots of good quotes
- "Also known as neoclassical economics. Libertarians are fond of applying standard Economics 101 microeconomics principles to bash the state. They forget the many concealed ideological biases of Economics 101, they forget that the real world doesn't often match simple models, they forget market failures and they forget that microeconomics is not enough: you need macroeconomics too. "
- Canterbery, E. Ray: A Brief History of Economics (recommended by Michael Goodwin: "a clear, lively history, not just of economics, but of the economy")
- Galbraith, John Kenneth: The Affluent Society (recommended by Michael Goodwin: "how the modern economy keeps producing stuff we don't particularly want, while shorting what we do want, in Galbraith's inimitable style")
- Greider, William: The Soul of Capitalism (recommended by Michael Goodwin: "an excellent overview of the modern economy, its problems, and how to fix them")
- Heilbroner, Robert: The Worldly Philosophers (recommended by Michael Goodwin: "the lives and ideas of the great economic thinkers in sparkling prose''