Hazlitt applies this lesson to various government policies, arguing that many popular interventions are counterproductive:
Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson is built upon a single, profound premise: "The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups". Hazlitt argues that most economic fallacies stem from a failure to follow this principle—a tendency to focus on visible "seen" benefits while ignoring the "unseen" secondary consequences.
Hazlitt begins with the "Broken Window Fallacy," originally conceived by Frédéric Bastiat. If a hoodlum breaks a baker’s window, onlookers might claim this "creates work" for the glazier, who then spends that money elsewhere, stimulating the economy. However, Hazlitt points out the unseen cost: the baker now has to spend money on a new window instead of a new suit. The glazier’s gain is the tailor’s loss. No new wealth has been created; it has merely been diverted to repair a loss.
Hazlitt contends that protecting a specific domestic industry via tariffs forces consumers to pay higher prices, reducing their purchasing power for other goods and leading to a net loss in national wealth. Go to product viewer dialog for this item.
Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics