Hazlitt describes inflation as a "mirage." Printing more money increases its supply but does not increase actual production, eventually driving up prices and reducing the value of everyone's savings. The Takeaway
This view only sees the visible benefit to the glazier. It ignores the unseen loss to the baker. If the baker hadn't spent $250 on a window, he might have bought a new suit. The tailor would have had $250 in work, and the community would have had both a window and a suit. Instead, the community has merely replaced a window it already had, resulting in a net loss of wealth. Key Themes & Fallacies Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Sures...
Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson (1946) is a classic guide to free-market principles that boils the complex field of economics down to a single core truth: to understand any policy, one must look at its on all groups , rather than just its immediate effects on a specific group. The Story of the "Broken Window" Hazlitt describes inflation as a "mirage
Hazlitt illustrates his central lesson through the famous : If the baker hadn't spent $250 on a
A young hoodlum throws a brick through a baker’s window.
Building a bridge with tax dollars may "create jobs," but Hazlitt argues this ignores the jobs lost because taxpayers now have less money to spend on things they personally value.
