Seven Deadly Economic Sins
Obstacles to Prosperity and Happiness Every Citizen Should Know

'The word 'Deadly' in Otteson's title is no exaggeration. The great frustrations and famines of recent decades have been failures of state management, rather than contradictions of capitalism. Otteson's contribution is to explain why these catastrophes are the result of good intentions, moral misunderstandings, and confusions about what markets can do. As society moves toward reopening the economy and restoring prosperity, this book is essential reading for what might be done, what can't be done, and the things that lie in between.' Michael C. Munger, Duke University

'James Otteson is not just a scholar of markets, he is their Mozart. In this compelling tour, Otteson lays out economic principles the way Mozart laid out a sonata. Otteson orders and presents key principles in a fashion any American can understand and appreciate.' Amity Shlaes, author of Great Society

James R. Otteson's Seven Deadly Economic Sins is a fine effort to introduce readers to the basic principles of market economics. The hamartiological framing - the 'sins' are bad assumptions about how markets work - is part of the author's effort to make the subject more engaging than a typical treatise on economics. It works. Mr. Otteson, a professor of business ethics at Notre Dame, writes with an apt combination of casual wit and rigorous logic." Barton Swain, The Wall Street Journal