Economics is a social science that has presented many various and contradictory theories over the centuries. Its dependence on historical and psychological factors is what makes a certain, mathematical approach impossible. However, among all the perspectives formulated by the many authors from all corners of the globe, there are some truths that are less reliable than others, such as the idea that economics is a discipline that focuses on the study of the general consequences of one system.
Any social group, nation or other human social organisation has different interests within it. These differences are often irreconcilable, and Henry Hazlitt believed that the task of the economy is to overcome this conflict. In many schools of thought and among many decision makers, however, misleading ideas continue to be put forward, the most misleading of all being the economist’s or policy maker’s inability to look at the bigger picture, at the long-term secondary effects of a given policy. The aim should always be to evaluate each impact of each policy on each social group. Most of the political choices dictated by the new economic theories only look at short-term effects, justifying any given point of view with half-truths and fundamental fallacies. On the other hand, many traditional theories also present serious issues, such as the total exclusion of any theoretical application to the immediate term.
Henry Hazlitt's theories can be traced back to the so-called Austrian school of economic thought, which advocated the development of societies guided by a free and fully autonomous market, where the individual can act - from a professional, entrepreneurial point of view - without any interference from a government. In "Economics in One Lesson", while referring to his own conception of the economy, Hazlitt does not aim to discuss which is the best line of thought, but to challenge the main misleading theoretical beliefs, from the perspective both of common knowledge and inside expertise, and to help shed some light on the maze of economics jargon.
