The Economics Anti-Textbook: A Critical Thinker's Guide to Microeconomics

The typical introductory economics textbook teaches that economics is a valuefree science; that economists have an agreed-upon methodology; and they know which models are best to apply to any given problem. They give the impression that markets generally are sufficiently competitive that (for the most part) they lead to efficient outcomes; that minimum wages and unions are harmful to workers themselves; and that government regulation is either ineffective or harmful. This Anti-Textbook points out that all this is a myth.

Our Anti-Textbook follows the structure of the typical microeconomics textbook and can be read in conjunction with any standard text. Alternatively, since each chapter of the Anti-Textbook begins with a concise exposition of the conventional textbook material before beginning our critical examination, it can even be read on its own. As such, we hope it will prove useful to students, to those professors who feel even slight discomfort with the hegemony of the conventional text, and to everyone else interested in understanding more about contemporary economics.