Freakonomics - Nothing but Pro-Abortion Propaganda

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Never picked it up because when flipping through I saw very little to actually learn, but I was given a copy so I read it.

All I have to say, is the book is 100% Pro-Abortion propaganda and has very little else to offer. I am surprised that it actually got coverage as an "economics" book. It clearly has an agenda from the start and repeats the same thing many many many times to drill that agenda in.
 
I am not a big fan of the book (too much beating of his own drum for my taste).

However, I do think you have not been reading it very carefully. There's quite a bit more about subjects other than abortion.
 
Nothing but??? You are embarrassing yourself by revealing your ignorance.

Freakonomics is a gem of innovative thinking in a world of excessive conformity.
 
It's hardly a gem, to be honest. Levitt is just one of quite a bunch of behavioral economists that do similar research. Yes, he's brilliant, without a doubt, but there are others out there. In my view, the economists I consider to be the founding fathers of the field, Kahneman and Tversky, don't get anywhere near enough credit.

So, I don't mind Freakonomics and it's certainly a worthwhile read, but I don't like that it tries to sell the author as this amazing sole beacon of originality in the world of economics.
 
I read the book.....I'm very conservative.......the book was definitely not a left leaning book overall and probably tended to go towards conservatism, IMO.
 
No kidding... whatever political agenda in the book might very well just be a product of the fact that it's fairly impossible to write an entirely politically neutral book. It's a book about economic analysis applying to non-traditional economics subjects.

Quote from clacy:

I read the book.....I'm very conservative.......the book was definitely not a left leaning book overall and probably tended to go towards conservatism, IMO.
More...
 
I read Freakonomics a few years ago while traveling. It was recommended by a friend and I remember it to be a quick and interesting read. Nothing groundbreaking in terms of economic ideas, but I do not believe that was the author's intent either. With a title like 'Freakonomics', it was clearly aimed at a more general audience.

From what I recall, Levitt found(or believed he found) correlations between many dissimilar events and simply highlighted the examples of 'unintended consequences' in each chapter. You will learn the importance of a name!!! ...or at least of not giving your child the "wrong" name.

Everyone has a political leaning, including myself(anti-abortion in most cases). That said, I can honestly say this book had nothing do do with promoting(or not promoting) abortion. I believe the chapter that gave offense was about a decrease in crime rates throughout the 90s, and the usual suspects (president, politicians, police, etc.) who tried to credit themselves for this success. However, the author found their impact to be negligible at best, and instead found a strong correlation between decreasing crime rates and access to abortion. This was due in large part to the demographics of those engaging in this activity. No where does he extrapolate and argue for or promote more abortion activity. In fact, I believe Levitt would make the case that doing so would have additional 'unintended consequences.'

If you need something to read while on a flight or some similar situation, give Freakonomics a quick once over. It will give you several "Hmmm, ...that's interesting" moments, it will make you think a bit, ....and it beats watching TV anytime.

Happy Trading :)
 
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