While I agree with most of this book,...

...it is a rather shallow treatment of the economic philosophy it espouses. It has too much of pseudo-philosopher Ayn Rand and too little of far better theorists, free market economists, and political philosophers such as Fredrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Jean-Baptiste Say, Walter Williams, Milton Friedman, or Thomas Sowell. For those who want a sound understanding without excessive theory,I recommend any of several books by Thomas Sowell who is the greatest living economist and political philosopher. Audible has approximately 25 of his books. The best place to start is Sowell's Economic Facts and Fallacies followed by Wealth, Power, and Politics and then A Conflict of Visions followed by Applied Economics and finally Dismantling America. Of course Hayek's The Road to Serfdom is mandatory.

The primary title of this book Equal is Unfair without the subtitle America's Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality is too clever by half. The basic point that we should have equality of opportunity rather than striving for equality of economic outcome is valid because achieving equality of economic outcome always leads to universal poverty. Where Ayn Rand and her two followers who wrote this book go wrong is by claiming government has no appropriate role in economic matters. They are dead wrong: the role of government is to establish the rules and apply them equally, without favor.

In my opening comment above I wrote that the approach of the authors of this book is rather shallow in their treatment of economic and political philosophy. I stand by that, but I will add that listening to this book is better than nothing. Fredrich Hayek and Ayn Rand were contemporaries. Hayek's classical political and economic liberalism makes a lot more sense than Rand's unworkable Objectivism which is a form of anarchy. Rand was a great novelist, but fails as a political philosopher. It is to the credit of the authors, both of whom work at the Ayn Rand Institute that they do not go all in with Objectivism.

If one purchases this audio book be certain to download the PDF file of charts/graphs some of which are excellent especially at demonstrating that real income has increased during the last 30 to 40 years. Jeff Cummings does a superb job of narration.

42 people found this helpful

Mistitled Book

What did you like best about Equal Is Unfair? What did you like least?

If you expect this book to explain why equality is unfair you will probably be disappointed. The central theme seems to be "we are all better off than we were before so inequality doesn't matter, and may even be a myth". The authors jumble and cherry pick a bunch of facts and statistics to make their case. For example they blame the unions for the American car industry's decline in the 1970's, but chose to ignore the fact that the manufacturers failed to understand what consumers wanted and produce cars accordingly.
In fairness, the book description made it clear that the views expressed would be biased. I had hoped, however it would get beyond the level of propaganda, and provide some good ideas for thought - even if I disagreed with them.

20 people found this helpful

Too verbose

Although I agree with the premise of the book and there is a lot of good content, I found the book average overall because it contained too much commentary, and hypothetical and rhetorical questions for every solid fact it presented.

10 people found this helpful

good info and amo

good book with a lot of information presented and analyzed well.
gets boring and slightly repetitive.

1 person found this helpful

The war on inequality will cost your freedom.

This is a great book. I wish I had read it years ago. It teaches why the wat on inequality is not about raising the who have less but really it is about taking down thise that have more by force to feed the envy of those who don't have as much.

1 person found this helpful

Pure Excellence!

This is a brilliant book that explains and extols everything that made America great and condemns what’s tearing it down.

1 person found this helpful

Excellent

Unlike some books that only give a good explanation of one side of the argument, the authors do a good job of explaining the opposition view, then addressing that view point by point.

1 person found this helpful

This book explains why

everyone cant be equal. A thorough analysis of the economic inequality crowd. Their reasoning and never ending drive to limit individuals success in this country.

1 person found this helpful

Nothing New

This is all presentation of old arguments. There is no new research or new spins on previous theory. Read Sowell instead.

9 people found this helpful

A Passionate and Scholarly work

Would you consider the audio edition of Equal Is Unfair to be better than the print version?

I would say they are equal. Jeff Cummings does a fantastic job in his narration.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Equal Is Unfair?

The comparisons to American ideals and founding principles.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

This book turned out to be so much more than just the issue of "income inequality'. 'Equal is Unfair' goes after all of the major tenets of modern Leftism. Don Wakins and Dr. Yaron Brook raze modern leftism to the ground, leave no stone unturned, and salt the earth afterwards. The book takes down:
The inequality myth.
The Scandinavian socialism myth.
The myth that the successful are 'exploiters'
The economic pie myth.
Leftwing economist Piketty's statistical manipulations.
The "You didn't build that" rhetoric from those like Warren and Obama.
The left's Success=Luck argument.
FDR and LBJ's Great Society programs.
Egalitarianism.
"Social Justice" advocates.
The inculcation of victimhood by the left in poor ghettos.
And much much more....

Any additional comments?

Watkins and Dr. Brook attack every leftwing issue on multiple fronts. They prove their case empirically by taking down the statistical manipulations of the left. They prove their case by showing the logical progression of what these ideas entail. They prove their case morally, by showing what these ideas mean to individual human beings and life on this earth, and finally they prove their case by offering a solid alternative.

17 people found this helpful