AXEL KAISER

The Street Economist

An introduction to economics to avoid being deceived by demagogues and populists.
Probably no other discipline is more important to people's daily lives than economics. Yet, illiteracy and misunderstanding in this field are more widespread than in any other. Not only do most citizens lack basic economic knowledge, but political and intellectual elites are often ignorant in this area.

Against "armchair economists," experts debating from their ivory towers, Kaiser argues that what we need are "street economists" capable of demanding a minimum of common sense and rationality from politicians and opinion leaders.
Drawing on ideas from economic giants such as Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Joseph Schumpeter, and Milton Friedman, Kaiser presents an accessible introductory text aimed at helping overcome many of the political pathologies and ideologies that are destroying our societies and eroding our freedom.

The Tyranny of Equality: Why Egalitarianism is Immoral and Undermines Our Society's Progress

Equality has been a topic of discussion among politicians and thinkers for centuries, but today, the increasing ideological use of the term by much of the left in Spain and Latin America has made it the most commonly spoken word in their speeches and statements.

We constantly hear that inequality is inherently immoral and that an egalitarian society is always better than an unequal one. But this is misleading. The much-touted demand for equality confuses people because, in reality, it is a demand for wealth. Obviously, everyone wants to be equal, but they want to be equal to those who have more—no one wants to be equal to those who have less.

The collectivist ideas with which we are bombarded, depicting us as a united community where everyone protects each other and an authority controls us for the good of all, are tribally inspired and can only lead to state interventionism and tyranny.
This lucid and masterfully argued essay was first published in Chile in 2015 and became a bestseller, staying on the best-seller list for a year. In this expanded and revised edition, Kaiser also calls for the need for a bold liberal program to counter the populist onslaught leading us to disaster.
 

Hatred of the Rich

A critical look that will leave no one indifferent. The work presents a detailed analysis of Chileans' perceptions of the rich and places them in a comparative international context. In short, it offers a candid and unfiltered look at the national mindset regarding economic success and challenges the foundations of the dominant egalitarian public discourse of recent decades.