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Forward - Chapter 3

• In the Foreword, Burton G. Malkiel writes about how the subject of economics has been considered dismal and dry for over a hundred years.

• Malkiel finds that the tarnished view of economists come from presentations filled with mathematics, diagrams and tables.

• Malkiel points out that this book, written by Charles Wheelan, is different: he brings economics to life, bringing it to its bare essentials.
• In Chapter 1, the author discusses Douglas Ivester, who in 1989 made a snap decision, telling his sales team to pass free Coca-Cola around as the Berlin Wall toppled.

• Ivester's goal was brand recognition and world trade; the idea was brilliant, even though it lost money at first.

• This is what capitalism is: it's a situation where individuals work in their own best interest, leading to an improved standard of living for society in general.

• The rhetorical question economists ask, "Who feeds Paris...

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