Since the dawn of civilization, people have groped for answers to the basic economic questions of what, how, and for whom to produce. How people chose to answer these universal questions shaped the course of history, just as today’s choices will inevitably affect the quality of life for future generations. Over time, the ideas of economists have been used to justify the toppling of nations and empires. They have also helped strengthen existing political and economic systems and humanize society’s treatment of the poor and other eco-nomically distressed groups. Sometimes shouted from the barricades, some-times whispered in the halls of academia, economic ideas have played a central role framing the institutions, practices, and attitudes of the modern world. The Basics of Economics attempts to capture the spirit of economics, its fundamen-tal concepts, its guiding principles, its leading personalities, and its inexorable journey toward becoming a purer science.