Economics: A Tool for Critically Understanding Society offers a clear, simple introduction to economic analysis in a style that is ideal for a one-semester introductory course. The authors take a historical perspective, presenting economic theories and their connections to to a wide variety of schools of thought. The goal is to help students use economic concepts to analyze today’s issues, to think about everyday decisions, and to examine their preconceived ideas and beliefs. Economics as a Tool for Critical Thinking in a Changing Global Economy: Economics as a Social Science; Exploring the Emerging Global Economy. Economic History and the Development of Modern Economic Thought: The Evolution of Economic Systems; Adam Smith, Classical Liberalism, and the Division of Labor; Karl Marx and the Socialist Critique of Capitalism; The Rise and Fall of Laissez-Faire in the U.S. Economy. Microeconomics: Scarcity: “You Can't Always Get What You Want”; The Theory of Markets;Perfect Competition and Efficiency; Noncompetitive Markets and Inefficiency; Resource Markets and the Distribution of Income; Corporations and Labor Unions; The Economic Role of Government. Macroeconomics: Macroeconomics: Issues and Problems; Macroeconomic Theory: Classical and Keynesian Models; Fiscal Policy: Government Spending and Taxation; Financial Markets, Money, and Monetary Policy; Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply; Unemployment, Inflation, and Stabilization Policy in a Global Economy. International Economics and Finance: International Trade and Interdependence; International Finance; The Economics of Developing Nations; Economies in Transition. For all readers interested in one-semester economics.