On December 5, 2004, the still-developing blogosphere took one of its biggest steps toward mainstream credibility, as Nobel Prize–winning economist Gary S. Becker and renowned jurist and legal scholar Richard A. Posner announced the formation of the Becker-Posner Blog.

In no time, the blog had established a wide readership and reputation as a reliable source of lively, thought-provoking commentary on current events, its pithy and profound weekly essays highlighting the value of economic reasoning when applied to unexpected topics. Uncommon Sense gathers the most important and innovative entries from the blog, arranged by topic, along with updates and even reconsiderations when subsequent events have shed new light on a question. Whether it’s Posner making the economic case for the legalization of gay marriage, Becker arguing in favor of the sale of human organs for transplant, or even the pair of scholars vigorously disagreeing about the utility of collective punishment, the writing is always clear, the interplay energetic, and the resulting discussion deeply informed and intellectually substantial.

To have a single thinker of the stature of a Becker or Posner addressing questions of this nature would make for fascinating reading; to have both, writing and responding to each other, is an exceptionally rare treat. With Uncommon Sense , they invite the adventurous reader to join them on a whirlwind intellectual journey. All they ask is that you leave your preconceptions behind.

加裏·S·貝剋爾，美國芝加哥大學教授，新自由主義經濟學傢，芝加哥學派的重要成員。1967年，獲美國經濟協會授予的剋拉剋奬；1992年，獲諾貝爾經濟學奬；2007年，獲美國總統自由勛章。有影響力的著作有《人力資本》、《傢庭論》和《人類行為的經濟分析》等。

理查德·A·波斯納，美國聯邦第七巡迴區上訴法院首席法官，曾任芝加哥大學法學院教授，法律經濟學運動的重要代錶人物。有影響力的著作有《法官如何思考》、《法律的經濟學分析》等。