In an impeccably argued work, a venerable economist examines commonly held beliefs about the economy and how it works. E. J. Mishan, an iconoclastic economist who has taught at such schools as the London School of Economics and the New School for Social Research, is in this volume a provocateur, smashing staunchly held beliefs of the right (free trade and common markets are good for the economy), and the left (local jobs are always lost when factories close down, pay disparity between men and women signifies discrimination). He also pokes holes in the accepted wisdom held by all, arguing for example that economic growth does not necessarily improve lives. Those who believe the fallacies the author exposes to the light of reason in this book are, however, neither ignorant nor careless. The fallacies are all plausible, and intelligent people can be forgiven for believing them. The author's scintillating text is apolitical. In arguing that immigration does not benefit a country's economy, for example, he is not arguing in favour of restricting immigration. Rather, his goal is to test the assumptions behind the dearly held positions of both the left and the right or to expose what he calls the 'breathtaking fatuity' that counts as wisdom these days. He wants to interject common sense and logic into today's debates over the economy and, especially, the political arguments that translate into legislation that has a negative impact on people. E.J. Mishan's ideas breathe new life into debates gone stale by ideology. As he notes, the fallacies in this volume travel in the 'highest circles', from debates in Congress to the pages of the "Wall Street Journal", "Time", and "The Economist". Most are things 'everybody knows'. He hopes, therefore, to 'expose the concerned citizen to the shock-treatment of discovering that much of what passes for conventional economic wisdom is in fact fallacious'.

E.J.米香(E.J.Mishan)著名的反传统经济学家，曾执教于伦敦经济学院，同时被北美多所顶级大学聘为客座教授。他挑战、击碎了右派和左派们死死抱守的一些固有信念，诸如右派认为的“自由贸易、共同市场是最好的经济安排”，左派认为的“工厂倒闭会导致失业”、“男女工资差异就意味着性别歧视”等。他打破了长期以来人们所公认的一些观点，诸如“经济增长必然带来生活水准的提高”。

米香著有《经济增长的代价》、《成本效益分析》等著作。他在《经济学人》、《美国经济评论》、《政治经济学杂志》等权威杂志以及《金融时报》、《每日电讯》、《纽约时报》等报纸上发表论文80多篇。