So I am almost through the first of the four books that I bought last week, and I can really recommend this one! The Value of Nothing by Raj Patel gives a good introduction to basic economics and explains why free markets in the way that neoclassicists (and in particular neoliberal politicians and corporate interests) tend to refer to them are neither very Smithian (i.e. in line with Adam Smith’s ideas), nor very free. And certainly not optimal from an economic point of view. Here is a video teaser for the book that hopefully will inspire you to read it: