Book Description
The international bestseller on the extent to which personal freedom has been eroded by government regulations and agencies while personal prosperity has been undermined by government spending and economic controls. New Foreword by the Authors; Index.
Customer Reviews:
The principles of economic freedom are found in this book. A must read!.......2007-10-14
The relationship between freedom and economics is undeniable. Also undeniable is the relationship between government and freedom. Milton Friedman brilliantly makes a clear persuasive case for the perpetuation of free markets and the elimination of big government, as a means of augmenting freedom worldwide and as a result expand prosperity. Although this book is over 27 years old, the economic principles of this book are as timeless as Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations".
The book covers topics, such as socialized medicine, which is even more popular today, due in large part to the propaganda promulgated by the sensationalist media circuits. Of course, Americans do not want socialized medicine so proponents are euphemistically calling it "universal healthcare". Mr. Friedman expressed that "in our opinion there is no use whatsoever for socialized medicine. On the contrary, government already plays too large a role in medical care. Any further expansion of its role would very much against the interest of patients, physicians, and health care personnel." This, of course, was written almost 3 decades ago when the expenditure of healthcare was huge, however, not as appalling as it is now at close to 15% of the country's GDP. There are many factors involved in the rising healthcare costs, not the least of which is the government's inability to operate any activity cheaper and more efficiently than the private sector. There are no exceptions to this. None! Unfortunately, the tendency of government is to increase funding for programs that don't work. If it isn't working, then it must mean it needs more funding, is the philosophy of government. This of course, goes counter to the much more efficient private sector where costs are controlled in order to attain a dirty little concept called profits. It is in the self-interest of people and companies and not their benevolence, that most of the freedom and economic progress is dependent upon, according to Adam Smith and Milton Friedman.
Mr. Friedman was a radical free trade crusader and the evidence espoused in this book is overwhelmingly effective at convincing most open-minded individuals. Friedman goes on to write "Wherever we find any large element of individual freedom, some measure of progress in the material comforts at the disposal of ordinary citizens, and widespread hope of further progress in the future, there we also find that market activity is organized mainly through the free market." He goes on to warn us that "Wherever the state undertakes to control in detail the economic activities of its citizens, wherever, that is, detailed central economic planning reigns, there ordinary citizens are in political fetters, have a low standard of living, and have little power to control their own destiny." He further declares that under such governments impressive monuments may be produced and a certain class may enjoy a full measure of material goods, however, ordinary citizens will become merely "instruments to be used for the state's purpose" and will receive only what is "necessary to keep them docile and reasonably productive."
Friedman also covers topics on education, consumer protection, inflation, unions and what he believed, at that time, was a "turning of the tide" into a more free market based mentality by the general population. This period, however, was when Carter was still in office and Reagan was coming in with his message of small government and as a result reduction in taxes. I'm afraid that we are again seeing a turning of the tide, this time, unfortunately, we are headed into larger government and more social programs, due in large part to the short memory of the American public of what communism used to be and the continual romanticizing of socialist countries that provide its population with cradle to grave social programs, almost always at the expense of freedom and progress. We must be careful!
This book is a must-read to gain a fundamental understanding of economics, and as a reminder of the basic economic principles that have made America great. Enjoy!
Life transforming.......2007-06-23
Friedman was a genius. He was also the most articulate and fearless advovate for freedom. It seems that most are willing to give a little here and there for their pet projects. He was not. This is the best argument for the economic power that comes from freedom as well as the advantages for the individual. Over the long hall it is also the only way to prevent the loss of all freedoms. Read this book and it will positively change your life.
A book for freedom.......2007-06-14
Mr. Friedman, God rest his soul, continues to demonstrate the link between laissez faire economics and personal freedom. This companion to "Capitalism and Freedom" is a must read for those who are interested in individual liberty and the economic system that pertuates such liberty.
Be Free.......2007-05-24
Milton and Rose Friedman, "A society that puts equality - in the sense of equality of outcome - ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom.
...
On the other hand, a society that puts freedom first will, as a happy by-product, end up with both greater freedom and greater equality."
Milton Friedman, "Everybody agrees that socialism has been a failure. Everybody agrees that capitalism has been a success... yet everybody is extending socialism."
Lawrence Reed, "Free men are not equal and equal men are not free."
Tusen Takk!
Still a beauty.......2007-04-08
Almost 30 years on, Free to Choose still offers valuable insights to the political economics in western democracies. The books main message is that special interests always prevail over general interests. For that reason, we have tariffs on sugar though the majority of the electorate loses from it and we have restricted entry into several occupations like real estate brokers and furniture designing. The story of the development of the Interstate Commerce Commission is particuylarly readable. The ICC was established to protect the consumer (general interest), but quickly turned to protect the producers (special interest). Because special interests always prevail, the governments role in the economy should be restricted.
The Freidmans finish their book with a faint of hope. The final chapter is called The Tide is Turning, and in the foreword written in 1990, they acknowledge that public opinion is greatly different in 1990 than it was in 1975. And economic policy in the US is improved. Marginal tax rates are reduced sharply. Inflation is low and stable. The former communist countries have gone capitalist in scores.
Many of the key messages of the book are now conventional wisdom. Its still worth reading, though. The book offers a very gook look into the intellectual climate of the late 70s. It is one of the central works of one of history's most prominent economists. But foremost, it describes the logic of economics in a very beautiful way.
Book Description
Now with a free SINGWIN CD-ROM, Evaluating Practice, Fourth Edition is even easier for readers to understand and apply data analysis.
Unsurpassed among human service evaluation books, Evaluating Practice, Fourth Edition, includes the innovative SINGWIN program, created by Charles Auerbach, David Schnall, and Heidi Heft Laporte of Yeshiva University. Evaluating Practice instructs readers on managing cases and charting and filling out scales. Although the authors are best known within the social work discipline, this book can also be used in other professional programs such as nursing, counseling, psychology, and psychiatry. The free supplement with practice test questions provides a number of helpful exercises.
For anyone interested in social work at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Also for those interested in psychology, counseling, psychiatry, or psychiatric nursing.
Customer Reviews:
A great text book..........2007-01-02
I ordered this textbook for an MSW course, and it's wonderful. I love all the examples and the software that comes with it.
Another Edition to a fantastic text.......2005-08-10
This new edition of the text once again proves that these authors are the masters of single subject research. I have used this text for five years in my graduate methods course and am completely satisfied with their coverage of the material of single subject research design. Just when a researcher thought it could not get any better, this new edition comes along with updates to the software.
Get this book.
enough is enough.......2005-03-22
I was pleased to hear that this text had been assigned in a graduate research course at my graduate school of social work. I'm seriously disappointed. I would not recommend this text's continued use. It is excessively repetitive, constantly restating previous material (commonly referred to as 'rehashing'), and, as a sidebar, i can't help but mention an irritating habit of unnecessary references to material yet to come ('we'll talk about that more in chapter 14.'). The writing style is terribly wordy, and in a weighted, clunky pseudo-conversational style that rarely is effective in a textbook. The actual technical information is obscured in a constant river of verbiage, usually in page after page of solid block text, the least helpful format when learning technical information (or when subsequently searching for specific information or techniques). The result? It serves as a strong sedative. Finally, the authors repeatedly express apologies, in what eventually (by page 350) feels like an obsequious and cloying manner, for putting forward an empirical and accountable approach to clinical practice. The worst, though, is the repetition of material, as if the reader were an idiot. The sheer relentlessness of it is what is so galling, and at $100 bucks, neither affordable nor worth the investment. There are other texts out there with clearer, cleaner, more articulate prose, that are more respectful of the reader, and at half the price, such as the classic and affordable: Single-Case Research Designs: Methods for Clinical and Applied Settings by Alan E. Kazdin. Ignore the pollyanna reviews above and below, and avoid this text, or if on the syllabus, protest and suggest an alternative.
A Classic in Practice Evaluation.......2003-11-13
Bloom, Fischer and Orme continue to make an unique contribution to improving practice in the human services by providing a road map by which practitioners can evaluate their effectiveness. I've been using their text book for over 15 years in teaching practice evaluation and in has been an invaluable help. The new edition has a CD Rom with SingWin, CAAP,and CAAS which I was able to install in Windows XP Home edition. You must install CAAS before CAAP for it to work. The sofware computerizes record keeping, score computation, and graph construction. I strongly reccommend this textbook for human services faculty.
Average customer rating:
- Straightforward intermediate microeconomics
- misunderstanding
- Lacks Links to Real World Economic Problems
- Stop referring to graphs & fig. that are on the next page!
- Does the job it was written for
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Microeconomics
Michael L Katz , and
Harvey S Rosen
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
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ASIN: 0256171769 |
Book Description
This is a Microeconomic theory text for courses in economics departments and business schools.
Customer Reviews:
Straightforward intermediate microeconomics.......2004-07-16
this is by no means an introductory economics text.. It's an intermediate level textbook.. It assumes that the student is capable of certain mathematical techniques (you can't expect a beginner to calculate the optimal consumer choice using the Lagranges method in chapter 3! - and it gets worse)
It is true that most of the time you have to flip the page to find the graph that is being explained. However it didn't annoy me too much. It is actually good thing if you want to practice and draw the graph yourself.
The 2nd edition had some errors but in this edition (3rd) they are corrected as far as I could see.
About the authors:
Michael Katz - University of California at Berkeley. Received the Earl F. Cheit Outstanding Teaching Award in 1989 and 1993. Served as chief economist of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
Harvey Rosen - Princeton University, Fellow of the Econometric Society and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research
misunderstanding.......2004-04-08
1. I did not read the book so I can not talk about the book, althoug I should have rate it otherwise I could not have submit this review! I rate it based on the info given by my professor of macroeconomics!
2. I want to make comments on the review of Mr. adoumri; I would say that he was disappointed with the book because, as can be seen from his review, hi actually wanted to learn things from macroeconomics, but unfortunatelly he took a book for microeconomics, so he is actually talking about apples having in mind pears!! :-)
One should be cautious when writing, as well as when reading other people's reviews!
Thank you!
Lacks Links to Real World Economic Problems.......2003-10-16
I am currently enrolled in a Microeconomics course at Columbia University, and I do not find this book easy to read at all, the reason being that the author makes no effort to link microeconomic concepts to real world problems. I have found my Macroeconomics textbook to be immensely more interesting because the concepts relate immediately to social issues and real world economic problems. For students who choose to study economics because of its insights into real world problems, this text may become frustrating. I suggest that the authors more examples of microeconomics in the real world, such as the explanation of "President Carter's Gasoline Tax" on page 106. When economic theory is taught with no reference to the real world, it makes some students less interested in the subject. I intended to study economics with the goal of gaining insight into social welfare problems and understanding government policies. Learning ratios and equations that simply determine how much tacos or hamburgers Sarah wants to eat was demotivating. As a result, I am trudging through my textbook (and class) and starting to wonder if this subject is worth studying.
Stop referring to graphs & fig. that are on the next page!.......2003-06-11
It's so annoying to read about graphs and figures that appear on the next page. If the authors are going to cite these visual tools have them on the same page whenever possible. Of course it is unrealistic to expect that everytime but in the K&R book this occurred 90% of the times. It's annoying when you have to flip the pages. This annoyance knocked 3 stars from what would have been a 5-star rating.
What's right about the text?
The economics is sound and the teaching is concise. Bravo in that regard.
Does the job it was written for.......2001-01-21
This is a very well written textbook. There are many textbooks out there on the markets and this one has been written with the beginning reader in mind. It is just too easy to scare the beginner with too-serious, too-academic dry language. Economics is fun to learn and the first textbook a student ever keeps in hand should make him interested, curious, wanting more and more, and of course, amused. The language of Katz and Rosen's textbook is by no means frivolous, but it is entertaining. They do not pull the rabbit out of the hat and startle the reader. Instead, they guide readers from familiar environment towards the unknown, always being down to earth and somehow, interestingly, economic theory sneaks in - in the meantime.
The order of theory presentation and the structure of the book really facilitate learning. I have used this book with the introductory microeconomics course, along with a few other ones - just for a test. They all preferred this one so we stuck with it for the remainder of the course.
In the middle of the book one finds a transparency with a graph, which, when applied, shows the effects of some parameter change. Excellent idea, as the student can see dynamically what happens with the application. It's like a hand-operated video... It's a pity that there is only one such transparency.
In summary, recommended for most introductory courses in microeconomics. it will keep students interested and will not scare them at all. Why want anything more?
Book Description
This book represents a considerable revision and expansion of Public Choice II (1989). As in the previous editions, all of the major topics of public choice are covered. These include: why the state exists, voting rules, federalism, the theory of clubs, two-party and multiparty electoral systems, rent seeking, bureaucracy, interest groups, dictatorship, the size of government, voter participation, and political business cycles. Normative issues in public choice are also examined. The book is suitable for upper level courses in economics dealing with politics, and political science courses emphasizing rational actor models.
Download Description
This book represents a considerable revision and expansion of Public Choice II (1989). As in the previous editions, all of the major topics of public choice are covered. These include: why the state exists, voting rules, federalism, the theory of clubs, two-party and multiparty electoral systems, rent seeking, bureaucracy, interest groups, dictatorship, the size of government, voter participation, and political business cycles. Normative issues in public choice are also examined. The book is suitable for upper level courses in economics dealing with politics, and political science courses emphasizing rational actor models.
Customer Reviews:
Good Review Text on Rat-Choice Politics and Public Choice.......2003-05-22
This is a great book! As a political-science graduate student I've been exposed to a great deal of game-theory and rat-choice in my seminar classes, but, unfortunately, it has come in the form of numerous papers, piles of books, and several classes that did not build off of one another. I was left with the feeling that it was a very, very important subject, but it was presented in a manner that left me, as a student, with an incomplete picture of the topic and the breadth of work that has gone on in this field.
Mueller's achievements in this volume have been three:
1. Coherent presentation of the theory of public choice / rational politics.
2. Discussion of the most important empirical work that has gone on in this field in a unified fashion that leads one naturally into further inquiry in this area.
3. Logically organizes and presents the material in a way that reinforces concepts, logic, and thinking in the book.
These three things make this book a great review or introductory text to the field of public choice / rational politics that should be on the "must have" list of every serious student of politics and economics. Moreover, not being terribly skilled at mathematics myself, the material is presented both through intuitive written discussions, fairly simplistic "example" equations that are pretty easy to follow if you've had a "principles" microecon course with calculus, and, which I greatly appreciate, a fair amount of graphs. Moreover, the bibliography that the book draws on is very, very extensive...meaning that it has the additional utility of being a handy jumping off point if you're doing research in this area.
My only complaint, and this is a minor one, is that I would like a bit more math in the book either at the end of each chapter or in an appendix that works out, step-by-step, some of the additional concepts he runs over that aren't dealt with mathematically in the main text of the chapters themselves.
This, at least in my opinion, is an excellent book for the graduate student interested in learning about public choice / rational politics.
Book Description
In this elegant critique, Amartya Sen argues that a closer contact between welfare economics and modern ethical studies can substantively enrich and benefit both disciplines.He argues further that even predictive and descriptive economics can be helped by making more room for welfare economic considerations in the explanation of behavior, especially in production relations, which inevitably involve problems of cooperation as well as conflict. The concept of rationality of behaviour is thoroughly proved in this context, with particular attention paid to social interdependence and internal tensions within consequentialist reasoning. In developing his general theme, Sen also investigates some related matters; the misinterpretation of Adam Smith's views on the role of self-seeking; the plausibility of an objectivist approach that attaches importance to subjective evaluations; and the admissibility of incompleteness and of 'inconsistencies' in the form of overcompleteness in rational evaluation. Sen also explores the role and importance of freedom in assessing well-being as well as choice.Sen's contributions to economics and ethics have greatly strengthened the theoretical bases of both disciplines; this appraisal of the connections between the two subjects and their possible development will be welcomed for the clarity and depth it contributes to the debate. These essays are based on the Royer Lectures delivered at the University of California, Berkeley.
Customer Reviews:
Ethics of Choice and No Choice.......2004-09-05
It's interesting how ethics and their practice seem to fall along the lines of events that tend to produce profits, and are therefore, more easily justified than not, to the point of being made a part of the law that governs ethics as well as processes. This aspect of human tendencies to favor profits as ethical under any circumstances may well have given rise to the Enron's, Worldcom's, etc., that often also produce the exonerations of bankruptcies where privileges of "restarts" are common, under different names, or through acuisition/mergers where social responsibilities are thrown by the wayside and efforts to salvage the more profitable opportunities are typical of commercial justice. The inconsistency that these ethics represents is often difficult to rationalize in rational minds.
Sen - But not at it's best.......2004-03-04
This short book consists of three lectures.
In the first lecture Sen mainly argues that economic agents shouldn't be modelled as completely self centered. He argues that real individuals don't behave that way. I think that's fairly obvious and the reason people have often be modelled as egoistic is technical convenience. Other than that, he argues that rationality should mean more than consistent actions. Point taken. Since more work is done today that isn't based on selfcentered individuals, the lecture is of somewhat minor importance. But if you think all people act in an egoistic fashion (at least in an economic environment), read that part.
The second lecture is IMO the best one. Sen looks on the impact utilitarianism had on economics at identifies the parts utilitarianism is made of. He the goes on to argue that these parts are independent and that their merit should be judged independently. He shows several roads one can take without accepting utilitarianism in its totality.
In the third lecture Sen takes a look at the proper scope of social choice theory and things that should be incorporated but aren't yet. It's fairly good but nothing spectacular.
Apart from the rough outline given, the worth of the book lies in little remarks Sen makes on a number of topics. These remarks make one think and reconsider ones position.
Can a thermometer cure the illness?.......2003-05-14
Amartya Sen makes a number of specific criticisms of utilitarianism which are his own. The most significant of these is the criticism of âutilityâ as a measure of well-being. He rightly points out that âfunctioningâ is a more rational measure of well-being than opulence â" command over a mass of commodities, or utility â" the value of desired objects. People can use things they command, whether purchased or enjoyed by nature, in order to achieve a level of functionality in life, but the level of functionality achieved is dependent on numerous factors over and above the things used. A landless peasant may be very âhappyâ at getting a pile of straw to sleep on for the night, and may have no âdesireâ for crepes suzette, but neither fact contributes anything to a measure of their well-being. Functionality, however, is amenable to perfectly objective measurement: life expectancy, freedom from illness, level of education, freedom, access to love ones, etc.. Measurement of expenditure on food, medicines, educational services, transport etc., indicates only the effort taken under given conditions to achieve a level of functionality, but this may be as much inversely related to the degree of functionality achieved as directly related. The more a person is subject to crime, the more they spend on crime prevention, the more unhealthy a person is, the more they spend on medicine. Public policy can therefore only measure its own success by the summation of functionality or capability.
On top of this, Sen points out that even the level of functionality achieved is not a proper measure; in the first place, someone may not want to achieve a certain functionality, and in the second place, such a capability (such as the ability to do violence to other people) may not be morally valued by the community as a whole. Therefore, the more ephemeral capability is the true measure of well-being, rather than achieved functionality.
Utilitarianism is a justification for free-market capitalism. The phenomena described in the dot points above are all too familiar phenomena of the action of the free market. They are not just âanomaliesâ for utilitarianism, they are its unambiguous expression. The point of utilitatarianism is simply to prove that all these abominations are âthe best of all possible worldsâ ridiculed three hundred years ago by Voltaire.
It is clear enough that utilitarian ethics is simply a justification for free-market economics which has the superficial appearance of intuitive validity. So there is value in criticising utilitarianism, in exposing its fraudulent character, and in trying to produce an alternative measure of the goodness of a state of affairs. Such a measure could be used to legitimise public policy which is not aimed just at maximising the accumulation of capital.
âGreen economicsâ has had a similar aim, to encourage governments to keep statistics on values which are external to the economy (such as forests and rivers, clean air and so on) so that the government has available a measure of its success or failure, alternative to the calculation of GDP.
The great advantage of utilitarianism in its most naïve and primitive form, is that it fairly well captures the real ethic of capitalism. That is, it is very poor ethics, but reasonably good economics. (I say âreasonably goodâ because of course no real person ever acts as the narrowly self-interested infinitely well-informed computer which utilitarian economic assumes them to be.) The definition of the free economic agent which constitutes the definition of the person for utilitarianism is the basis for the exchange of commodities at their value, and constitutes the ideal condition for the accumulation of capital.
Sen raises the deeper question raised by the critique of utilitarianism as public policy, as to what, if any, justification is there for presuming that in a community there is any agent having the legitimacy to choose one state of affairs over another and determine public policy accordingly, at all. Or, more specifically, where such legitimacy may lie. To construct a theory of capability-utilitarianism still supposes that the agency which collects the data on capability and enforces laws aimed at maximising it has the legitimacy to do so.
And incidentally, the project also raises the question of the capability to do so.
Utilitarianism in its naïve form was nothing but an apology for the naked rule of capital, whose function is to advise governments to let the market do its work without interference, to justify self-seeking by âprovingâ that the greatest good for the greatest number is achieved by unfettered individualistic self-seeking. As a guide to public policy therefore it was simply an advice to do as little as possible, within the limits imposed by avoiding or suppressing riot, revolution and war.
Once we say that, actually, the market does not produce the greatest well-being for the greatest number, or any version of social justice at all, then the provision of a measuring scale is a fairly marginal contribution to doing something about the problem.
On the one hand we have an economic system, capitalism, based on the free exchange of commodities at their value, whose outcome is the concentration of economic and therefore political power in the hands of a few, and on the other hand a state and governmental machine which aims to measure and regulate this economy. Perhaps being in possession of a sound critique of utilitarian ethics makes it easy to interfere in the market with a good conscience, but we are still a long way short of an ethic which can implement a general improvement of living capabilities.
The thermometer can tell the doctor when you have a fever, can cannot cure the illness. Most people donât need a thermometer to know when they have a fever.
ethic.......1999-03-25
ethi
Book Description
Bestselling author Riane Eisler (The Chalice and the Blade, which has sold more than 500,000 copies sold) shows that at the root of all of society's big problems is the fact that we don?t value what matters. She then presents a radical reformulation of economics priorities focused on activities of caring and caregiving at the individual, organizational, societal, and environmental levels.
Customer Reviews:
A good, but not great, book with an inspiring theme.......2007-09-09
I missed Riane Eisler's recent talk at the PARC Forum, but the abstract was so inspiring, I bought the book. As with many (all?) the other reviewers thus far, I support the basic notion of "caring economics": elevating the valuation of traditionally feminine activities such as caring and caregiving. I support partnership over domination (though don't know what to make of "hierarchies of actualization"), and the establishment of rules, tools and schools that offer a more comprehensive accounting - and accountability - within economics, that will incorporate the social and environmental dimensions more effectively, and eliminate "externalities" - costs that corporations can pass on to "external" stakeholders (as opposed to stockholders).
The other reviewers have done a great job at highlighting many of the positive aspects of this book. I wanted to offer a slightly dissenting opinion, based on three issues that bothered me. One is that I believe the book is about twice as long as it needs to be. There is considerable redundancy, and by the last few chapters, I found myself growing increasingly annoyed as she repeatedly repeated ideas and themes covered [well] in other chapters. As with some other books I've read, it strikes me as a potentially fabulous journal-length article that was stretched too far. A brief perusal of her paper on "Work, Values, Caring" available on her PartnershipWay web site suggests that this paper may cover much of the content in the book, in a much shorter space.
A second shortcoming I see in the book is a lack of reference to either Milton Mayeroff's classic work ON CARING or to Yochai Benkler's more recent paradigm-shifting book, THE WEALTH OF NETWORKS: HOW SOCIAL PRODUCTION TRANSFORMS MARKETS AND FREEDOM. The book is replete with many useful references, and every author must be selective about the references she or he includes, but I would think that either of the two aforementioned books would be required reading for anyone interested in caring economics.
The third shortcoming I see in this book is its rather pre-emptory dismissal of "selfish genes". I recently [finally] read THE SELFISH GENE, by Richard Dawkins, and although I like to believe in (and practice) altruism, I had to admit that Dawkins makes a compelling case for how and why our genes are selfish operators ... and thus why altruism doesn't make sense at the genetic level. Now, we are not our genes, and I like to believe we are more than simply containers for them to propagate themselves, and as our actions - and inactions - have increasingly far-reaching impacts on others throughout our increasingly interconnected planet, there may be good reasons why caring for others (who do not carry our genes) is worthwhile, and why we might want to give up domination for partnership. However, Eisler's quick dismissal of "selfish genes" in several passages leads me to wonder whether she's read Dawkins' book, or simply the other references she invokes that take a contrarian view. She seems to be attached to making "evolutionary" claims with respect to caring economics. I think the impact can be just as strong without invoking evolution ... and invoking evolution while summarily dismissing what I view as its most compelling modern articulation only weakens the impact.
I hope we will be willing and able to redefine economics to take into account the social and environmental costs and benefits that are currently ignored. I believe that THE REAL WEALTH OF NETWORKS offers some compelling arguments for how and why we can do this. I do not recommend that people not read this book because of the shortcomings I cited - I am still glad I read the book. I just wanted to offer a perspective that may be of some value to others who are considering the book, or at least to help set expectations (for anyone who shares my prejudices).
Brilliant!.......2007-07-19
Along with "The chalice and the Blade" and "Sacred Pleasure" this is the most profound, important and amazing book i have ever read - it changed my life! this should be a compulsory course at all self-respecting universities. Everyone in the world should either read or be aware of what these three books are talking about, then we'll not only have hope but a blueprint for a better world. i have half the mind to post it to our prime minister right now :)
thank you Dr Eisler, from me and all the people and future generations that will benefit from your determination, knowledge and work!!!
Very important book albeit with varying levels of practical application.......2007-07-08
This book was my first interaction with the work of Dr. Eisler and I was deeply moved by the concept of partnership and the need to place a higher value on caring and traditionally 'feminine' values.
The finance major in me was left very impressed at times, and rather disappointed at other times throughout the book. Dr. Eisler makes use of some great examples of companies that increase productivity, decrease turnover and breed hierarchies of actualization, specifically naming a software company that had daycare on site. She also discusses some great examples of how Scandanavian countries include fathers in the child-raising process, citing an example that requires couples having children take a combined 16 weeks off to care for the child and at least 6 of those weeks must be the working parent.
I was a little disappointed that she used life expectancy and GDP as measures of how well women were treated in different countries. Her point is well taken, but statistics betray her. She discusses France and Kuwait having similar GDPs, but France having significantly more gender equality thus yielding longer lives, etc. This specific example is true enough, but women are treated much more as equals in Scandanavian countries than they are in Japan, and yet they live longer in Japan.
She is rightfully very critical of executive compensation, short-term thinking, materialism and the ongoing dispute about what resources should be in public hands and which should be in private hands that plague globalization. She correctly points out that many resources and services can be most efficiently provided locally. As I turned the pages, I was hoping she would address some of the benefits of globalization, which in fact have gone a long way establish peace. Certainly the U.S. government worked hard to establish good relations with Pakistan and India, begging them to get along instead of prolonging the bloodshed over Kashmir. However, some of the greatest forces for good in that situation were none other than large, globalized communications firms with infrastructure and employees in both countries. Relative peace was brought about by these companies who provide employment and stability in these regions who had senior leaders sit down with government leaders and explain that their nervousness over their continued fighting would compel many investors to withdraw. Had Dr. Eisler mentioned this example (or countless others) I think she would have been able to more precisely point out improvements in globalization, rather than simply deducing that globalization isn't always the best solution.
Dr. Eisler's diagrams of the missing pieces in measuring economics was most insightful and useful, as were the statistics she provided that showed spending more education now equals spending less on prisons later.
Dr. Eisler risks alienating people who would be predisposed to be some of her most avid supporters when she takes excerpts out of religious texts and adlibs her opinions as if they were facts represented in the religious text. There is certainly no doubt that atrocities have been committed by those claiming religious titles, rights and missions, but even most of the examples she sites as the paragons of domination (the Taliban, the Ayatollah in Iran, Hitler and Stalin) are primarily secular in nature (the Ayatollah being the only religious figure). As a Christian, I will tell you that I want to vomit when I hear Falwell attribute 9/11 to feminism or Robertson attribute Katrina to tolerance of homosexuality. I will also tell you that 'love your neighbor as thyself' is very much a cornerstone of partnership (and there are many more examples of these).
Dr. Eisler is also rightfully critical of the Bush Administration and their unilateral foreign policy, preemptive warfare doctrine, fiscal irresponsibility and environmental 'blinders.' I agree with most of her criticisms, usually for different reasons than the those she mentions. Having read an interview she gave after 9/11 where she surprises the interviewer by indicating that war against terrorism is necessary, I have to wonder what her opinion is of how western countries should address Iran. It's certainly valid to criticize preemptive warfare, but what if one of the premier dominators in the world is pursuing a nuke? Do we wait until he gains equal military power? Do we allow him to disconnect his society from the rest of the world where women continue to be subject to circumcision and mistreatment if they are not sufficiently subordinate?
In this review I went to some lengths to justify my critiques, whereas I think my praise of Dr. Eisler's work speaks for itself. It may appear that I spent much more time discussing my critiques, and that is the reason why.
This book is by far one of the best I've ever read and I hope someday to see it included as required reading in grade school curriculums (3rd grade or so).
An excellent survey.......2007-06-17
Social scientist Riane Eisler provides a different approach to economics in THE REAL WEALTH OF NATIONS: CREATING A CARING ECONOMICS. Where Alan Smith's classic provided the first and lasting explanation of how modern economics works as a market-driven force, REAL WEALTH OF NATIONS goes a step further for college-level and business holdings, building upon Smith's concepts to show the real wealth of nations lies in the contributions of people and environment. The idea is that caring for people and the environment builds the real wealth - and he proposes a new 'caring economics' which moves from the microcosm of the household to communities and nature to promote new values beyond stereotypes. An excellent survey any college-level collection strong in social science will want.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Knowledge is Power.......2007-06-09
Riane Eisler once again inspires and creates personal revolutions with her revelations. This book flows naturally from her previous work, something her readers await and rejoice. Intense insights and a trampolin for more adventurous change in the way we see the world. Highly recommended if one cares to think really differently. It gives you more than hope, it brings you a certainty that we can create a marvelous world together if we change our mindset. All based on sound science and well researched history or pre-history. No self help, only pure common sense. All the good words can not describe how intense this experience is. Just read the book and judge for yourself.
Book Description
This book argues that the dramatic post-1970 rise in international capital mobility has not systematically contributed to the retrenchment of developed welfare states as many claim. Nor has globalization directly reduced the revenue-raising capacities of governments and undercut the political institutions that support the welfare state. Rather, institutional features of the polity and the welfare state determine the extent to which the economic and political pressures associated with globalization produce Welfare state retrenchment.
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This book argues that the post-1970 rise in international capital mobility has not contributed to the retrenchment of developed welfare states. Nor has globalization reduced the revenue-raising capacities of governments and undercut the political institutions that support the welfare state. Rather, institutional features of the polity and the welfare state determine the extent to which the economic and political pressures associated with globalization produce welfare state retrenchment. In systems characterized by electoral institutions, social corporatist interest representation and policy-making, centralized political authority, and social insurance-based program structures, pro-welfare state interests are favored. In nations characterized by majoritarian electoral institutions, pluralist interest representation and policy-making, decentralization of policy-making authority, and liberal program structure, the economic and political pressures attendant on globalization are translated into rollbacks of social protection. Globalization has had least impact on large welfare states of Northern Europe and most effect on small welfare states of Anglo nations.
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The problem-solving capacity, and hence the democratic legitimacy, of national governments is being weakened by the dual processes of legal and economic integration in Europe; and the loss is not fully compensated by the development of effective and legitimate problem-solving capabilities at the European level. Professor Scharpf supports his position by examining the normative underpinnings of democratic legitimacy and by a detailed analysis of the structural asymmetry between the effectiveness of the legal instruments of `negative integration' which prevents governments from interfering with the free movements of goods, services, capital, and persons and the political constraints impeding positive political action at the European level. This is particularly true for policies pertaining to the welfare state. Governing in Europe explores strategies at the national level that could succeed in maintaining welfare state goals even under conditions of international economic competition, and it also discusses the conditions under which European policy could play a protective and enabling role with regard to these national solutions. The author suggests that if these opportunities should be used, multi-level governance in Europe could indeed regain both effectiveness and legitimacy.
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James C. Scott's research for this book began with an examination of the tensions between state authorities and various "unstable" individuals throughout history, from hunter-gatherer tribes to Gypsies to the homeless. He soon became fascinated, however, by the recurring patterns of failure and authoritarianism in certain social engineering programs aimed at bringing such people fully into the state's fold. Soviet collectivization, the Maoist Great Leap Forward, the precisely planned city of Brasilia--these and other projects around the world, while deeply ambitious, extracted immeasurable tolls on the people they were designed to help.
One of the most important common factors that Scott found in these schemes is what he refers to as a high modernist ideology. In simplest terms, it is an extremely firm belief that progress can and will make the world a better place. But "scientific" theories about the betterment of life often fail to take into account "the indispensable role of practical knowledge, informal processes, and improvisation in the face of unpredictability" that Scott views as essential to an effective society. What high modernism lacks is metis, a Greek word which Scott translates as "the knowledge that can only come from practical experience." Although metis is closely related to the concept of "mutuality" found in the anarchist writings of, among others, Kropotkin and Bakunin, Scott is careful to emphasize that he is not advocating the abolition of the state or championing a complete reliance on natural "truth." He merely recognizes that some types of states can initiate programs which jeopardize the well-being of all their subjects.
Although the collapse of most socialist governments might lead one to believe that Seeing Like a State is old news, Scott's analysis should prove extremely useful to those considering the effects of global capitalism on local communities.
Book Description
Why have large-scale schemes to improve the human condition in the twentieth century so often gone awry? James C. Scott analyzes diverse failures in high-modernist, authoritarian state planning-collectivization in Russia, the building of Brasilia, compulsory ujamaa villages in Tanzania, and others-and uncovers conditions common to all such planning disasters. What these failures teach us, he argues, is that any centrally managed social plan must recognize the importance of local customs and practical knowledge if it hopes to succeed.
Customer Reviews:
A fascinating must read.......2007-09-25
I've found this book useful, breathtakingly so, in so many ways these days; Scott raises a question at the heart of almost all our current civic debates, even in my own micro-field of schooling and education. I find myself saying, time and again, "she's thinking like a state", and it fits and helps me resort out the arguments. Thank you thank you, Prof. Scott.
Seeing Like a State.......2007-03-29
I got this book because it was recommended as background reading for a local debate about CAFOs. I like the meticulous detail in this treatment of social engineering by governments. That is not a liberal/conservative issue, but one which is worth looking at wherever there is a risk of social control that can lead to inequality and injustice.
Hayek meets Heidegger.......2006-11-28
Brad DeLong's featured review is basically correct - Scott is treading ground remarkably similar to Hayek's. But I don't think that Scott is ignorant of Hayek. Rather, Scott is attempting to explore the same territory, but without coming to the same political conclusions. Early in this book, Scott makes clear that he is not advocating libertarianism (I am told that Scott calls himself an anarchist). He is aiming at a deeper critique of planning, one which is not merely about prices or information, but about metaphysics, epistemology and phenomenology. Scott never makes it explicit, but throughout this book, I got the sense that he is doing continental philosophy. This is a Heideggerian critique of planning - one that just happens to cover some of the same ground as Hayek.
Scott's focus is on "seeing" like a (high modernist) state; the question this book asks is: how does such a state see, and what does state-like perception systematically miss? Scott argues the state's vision is limited to the conscious, the rational, and the abstract - it cannot see beyond what Nassim Nicholas Taleb has called "the Platonic fold." This vision is identical to what continental philosophers refer to as the "objective gaze." The unconscious, the organic, the ecological and the folk-wise are invisible to the modernist bureaucracy. To make these invisible elements rationally "legible," the state reaches out and actively reduces them to known quantities. This allows the state some limited control over them, but in the process any emergent systematic properties are destroyed.
It is tempting to conclude that this book is a generalized critique of government. It is not. The mistakes Scott identifies are characteristic only of a certain type of regime, the high modernist state. High modernism, as Scott identifies it, is a sort of irrational confidence in objective rationality. It becomes possible on a large scale only after the Enlightenment, and especially after the advent of "scientific" management. It is epitomized not only by Stalin, but by Robert McNamara's Department of Defense, and the US Bureau of Reclamations. Nor is it limited to states. Systematic flaws exist in the perception of any large hierarchical organization that makes decisions on the basis of abstract calculative rationality. As such, this is ultimately a much more profound critique than Hayek's.
DeLong is right that this book is not as well-written or organized as it could have been, but the synthesis of Hayek and Heidegger is absolute genius. It makes the book a classic in my view.
Got the gist, gets lost in the details.......2006-08-31
Scott's book gets off to a very good start, arguing that the roots of "high modernism" run deep in a particular world view that grew with scientific culture, but lacks its elements of ruthless self-criticism. What impressed me was his grasp of this ideology as a culture, albeit a culture of a few. Science too is a culture, and this phenomenon is the mentality of the technicians, the engineers, the planners...once they gain power. As one who works in this milieu, although not with the power elite, it rang very true.
He also does a wonderful job of skewering the cultural and aesthetic pretensions of people like Le Corbusier, although this has been done very well by others as well. But Scott does a very good job of showing how the aesthetic was the political, although nobody would admit it.
Unfortunately, after the first two chapters or so, Scott's writing loses its force and wonders about, making no very impressive points, and relating interesting annecdotes, providing intriguing descriptions of bad situations, but not advancing or deepening his argument.
the negative nature of government.......2006-07-29
James Scott argues that the formal rules of social-engineering design inevitably leave out elements essential to their actual function. He expounds cases both in America and abroad, current and historic, that reinforce this theme. Whether planning ecosystems, cities or societies, authoritative, Scott not only hypothesizes but demonstrates that centralized plans which fail to account for local idiosyncracies will themselves fail.
I find Scott so convincing that I finished the book with a sense of dismal foreboding. Neither major political party in the U.S. listens to this message. Even conservatives, traditional advocates for smaller, less centralized government, propose strategies that violate the principles Scott delineates.
This book should be required reading for anyone in public office or on a planning commission. Then it should be read by everyone who votes for those offices so we can see the dangers of voting for people who see like a state rather than like a human being.
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