Book Description
The threat of continued warfare to the future of humanity has become dire. "The Great Turning explores that threat in detail and provides an equally detailed plan for meeting -- and overcoming -- it. Written in the author's trademark clear, compelling style, this timely book uncovers the roots of Empire in ancient Athens and charts the long transition from the institutions of monarchy to those of the global economy as the favored instruments of imperialism. Korten then discusses the promise of early America as a democracy dedicated to spreading liberty and freedom -- and the failure of the "American experiment" through the contemporary takeover of the U.S. government by corporate plutocrats, religious theocrats, and neoconservative militarists in pursuit of naked imperial ambition. Korten draws on sources as varied as evolution, developmental psychology, and the wisdom of religious mystics to make the case for "Earth Community" -- a people-centered, community-based future that is both possible and necessary.
Customer Reviews:
Hope Restored.......2007-08-07
David Korten has restored my hope that humanity can and will survive the upcoming collision with our own short sighted Hubris. Some, perhaps many of us will make it through and will have restored to us in the process a great deal more of our own compassionate humanity. Well researched, well written. A seminal work! Thank you David!
The Great Turning.......2007-06-12
This book should be read by anyone thinking about how to move toward a fair, just society. Korten talks about levels of maturity leading to understanding that enough people and groups have reached a level where a society based on the principle of community rather than that of domination is within reach. It undercuts struggling with all the forms injustice takes in our present society and considers joining with like-minded groups all over the world to form a bottom-up society concerned with the good of all rather than just looking out for what's good for the most powerful among us.
The Ideal of the Bodhisattva.......2007-05-13
The Great Turning masterfully traces the concept of Empire from pre-history to the present and states that the current world situtation has been shaped by the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of the few. The motivating actions of governments are to preserve their control over the forces of money and power. The democracies of the Western world are not true democracies as they maintain their control over the many by giving prevledge to the few. Korten goes on to relate various pardighms that our culture buys into and which perpetuate the rule of Empire. one of these views is related in the "Imperial Secular Meaning Story."
"Matter is the only reality. the whole of the cosmos is a product of the orderly playing out of physical forces amenable to description and prediction by mathematical equations. Life is the accidental outcome of material complexity. Consciousness and free will are illusions, nothing more. Because life has no intrinsic meaning, the only rational couse of the intelligent individual is to seek material gratification through the accumulation of wealth and power.
The evolution of the living species occurs through a competitive struggle in which the fittest survive and the less fit perish. Mammalian species, naturally organize themselves into heirarchies of dominance for mutual protection and breeding success.
Human progress likewise depends on competitive struggle in which the most fit triumph and those of second rank serve the most fit. the winners prove their superior worth and therby their contribution to the betterment of the whole by virute of their victory. They have a natural right to the rewards of their victory as their just due. Their is no reason for guilt or for concern for those whom the struggle destroys or leaves behind, as their loss is itself proof that they are the less fit. For the betterment of the whole, we must all accept that this their proper fate."
What makes the Great Turning a landmark book is that it exposes these myths for what they are-propaganda for maintaining control with power and wealth. The actions of governments rather than being for the well being of the people are for the maintaining of the myths which concentrate power and wealth in the hands of the few. Korten goes on to forge the strategy for removal of these myths and replacing them with the reality of a sustainable Earth Community.
The human and Divine potential of the sage, writer, artist, scientist cannot be fully realized without the move away from empire to Earth Community. The Bodhisattva's vow while at the threshold of enlightenment takes on the meaning for all of us to work out our daily lives in harmony with the forces that are attempting to bring about an Earth Community.
A "Must Read" for Every Lover of Democracy.......2007-03-08
This is the most important book I have read in years! There is hope. The people can take back America and truly make it a land of freedom, liberty and justice for all.
A MUST-READ.......2007-02-20
This book has changed the way I think about the world and the challenge we face in avoiding "the great unraveling." After reading it, I want to stand up and start making a difference.
Amazon.com
It's become clear by now the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in most places around the globe hasn't ushered in an unequivocal flowering of capitalism in the developing and postcommunist world. Western thinkers have blamed this on everything from these countries' lack of sellable assets to their inherently non-entrepreneurial "mindset." In this book, the renowned Peruvian economist and adviser to presidents and prime ministers Hernando de Soto proposes and argues another reason: it's not that poor, postcommunist countries don't have the assets to make capitalism flourish. As de Soto points out by way of example, in Egypt, the wealth the poor have accumulated is worth 55 times as much as the sum of all direct foreign investment ever recorded there, including that spent on building the Suez Canal and the Aswan Dam.
No, the real problem is that such countries have yet to establish and normalize the invisible network of laws that turns assets from "dead" into "liquid" capital. In the West, standardized laws allow us to mortgage a house to raise money for a new venture, permit the worth of a company to be broken up into so many publicly tradable stocks, and make it possible to govern and appraise property with agreed-upon rules that hold across neighborhoods, towns, or regions. This invisible infrastructure of "asset management"--so taken for granted in the West, even though it has only fully existed in the United States for the past 100 years--is the missing ingredient to success with capitalism, insists de Soto. But even though that link is primarily a legal one, he argues that the process of making it a normalized component of a society is more a political--or attitude-changing--challenge than anything else.
With a fleet of researchers, de Soto has sought out detailed evidence from struggling economies around the world to back up his claims. The result is a fascinating and solidly supported look at the one component that's holding much of the world back from developing healthy free markets. --Timothy Murphy
Book Description
From the most important economist in the Third World, a revolutionary and practical plan for transforming underperforming economies-based on the forgotten history of how wealth was created in the West.
"The hour of capitalism's greatest triumph," writes Hernando de Soto, "is, in the eyes of four-fifths of humanity, its hour of crisis." In The Mystery of Capital, the world-famous Peruvian economist takes up the question that, more than any other, is central to one of the most crucial problems the world faces today: Why do some countries succeed at capitalism while others fail?
In strong opposition to the popular view that success is determined by cultural differences, de Soto finds that it actually has to do with the legal structure of property and property rights. Every developed nation in the world at one time went through the transformation from predominantly informal, extralegal ownership to a formal, unified legal property system, but in the West we've forgotten that creating this system is also what allowed people everywhere to leverage property into wealth. This persuasive book will revolutionize our understanding of capital and point the way to a major transformation of the world economy.
Customer Reviews:
Insightful.......2007-09-26
I thought this was a fantistic book. The author compares the sorry state of property rights in the third world today with identical problems in earlier periods of US history.
Rich countries are frequently blamed for the problems in poor countries but this book shows why that blame is misplaced. This book also shows why billions of dollars in foreign aid have not and can not eliminate third world poverty.
Clear, Precise, Cogent and Important Thoughts.......2007-09-12
Although De Soto is trumpeted in the halls of the Chicago School as a person directly in line with his ideological primogeniteurs, it is clear that De Soto is not an ideologue.
His main thesis is that property rights are one of the fundamental underpinnings of western capitalism. Property rights allow the smooth functioning of capital accumulation without the diversion of too many supernumerary laws and institutions, and form the base impedements that allow capital markets, lending institutions and wealth creation mechanisms to function smoothly. If property rights are not highly developed then the "friction" this creates in the movement of capital impedes growth. As a concrete example, people in Africa and much of Latin America and Asia live in hovels that do represent accumulations of capital, but because these hovels, many owned by squatters cannot be leveraged to create capital or cannot be lent against. They in effect at dead capital because their ownership is in limbo. Advanced societies have smooth functioning property laws and markets that allow the process of wealth creation.
All of this is simple and De Soto does chronicle, as well as he can the underlying condition of dead capital formation, historical development of property rights and solid policies for implementing more legal property controls in the third world.
De Soto is also profoundly motivated to move backward societies forward and feels the poverty profoundly. In this sense he is very much a thinking man's economist and not an ideologue.
The one thing I would state is that the concepts De Soto is propounding are simple in nature and scope. As such I think that De Soto does repeat himself from time to time. Also the historical developments of property rights in the US is a good example of how a country with essentially third-world property rights, emerged to relatively advanced property rights. But I do think that his historical scholarship suffers a little as an Economist outside of his area of interest.
The writing style, though good, is not so exciting at times and would do better with a bit more details on specific human examples. But that should not detract from its scholarship.
Important work.......2007-07-23
This book is a very important work in the area of the economics of property rights. De Soto emphasizes the importance of property rights for the development of developing countries.
Capitalism Triumphs in "Market" and Fails EveryWhere Else.......2007-07-04
Most reader comments on the "political" and "Policy" side of the book. They applause by embracing the idea of less government intervention, better legal protection, better property right and so on. But I will comment the Economic side of the book. The most important point in this book is that there is a lot of "dead capital" in under developing countries. My wonder to this point is that which mechanism generate so huge amount of "dead capital". From the content of De Soto book, it is sure that all these "dead capital" comes from "black/underground Market" or "Illegal Free Market". The "Illegal Free Market" generate 9.3 trillion dollar. Actually I think De Soto is still highly under estimate the value since De Soto does not include all the human capital estimation. I think De Soto agree Free Market is the real source of economic growth.
Also in De Soto analysis, capital is the fuel for economy growth while the Keynesian believe that both individual and government spending the fuel for economy growth. De Soto book does not directly compare this 2 different ways to go. But De Soto clearly show that Foreign loan or aid does no help since it only simulate spending only. From my understanding, De Soto recommends to use Market to replace the government to release the "dead capital". Government is only require to provide minimum effect to ensure that the contract is fulfilled.
Spot on!.......2007-06-24
It's been a while since I read the book. As a citizen and resident of a third world country I can vouch that what de Soto says is the absolute truth. I have also had a business in the USA and the difference is just staggering. The longest procedure in the USA for setting up my business was getting the sales tax permit and that took about two hours. A similar procedure in my country can take months.
I'm a bit amazed that some reviewers are commenting about the book being badly written. I don't have that recollection but then, it's been a while since I read it and I enjoyed it very, very much.
Average customer rating:
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The Promise of the Third Way: Globalization and Social Justice
Otto Newman , and
Richard de Zoysa
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
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ASIN: 0333792858 |
Book Description
Aiming to transcend the conflict between Left and Right, the Third Way was welcomed by leading figures on the world stage. Its program of modernization, flexibility, and community regeneration indicated a way forward for many societies. Within a firm market emphasis, equality of opportunity and social inclusion were given a prominent place. However, its leaders' lack of direction and disinclination to face hard decisions have left its promise unfulfilled. This book puts forward a rigorous rethinking towards making the Third Way an effective instrument of progress for Britain as well as abroad.
Amazon.com
Cheating, argues author David Callahan, is no longer the exclusive purview of lowlife criminals, slick hucksters, and shady characters with ace cards shoved in secretive places. Now everyone's doing it and because everyone sees everyone else doing it, they keep on doing it. Callahan says the trouble begins in America's brutally competitive economic climate, which rewards results and looks the other way when it comes to the ethical and even criminal transgressions of those who come out on the winning end. Certainly there is no shortage of examples of cheating from the business community, and Callahan nimbly dissects the dishonest actions of the usual suspects (Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing) to demonstrate how that same mentality extends out to our educational system, amateur and professional sports, the news media, and even the lives of common citizens who, while they would never think of themselves as being cheaters, are nevertheless inclined to commit the occasional act of beneficial fudging. And while honesty is a nice ideal, Callahan says that cheaters cheat because, contrary to oft-repeated axioms, cheaters win: the chances of being caught are shrinking as are the punishments meted out should one be nabbed, and the benefits of a successful cheat far outstrip any potential threat. Further, Callahan posits that otherwise upright folks who would not cheat are drawn into the practice out of fear that they simply won't be able to make it in modern society otherwise. There's a lot of material for Callahan to work with here, given that every instance of cheating is fair game as source material and is able to be used to construct a theory of epidemic. And the range of material is so broad and the basic argument ("we cheat more") so simple that The Cheating Culture feels a bit like a Newsweek trend piece writ extremely large. Still, it must be noted that Callahan really had all that material to work with and that fact alone is compelling evidence that his premise is dead on. --John Moe
Book Description
You're standing at an ATM. It can't access account information but allows unlimited withdrawals. Do you take more than your balance? David Callahan thinks most of us would. While there have always been those who cut corners, he shows that cheating on every level-from the highly publicized corporate scandals to Little League fraud-has risen dramatically in the last two decades. Why all the cheating? Why now?
Callahan pins the blame on the dog-eat-dog economic climate of the past two decades. An unfettered market and unprecedented economic inequality have corroded our values, he argues-and ultimately threaten the level playing field so central to American democracy itself. Through revealing interviews and extensive data, he takes us on a gripping tour of cheating in America and offers a powerful argument for why it matters. Lucidly written, scrupulously argued, The Cheating Culture is an important, original examination of the hidden costs of the boom years.
Customer Reviews:
His data does not support his thesis. .......2007-07-27
I was interested in this book because I have observed increased incidents of cheating on college campuses. Cheating has become bold, blatant and unpunished.
The author makes the case that cheating has increased since 1974. The thesis of the author is that the greed of the political conservatives has caused the epidemic of cheating, and the author even cites a sound-bite from President Reagan, where Reagan says that he hopes that people can still get rich in this country, to support this claim.
The book is an interesting read for the data on how cheating has become socially acceptable among the middle class, but the author's thesis that political conservatives, due to their greed, have caused it is not well made. I would accuse him of neglectful induction: he doesn't examine non-capitalist countries like the former Soviet Union for examples of cheating. He claims that there was a golden age of honesty, and as an example of that points to big law firms that use to only hire the all white upper class sons of wealthy members of the law firm, but now, due to diversity laws, hire the top graduates out of law school. The new high pressure work environment and the drive to get to the top is the cause of cheating in billing. The author claims this is due to post 1974 conservative greed. Yet, the author ignored that sweat shop conditions have existed in the past, and that this law firm is nothing more than a yuppie sweat shop. Further, isn't hiring only the white upper class son's of the partners a way of cheating as well? The author does not address that.
The idea that corporate greed has caused cheating in schools is simply backwards, a confusion of cause and effect. One cheats in school and then goes into the business world, where one cheats in business. People do not, generally, go from cheating in business to cheating in high school.
Cheats have done well in big business since forever; this is nothing new since the Reagan administration. The author does not examine the relationship between the decline of religion and the increase in cheating, either; which is very neglectful induction. It simply does not follow that corporate greed is the root cause of the increase in cheating among the middle class.
Very interesting ideas.......2007-05-13
I really found it interesting the different examples about cheating. We don't get to find out what happens to these people and if they really pay like we have to ie monies, jail time, loss of job, house, cars etc. As the book tells us no they don't; they get away with it without much suffering compared to people who don't have the "money and power". I find it a very sad sad sad comment on what America has become. We need to walk the talk ie Treat People the Way We want to be Treated.
Good Report on Cheating but with Bias and Poor Editing.......2007-02-01
David Callahan provides myriad examples of rampant cheating, lying and corruption in varied fields of American Life. From the ball fields on high school, college and pro levels, to corporate America, schools, politics, there are stories of cheating to get ahead, to get more, to get in, and to get by. These many examples and stories are informative and indicative of a problem with cheating in our culture. Some of the examples are taken from the headlines, like the Enron case and steroids in baseball; other examples are more subtle stories of corrupt morality leading to cheating. Callahan provides an excellent glimpse of the Enron story beyond what I had previously known. Likewise, his writing on steroids in sports is in-depth and interesting. Other examples show how people slip into corruption and cheating or do it outright and brazenly.
The good writing on cheating is unfortunately undermined by two things: an overbearing liberal bias in his lengthy opinions and redundancy. His liberal bias causes him to blame the free market, capitalism, unequal distribution of wealth, conservatives and Republicans for about every sympton described in the book; while he ignores cheating by liberal politicians, he emphasizes any cheating or policy blamed for cheating that may in some way be connected to a Republican politician. He even defends Bill Clinton for lying under oath, as it was about his personal life (lesson: cheating is okay for some people if their ends justifies their means.) His suggestions for stopping cheating are, for the most part, ambiguous, typical liberal agenda items. And his opinions go on too long and are redundant, as are many of the examples he gives.
He does make some suggestions that would be helpful...honor codes in schools and character training, but these are short discussions while he spends pages rambling about other topics.
A good editor should have limited the opinions, bias, and redundancy, so the focus would be objective and concise.
A good book for indiscriminate followers .......2006-04-08
If you are looking for a pro socialist (but surprisingly anti-postmodern) and horribly pessimistic view of American society, I recommend this book. If you like vague generalizations and loosely correlated (but very interesting) facts presented as truth, The Cheating Culture is for you.
Apparently people cheat. Cheating is a new phenomenon that has swept our nation. It seems that today, people are cheating on their taxes; corporations are fudging their books, practicing insider trading and misrepresenting themselves. All of these brand new ideas are sweeping the nation, and now, even the common citizen is cheating. I know it's hard to believe, but Mr. Callahan told me so. The past was this beautiful place, where no one ever cheated. Corporations were beacons of morality and it was rare to see anyone cheat, except for maybe Robin Hood, but that was for the greater good. This na?ve and somewhat ignorant banter is the idealized notion of the past and horribly generalized version of the present I found presented in Callahan's book. Corporate lawyers pad their hours therefore secretaries steal more pens. I am all for random associations, in fact, I thought Freakonomics and The Quark and the Jaguar were both great books. But where these books differ is in the consideration of controls and variables. It seems Callahan doesn't believe his hypothesis needs controls and variables.
In my opinion, The Cheating Culture is a weak argument (though perhaps a semi-valid notion) that lacks credibility. One would think (or he would hope) that the flood of statistical data given in his book would denote some scientific validity (looking at other reviews he succeeded in some cases). Alas, this book is sans science. The superlative language Callahan uses (worse, greater, more, etc.) lacks any statistical point of reference to judge whether cheating is indeed worse, greater, etc. When there is a point of reference given he doesn't account for purchasing power parity or other relevant factors. I liken his argument to noticing that Americans make more money than they did in the 50's and then concluding that Americans today are rich. A simple conclusion, and a wrong one. There is too much pertinent information left out of his argument to consider it credible.
Here are some extremely valid factors that Callahan leaves out: Population growth - there are more people to cheat (per capita) which makes cheating more visible; Information Technology - information is disseminated more, more quickly, and to more people (perhaps we are just more aware of cheating); `Old and Fewer Pressures' - in contrast to Callahan's thoughts, the pressure to cheat is not new at all nor is it greater than ever before, the cost of living is less than it was 20, 30, or 50 years ago, unemployment rates are down from 20, 30, or 50 years ago, and the stakes are incomparable (cheating for survival during the Great Depression vs. cheating to get a BMW, tax write off, or yet another million added onto one's salary); Entrepreneurship - there are 10.5 million self employed Americans, this is a ripe environment to bypass corporate pressures and start your own business.
Again, I am not saying Callahan is completely wrong but that there is insufficient evidence in his book to back up his claims. Cheating is a real problem that does impact society. There are interesting points in this book, however it is not at all worth reading the entire thing.
The moral decline in america...from a liberal point of view.......2005-12-28
In today's society, steroid-enhanced sports figures cork their bats, while corporate executives cook their books. In the days after 9/11, banking institutions whose networking system crashed saw their clients draw out millions of dollars they did not own. Parents push to have their children wrongfully diagnosed with learning disorders so they can have extended time on tests. Lawyers exaggerate expense reports; doctors get kick-backs for promoting vitamins; and commission-based mechanics work to find expensive problems on well-running vehicles.
All of these issues are discussed in David Callahan's "The Cheating Culture", as he tries to explain the boom in recent years of Americans trying to get ahead in life by dishonest actions.
One would think this author would find much in common with Bill Bennett, who recently published a book on the moral collapse of America. But if Bennett's book speaks to conservatives, "The Cheating Culture" is meant for liberals.
The author believes our current culture developed its morality during the "me-first" decade of the 1980s. Capitalism, according to the author, removes the socialist notions of caring for the community and doing what is right, replacing them with a Darwinist desire to win at all costs. Add to the overwhelming desire to crush enemies in a capitalist world is the riches that await those who succeed and it is easy to see why people cork bats, inflate expense reports, etc.
So, who is right? Bennett or Callahan? I enjoyed both books and think both authors make many credible points. Reading both books will give a reader not only two different theories on the moral decline in America, but will also show some fundamental differences in the ways conservatives and liberals think and argue.
Book Description
John Rawls (1921-2002) was one of the 20th century's most important philosophers and continues to be among the most widely discussed of contemporary thinkers. His work, particularly A Theory of Justice, is integral to discussions of social and international justice, democracy, liberalism, welfare economics, and constitutional law, in departments of philosophy, politics, economics, law, public policy, and others. Samuel Freeman is one of Rawls's foremost interpreters. This volume contains nine of his essays on Rawls and Rawlsian justice, two of which are previously unpublished. Freeman places Rawls within historical context in the social contract tradition, addresses criticisms of his positions, and discusses the implications of his views on issues of distributive justice, liberalism and democracy, international justice, and other subjects. This collection will be useful to the wide range of scholars interested in Rawls and theories of justice.
Amazon.com
Ever feel like you just can't get ahead with the bills? You're not alone. More than half of Americans believe the American dream has become impossible for most people to achieve. And two-thirds think this goal will be even harder for the next generation. (One reason for the gloominess--average full-time income has fallen 15 percent since 1975.) All this has Benjamin Friedman worried. In his hefty, 549-page tome, The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, the acclaimed Harvard economist and advisor to the Federal Reserve Board says economic stagnation is bad for the moral health of a nation. Friedman, a former chair of Harvard's economics department, argues that economic growth is vital to social and political progress. Witness Hitler's Germany. Without growth, people look for answers in intolerance and fear. And that, Friedman warns, is where the U.S. is headed if the economic stagnation of the past three decades doesn't soon reverse. It's not enough for gross domestic product to rise, he says. Growth also has to be more evenly distributed. The rich shouldn't be the only ones getting richer.
Friedman's arguments are provocative but at times lack rigor. In his comparisons of various countries, he offers no objective data to measure their levels of social progress, relying instead on his own--sometimes selective--interpretation of historical events. He glosses over the fact that China, where the economy has grown sevenfold since 1978, has seen little political change in that time. He also acknowledges that the Great Depression--which brought Americans together to achieve great social and political progress--tends to disprove his theory. Friedman makes a good case that the economy sometimes influences social movements, but the jury is still out on exactly when and how that happens. --Alex Roslin
Book Description
From the author of Day of Reckoning, the acclaimed critique of Ronald Reagan’s economic policy (“Every citizen should read it,” said The New York Times): a persuasive, wide-ranging argument that economic growth provides far more than material benefits.
In clear-cut prose, Benjamin M. Friedman examines the political and social histories of the large Western democracies–particularly of the United States since the Civil War–to demonstrate the fact that incomes on the rise lead to more open and democratic societies. He explains that growth, rather than simply a high standard of living, is key to effecting political and social liberalization in the third world, and shows that even the wealthiest of nations puts its democratic values at risk when income levels stand still. Merely being rich is no protection against a turn toward rigidity and intolerance when a country’s citizens lose the sense that they are getting ahead.
With concrete policy suggestions for pursuing growth at home and promoting worldwide economic expansion, this volume is a major contribution to the ongoing debate about the effects of economic growth and globalization.
Customer Reviews:
The Chicken or the Egg?.......2007-02-06
Since the rise fascism and Bolshevism in the 1920s there has been the question of how political rights and civil liberties correspond to economic rights and growth. Amartya Sen has argued that the political rights and civil liberties should not be divorced from economic process (Development As Freedom). Sen's normative approach of equating economic rights to the freedoms one achieves with guaranteed civil liberties is one that many can respect.
Benjamin Freidman has taken a more positivist to the same issue. In doing so he asks, "Which came first the chicken or the egg?" Does economic growth in a capitalist setting require democracy and civil liberties or visa versa? Friedman's study looks back not only over all to this question in modern economic history. But, he also takes specific case studies from the United States, Germany, France and others to see the over all trends of the problem.
From this he develops a matrix on the issue. In times of growth political rights tend to expand. In times of stagnation they tend to contract. What is interesting his not how Friedman arrives at this basic framework, but his look into the exceptions of this common sense rule. Why in the 1930s was the political openness of the New Deal accepted, but the recent economic stagnation in France caused the rise of the right-wing Le Pen party?
Friedman is one of the foremost experts on the political economy. He has held a seat at Harvard since 1972. Yet, in this work for public consumption his writing is more along the lines of an historian. He does not delve too far into the economics or the political science of the issue, which many academics tend to - even for the lay reader. Instead, he sees to it that the main ideas are gotten across.
His prescriptions are simple. Maintain economic growth and we can maintain political and civil liberties. While Amartya Sen may find a problem with placing the chicken before the egg, after this work one must understand that economic stagnation helps noone.
Better than church: Economics, the joyful science.......2006-12-01
Economics is often considered a values-free discipline (and economists - well, a sperm cell has a better chance of becoming human). Economists have promoted this view with their emphasis on "positive" (scientific) economics. Economic theory must generate testable hypotheses which stand on their ability to predict the future and withstand the test of data. This is actually very important if economic theory is going to serve as the basis for policy. Without a rigorous and dispassionate analysis of the problems we face and their potential solutions, policy is more likely to be destructive than useful. But taken to an academic extreme, this approach makes economics rather arid, an extremely formal social science that looks more like a branch of mathematics. Indeed, some economics journals publish articles so arcane they might as well be about string theory for all the relevance they have to actual human beings.
Friedman understands that economics is much more than mathematics, that it deals directly with human happiness. It's the most optimistic and joyful of sciences, not simply a ruler by which we can measure policy. Its uses and conclusions are fundamentally moral (or immoral). Economic growth isn't just about GDP and reams of statistics, but about the expansion of opportunity, the lifting up of the poor and the powerless to prosperity and self-determination. Markets aren't just about money, but about liberty. It may be the responsibility of economic advisors to be cold, impartial and rational in their analysis and advice, but policy makers and citizens must apply moral reasoning and moral sense to the products of that analysis.
Friedman's book is a solid introduction to the moral relevance of economics. Friedman shows us that economics matters, though it doesn't matter in quite the way that physics matters. Physical knowledge may be used for moral or immoral purposes, but physics is fundamentally without morality. It also need not deal with anything that really matters to you and me. Economic theory can explain human behavior in ways similar to thermodynamic explanations of molecular motion, but humans aren't molecules. You can't simply describe the impact of globalization or tax policy on humans without a moral framework; an attempt to objectify humans as you'd objectify hydrogen molecules contains its own grim morality. It's the strength of Friedman's book that it makes clear that economic decisions and economic analysis are firmly embedded in a moral framework, no matter how hard we might try to ignore it in our pursuit of scientific and mathematical rigor.
Friedman's book isn't just a moral tract; he attempts to make a case for his moral stand. Friedman is a skilled economist, and he marshals historical data and comparisons of different nations and different periods in our own history to make his case. He provides some information useful for evaluating his thesis that economic growth is moral, he doesn't simply assert it. But herein is a weakness in his book. He doesn't provide nearly as much hard information as he should, and he scatters his supporting numbers throughout the text. It would be very helpful to the reader if data were gathered into charts and tables. There's but a single Figure in the book, no tables of data. It should also be noted that his national comparisons leave out some states (China, Singapore, Vietnam) that might contradict his thesis regarding the linkage between economic growth and political liberty. He's chosen his examples far too carefully.
Another weakness of this book is a natural danger of the type of text Friedman has written. Because he is dealing with economics as a moral issue, he takes a moral stance, one that's clearly to the political left in many ways. I have no problem with this, even though I'm somewhat to the right of him, but we should be very clear on one point. While a trained economist like Friedman is in a much better position than the average person to analyze the effects of different policies, he's no more qualified than a pastry chef to comment on the relative desirability of those different policies once their effects have been laid out in terms the pastry chef understands. Friedman makes a number of policy suggestions in his book with which I disagree. He doesn't make it sufficiently clear that their potential effects aren't unambiguously better than those of alternative policies designed to create or enhance economic growth.
My final objection to this book is its length. Friedman is clearly a well-read man of wide interests, and he brings a great deal of his erudition to this book. It strengthens his case, but I'm not sure that the marginal benefits of the 400th page exceed the marginal costs. More than once I found myself wanting an executive summary of the chapter I was reading and wishing that he would just cut to the chase. But that's really a minor complaint. I benefited from reading this book. It's an interesting and thoughtful contribution to the issue of economic growth (and by extension to international trade and economic aid to developing countries), and I strongly recommend it.
Society and Economic Growth.......2006-11-05
Friedman explains how growth is good for promoting a freer, more tolerant and open society. The author gives good reasons for defending growth as the major objective of any government.
Interesting Thesis, but overlooking some important points.......2006-06-13
Mr. Friedman's book begins with an interesting thesis, defining morality and its definition within a context of economic growth. The idea that economic growth or stagnation effects the mindsets of the people living in that time period is a logical argument that Friedman often well supports with historical facts. However, the exceptions to his argument make me wonder if he really believes in his own thesis, or if he just felt the need to write a book. Furthermore, for every chapter in the book, there seem to be at least one or more flawed arguments or points that, with a little thorough thought or research, don't make sense or can easily be disproven. With these things being the case, I find Friedman's argument a little hard to buy. The entire book seems to build up to the final chapter, which Friedman uses to make policy recommendations that would aid in economic growth; this final chapter could have stood alone from the book entirely, however, because the evidence in the book an his arguments elsewhere in the book (ie. the importance of education) do not add or support his final policy recommendations. His policy recommendations could have easily been listed by students in an economics class as responses to the question "What should the government do to promote economic growth?" They don't push the argument forward or indicate anything that hasn't already been suggested in the past, nor do they give suggestions as to how to go about implementing his policies.
Puzzling.......2006-06-02
Friedman begins with a few troubling statistics, particularly the fact that except for a brief period in the late 1900s, most of the fruits of the last three decades of economic growth in the U.S. have accrued to only a small slice of the population. Further, after allowing for higher prices, the average 2004 worker in an American business made 16% less each week than 30+ years earlier. With more and more two-earner households and more individuals holding two jobs, most families' income have more than held their own. But nearly all the gain in the last three decades came only in the late 1990s. Young men entering the American job force in the 1970s started off earning two-thirds more, on average, than the generation starting out in the 1950s; by the early 1990s it was one quarter less than their parents.
Economic growth positively affects the character of the society as a whole, and because neither tolerance nor democracy is a good that private markets value, there is a role for government measures to seek growth beyond what the market would provide on its own. Improved transportation, crime reduction, safety from external attack, savings, education, and patent protection are examples of valuable government contributions.
Friedman asserts that declining investment is a problem in the U.S., and blames it on increased current consumption and government borrowing. (But what about the fact that much cheaper labor is available in Asia?) He goes on to posit that chronically large deficits' depressing effect on America's investment probably received a greater spur from change in the tax structure than the positive aspect of the tax reductions.
Friedman suggests improvement that begins with undoing the Bush administration high-end tax changes that provided 60% of the benefits to the top 10% (earning over $120,000) to reduce the deficit and improve society.
Fireman, like many others, very much wants to improve American education. He begins by focusing on improving the high school graduation rate - stable at about 90% over the last several decades - through more spending. (Friedman, however, forgets that enormous increases in inflation-adjusted per-pupil spending also occurred during this period, and that dropout rates closely correlate with race - ergo, positive home influence is probably a much more potent lever.) More government support for college education is also highly recommended because their incomes average some 70% more than those without a college degree. As for class sizes, Friedman is aware that most quality research has found reductions do NOT improve pupil achievement; nonetheless he suggests reductions would improve graduation rates, though the sources he cites seem to confound race and socio-economic status with class size as influences. He also supports competition within education, citing several inner-city positive examples such as Harlem Community Schools.
Another significant recommendation is raising the Social Security retirement age.
What is puzzling about "The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth" is that Friedman does not address a major issue of today's economic growth - the impact of free trade and illegal immigration on American incomes. Also, his treatment of economic development and population growth on environmental impacts is overly optimistic. These issues seriously limit the book's contributions.
Book Description
This compact, tightly argued, and eloquent book is the quintessential John Kenneth Galbraith, the manifesto of the "abiding liberal." In defining the characteristics of a good society and creating the blueprint for a workable agenda, Galbraith allows for human weakness without compromising a humane culture, and recognizes barriers that hinder but do not defeat a responsible, stable, and hopeful future.
Customer Reviews:
What America could become.......2006-10-10
Sometime in the 1970s, several trends started to take effect in the USA that have led to many of our troubles now. One of these was the growing divide of the America into haves and have-nots. Another one of these was the privatization of numerous parts of the US economy, and the transfer of many government functions from the public role to the private market. A third effect was the de-emphasis of public infrastructure for the public good, to public infrastructure for corporate wealth. John Kenneth Galbraith addresses all three of this trends, and shows what they have done to the American society and American communities. The result is a good wishlist of probably most political liberals. The one thing lacking from the book is a comparison of what America has become, to the economic and social transformations that have occurred in societies that have incorporated many of Galbraith's ideas, such as Scandinavia, Singapore, and Japan. Overall, an OK book and a good summary of the author's works and views.
The pragmatic compassionate liberal's credo .......2006-04-30
I am writing this review on the day after John Kenneth Galbraith passed away at the age of ninety- seven. He was a legendary figure in his lifetime, an economist with a world reputation. His book 'The Affluent Society" (1958) made the U.S. and the world think again about the meaning of a society primarily devoted to individual consumer consumption. He was a public servant of great ability and dedication from his days working for the Roosevelt Administration during the Second World in the Office of Price Administration through his service to the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations . He served as U.S. Ambassador to India and was a strong advocate for that country in the U.S. For over thirty years he taught at Harvard and was considered one of its most popular and brilliant teachers. He wrote over thirty books, and was involved in a tremendously wide variety of public activities and affairs.
This short book is an updating of 'The Affluent Society'. In it he tackles major economic and social questions >He speaks of a good society whose obligations are to provide for " personal liberty, basic wellbeing , racial and ethnic equality, the opportunity for a rewarding life".
In short chapters of around ten pages he tackles the problems of the deficit, the environment, migration, the proper distribution of wealth, the providing of aid to the world's poor.
Galbraith was a fighter in spirit , a person of great wit and fierce sense of social justice. His platform of a kind of social democracy as the ideal way to meet the modern world's problem certainly is questioned by many, not the least by predominant economic opinion today.
Perhaps his greatest importance was in pointing out performance problems in capitalist societies, and demanding a greater degree of concern for the commonweal.
He was one of those rare intellectual figures who could take a relatively dull subject and make it 'interesting' for the broader public.
He worked hard, long and well and his contribution will hopefully not be forgotten.
Progressive voice of economics.......2006-01-18
John Kenneth Galbraith sees the eternal struggles of economics as a battle between capital and labor and as things currently stand capital is delivering haymakers and body blows to labor. Labor has the numbers but capital has the advantage of... well, capital. Capital can afford the best representation and that has never been more true than today. Meanwhile Globalization has effectively destroyed labors bargaining power.
In `The Good Society' Mr. Galbraith attempts to map out an economic plan for creating a good society for all, wealthy and poor. What sets Mr. Galbraith apart from many economists is his belief in a pragmatic rather than dogmatic approach. He even compares the Republican parties 1994 `Contract with America' to the `Communist Manifesto' for its ideological inflexibility. The problems seem to occur when people start believing that economics falls under the hard sciences when in truth it's more like tracking the weather where small perturbation can cause dramatic changes. One thing that the author has maintained through the years is that Feds actual effect on inflation and recessions is negligible and more smoke and mirrors meant to give the appearance that something is being done. The other issue is that Globalization has made it increasingly difficult for the Federal Reserve to adjust the levels of our economy.
Occasionally the author comes off as a bit naive as when he talks about large scale modernization projects done in the third world saying, "The steel mills, hydroelectric plants and shiny airports, now sited among ignorant people, became sterile monuments to error - and failure." What Mr. Galbraith fails to recognize is that these projects are only failures from the perspective of the recipient countries who borrowed away their futures in order to acquire them. To the IMF and the construction companies involved it was a complete success. The author does recognize that the gift wealthy countries should have offered was the much less glamorous gift of education. In another section Mr. Galbraith says in reference to Imperialism and Colonialism, "We speak sometimes reflectively, of the end of history; here, indeed, history has come to an end." Writers who use the unfortunate term `end of history' have a bad tendency of being proven wrong in the end.
John Kenneth Galbraith is one of the few economists of late who addresses the immense danger of wealth inequality. In contrast to Milton Freidman, Mr. Galbraith believes that there are both financial and ethical sides to economics as relates to helping the poor, protecting the environment and supporting workers rights. He also supports transnational organizations and sees Globalization as the inevitable future. In most ways Mr. Galbraith is swimming upstream against the trends in the United States which is exactly why I find his views more important than ever before. The book seemed to lose some steam about half way through and many of his ideas such as the danger of the military industrial complex have been addressed in his other book, still I recommend Mr. Galbraith as a responsible voice for progressive economics.
Spreads itself too thin.......2005-06-05
John Kenneth Galbraith can be considered a pragmatic liberal, and what he has offered in The Good Society is a concise outline of how a country can - and should - both prosper and take care of its economically deprived citizens. Galbraith argues that the government should bear the responsibility for building an equitable society, and he discusses his view of the proper role of government in areas ranging from education to foreign policy.
The fundamental problem with the book is that it lacks the depth of treatment that his topics demand. Each of the chapters, which range from 8 to 10 pages in length, concentrates on a single, unique topic that would normally fill out an entire book. Accordingly, most of the points Galbraith makes are vague and general. For instance, he points out that America's foreign policy should emphasize maintaining peaceful relationships with other nations so as to encourage free trade, but he doesn't delve much further into the issue. Specific policy proposals are never mentioned.
The second problem with the book, which is a consequence of the first, is that the ideas Galbraith offers are neither novel nor particularly insightful. In the introduction, he challenges the reader by claiming that some of his proposals for society will ruffle a few feathers, but none of the views in the book fall outside the mainstream of the Democratic Party.
What makes The Good Society worthwhile is Galbraith's argument, which he carries throughout the book, that policy should never be subordinated to ideology. Policy decisions, our pragmatist demonstrates, should be examined on the particulars of the individual case and should not be based on any brand of economic dogma. Also, the topics and general proposals presented in the book remain relevant today though the book was written ten years ago.
On a stylistic level, the book is inconistsent. The writing ranges from concise and lucid to jarringly awkward. The frequent use of double-negatives, fragments, and inverted sentence structure make the reader go back over passages more than once.
Because of the somewhat facile traetment of complex issues, I recommend The Good Society primarily to those without much prior knowledge of liberal (i.e. Democratic) policy. Generally, it is a "not unpleasant" read.
A practical advocate for a more humane economy.......2004-06-13
Galbraith's main point has less to do with any specific policy than with his belief that rigid ideologues advocate for flawed and potentially dangerous political and economic systems. He argues that capitalism is by far the most responsive and effective economic system given our nature and needs, but that pure market capitalism comes up short in many significant respects. He does exhibit his own bias in some chapters when he ignores matters of degree in favor of more dramatic claims, but his proposals are not controversial by most standards?we need a safety net, environmental regulation is necessary, etc. I couldn?t relate to most of the negative reviews/remarks here. Among them: Galbraith, onetime speechwriter for presidents, editor of Fortune magazine, and prolific author, is inarticulate to the point of incoherence; Galbraith, a onetime Harvard economics professor and head of the American Economic Association, lacks any understanding of economics; Galbraith's ideas are silly; etc. This is a book arguing that capitalism must be tempered if it is to serve society well. Someone who believes that environmental regulations, zoning laws, a progressive income tax, and organizations like the SEC are unnecessary impediments to economic growth will have a hard time with Galbraith. Others will likely recognize that the criticisms of capitalism he levels here are, to some debatable extent, legitimate.
Book Description
The first book to present a full-scale critique of Rawlsian liberalism as extended to international relations.
"This is an intelligent, perceptive, and well-written book, the first that tries to unite a critical discussion of the philosophical core of political liberalism with an examination of its application to international relations. All of the central problems of international political theory (at least those that have preoccupied the literature) are attended to, and the discussions of individual normative issues (self-determination, intervention, etc.) are well integrated into the author's overall theory. The study rests on a broad reading of the pertinent literature; indeed, it could function as a guide to the current philosophical literature on international justice for a scholar or graduate student who wanted to get acquainted with it."—Charles R. Beitz, Bowdoin College
"Liberalism involves commitments to personal freedom and mutual tolerance. How are these commitments to be balanced? Must a liberal order tolerate nonliberal groups and practices within itself, even if doing so is costly in term's of personal autonomy? What are the limits of such tolerance? These questions, which arise in global and intrastate contexts, are systematically answered by the liberal philosophy developed in this clear and elegant book by Kok-Chor Tan. Although inspired by Rawls, Tan's liberalism provides a unified and compelling alternative to the liberal vision Rawls has constructed in Political Liberalism [1993] and The Law of Peoples [1999]. Tan's alternative covers the full ground, from deep methodological reflections to concrete questions of institutional design. This is a powerful first work."—Thomas W. Pogge, Columbia University
The "comprehensive liberalism" defended in this book offers an alternative to the narrower "political liberalism" associated with the writings of John Rawls. By arguing against making tolerance as fundamental a value as individual autonomy, and extending the reach of liberalism to global society, it opens the way for dealing more adequately with problems of human rights and economic inequality in a world of cultural pluralism.
Customer Reviews:
Comprehensive liberalism.......2004-12-24
Though I was not convinced by Tan's argument for comprehensive, rather than political, liberalism, I found this book to be very helpful, provacative, and interesting. It gives a good over-view of the relavent literature and presents a clear argument for favoring a version of comprehensive liberalism which leads to a cosmopolitan account of global justice. As I've noted, I don't think the argument works. But, it's fairly and clearly presented, and is one that political liberals will have to deal with. The book is perhaps best read w/ Rawls's _The Law of Peoples_, as an alternative account. The two together could for a solid base for a course on international justice.
Book Description
"Ralph Nader is our indispensible voice of outrage against corporate corruption, greed, invasion of privacy, and abuse of power."-James K. Galbraith, author of Created Unequal: The Crisis in American Pay
Over the last 40 years, Ralph Nader has established himself as this country's most active visionary. In this insightful new collection of his nationally syndicated column, Nader is at his best. Collecting more than 100 articles spanning three decades, In Pursuit of Justice addresses corporate abuse; the latent dangers of nuclear energy, water and air pollution, consumer safety; and more, all with Nader's inimitable sense of both his subjects' gravity and citizens' entitlement to a fair lot. Writing with a passion for justice and a piercing awareness of the issues of the day, Nader has been tireless in his pursuit of safer lives for U.S. citizens, leaving no one in this country untouched by his reforms.
Remarkably contemporary in its breadth, In Pursuit of Justice is an important retrospective highlighting past victories and leading the way toward the coming decade's most consequential social struggles.
Author, lawyer and leading consumer advocate Ralph Nader is the award-winning founder of the Public Interest Research Group, the Center for Study of Responive Law, Public Citizen, the Clean Water Action Project, the Disability Rights Project and the Project for Corporate Responsibility. His 2000 presidental election campaign on the Green Party ticket served to broaden the scope of debate on federal priorities.
Customer Reviews:
Government employee.......2005-07-24
A must read for anyone interested in how our government operates. There is a bit of repetition but a lot of good information and contacts for further research.
A wonderful collection.......2005-05-10
I think most people's reaction to a 500 page book would be one of caution, myself included. It has nothing to do with the content, I just know it will take a while for me to get through that many pages.
That being said, this collection of Nader essays is a 500 page book, but it's been a joy reading it because of the organization of the book. Broken down into smaller chapters, the book is full of very short, but well-written essays usually no longer than two pages. It's very easy to read a few at a time, and then come back to the book later. I actually find myself reading this book faster than I would other books of the same length. Each piece is so short I usually end up telling myself, "I'll just read a few more." In the end, it makes the book easier to read.
As far as content goes, the book is great. I think if you're a genuinelly progressive person, you'll still like Nader even though the Democrats have tried to scapegoat him rather than admit their own problems as a party. This country needs people like Nader to remind us that we don't have to settle for what we have, that things can and should be better. This book sends that message loud and clear.
One stop shopping for social justice.......2004-11-06
The October 23rd "review" pretty much sums up why John Kerry and his hysterical Anybody-But-Bush supporters were shellacked this week, while everything Ralph Nader said during the campaign was proved correct. Ignore the subject at hand, be hysterical and irrational, and wave empty slogans ("A vote for Nader is a vote for Bush" -- what does that mean? In Wyoming, where Kerry lost by over 20 points? In D.C., where Bush lost by over EIGHTY points? My vote would never have gone to Kerry under any circumstances....how was my vote for Nader a vote for Bush?)
Meanwhile, Ralph Nader continues on without a break and will now focus on the ridiculous ballot access laws in this country, as well as the subjects touched on in this book. What he "has done for us lately" is to start one new organization after another from 2000 to 2004, advocate on behalf of the District of Columbia's pathetic public library system - left to rot by the D.C. Democratic Party, which has done nothing for anybody in decades - and highlight solutions to other issues that are working right now in localities around the country. Read what he has to say in this book and climb on board. Roll up your sleeves and put up or shut up, Democrats.
One good man.......2004-08-26
Deeply intelligent, in breadth and depth, these articles by Mr. Nader, who has given everything for just causes over nearly half a century, make eloquent, and plain, what so many others believe and either can't, or won't, say.
Books:
- The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity
- The Magic of Believing
- The Principles of Sustainability
- The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Dover Value Editions)
- The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life
- The Science of Getting Rich
- The Unconscious Civilization
- The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
- The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
- Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry (2nd edition) (Thin Book Series)
Books Index
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