As brilliantly eye-opening and accessible as Freakonomics, deftly
turning conventional economics on its head.
Why do contemporary economists consider food subsidies in starving
countries, rent control in rich cities and health insurance everywhere
'inefficient'? Why do they feel that corporate executives deserve no
less than their multimillion-dollar 'compensation' packages and workers
no more than their meagre wages?
ECONOMICS FOR THE REST OF US is a lively and accessible debunking of
the two elements that make economics the 'science' of the rich: the
definition of what is efficient and the theory of how wages are
determined. The first is used to justify the cruellest policies, the second
grand larceny.
Filled with lively examples, from food riots in Indonesia to eminent
domains in Connecticut and everyone from Mia Farrow to Jeremy
Bentham to Larry Summers, ECONOMICS FOR THE REST OF US shows
how todays dominant economic theories evolved, how they explicitly
favour the rich over the poor, and why theyre not the only or best
options. Written for anyone with an interest in understanding
contemporary economic thinking - and why it is mistaken - ECONOMICS
FOR THE REST OF US offers a foundation for a fundamentally more just
economic system.