Robert Neuwirth

Written in much more of a literary travelogue style than I'd expected, although this isn't a criticism. Neuwirth does a great job of exploring the various incarnations of "System D", the underground grey and black markets of the global economy that defy, avoid, or even replace formal government. Contrary to our expectations, the shadow economy produces an enormous output, second only to the GDP of the United States. Neuwirth takes us to China, Nigeria, and Paraguay, introducing us to street show more merchants and informal market associations that do what governments can't or won't: providing a higher standard of living and all-important employment.

Neuwirth is making a case for the free market, as evidenced by the play on Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, and indeed a quote from Smith's seminal economic work introduces each chapter. However Neuwirth doesn't evangelize and his case never crosses into the heavy-handed. He does make a strong case for engagement with the underground, a kind of quasi-legitimacy that allows formal institutions to operate alongside the informal markets and trade associations, rather than treating them as useless criminals.

This isn't the capitalism of the brand we've come to expect in the West, dominated by large firms operating in close cahoots with civilian government, but rather the original entrepreneurism: the informal can-do make-it-happen spirit that should, ideally, define free market enterprise. Neuwirth is sympathetic to their cause and advocates for measures to negate some of the undesirable aspects of System D, while recognizing and promoting the obvious benefits of informality.

All in all, an interesting read both for its look at the inner workings of the underground and an alternative to the way most of us are used to doing things. show less