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Loading... The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy (2009)by Raj Patel
Macmillan Publishers (20) Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This book looks at why things cost what they do. The author, mostly, does a decent job with examples to explain what he’s trying to explain, but much of the actual economics/finance discussion went over my head. He really tried to “dumb it down”, and it’s probably enough for some, but unfortunately, it wasn’t always enough for me. Again, though, his examples were good and made it easier for me to follow. But, economics is just not my interest, so I’m leaving it with an “ok” rating. ( ) A generally entertaining and informative call to action on the current way the richest countries are running their affairs and the affairs of the rest of the world. I appreciated the excursions into the theories of economists of the past and the glimpses of ways in which some communities are testing out new forms of democracy. It gives me hope for a non-consumerist future when I read books like this, even though doubt nags back at me when I consider how much people will need to change in order to build a more co-operative, caring society in the future. A very good book about the flaws in the market price being a misleading rule about the human and ecological price. In the light of the impending ecological crisis, this book is very well researched and thorough. It is useful as a reference in the war between market and human values in the struggle for the future. It hit a raw nerve for me about where I am in life and society, and I'm still trying to figure out how to describe that experience. I'd like to read it again and maybe make some notes as I go. Left with a vague sense of wanting to do something, but not enough of a strong direction of what exactly that ought to be. (That may just be about me.) Recommended with that reservation. no reviews | add a review
Patel shows how our faith in prices as a way of valuing the world is misplaced and reveals that our current crisis is not simply the result of too much of the wrong kind of economics but rather the larger failure of a democratically bankrupt political system. The solution he offers: discover democratic ways in which people, and not simply governments, can play a crucial role in deciding how we might share our world and its resources in common. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)330.122Social sciences Economics Economics Theory Systems CapitalismLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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