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The economists' hour : false prophets, free markets, and the fracture of society / Binyamin Appelbaum.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2019Copyright date: ©2019Edition: First editionDescription: 439 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780316512329
  • 031651232X
Other title:
  • False prophets, free markets, and the fracture of society
Subject(s):
Contents:
Markets in everything -- Friedman v. Keynes -- One nation, under employed -- Representation without taxation -- In corporations we trust -- Freedom from regulation -- The value of life -- Money, problems -- Made in Chile -- Paper fish.
Summary: Tells the story of the conservative economists espousing free market and deregulatory policies during the four decades between 1969 and 2008. Leading figures such as Milton Friedman, Arthur Laffer, Walter Oi, Alfred Kahn, and Thomas Schelling believed that government should stop trying to manage the economy, and that markets would deliver steady growth and ensure that all Americans shared in the benefits. But, Applelbaum argues, these policies failed to deliver on their promise of broad prosperity, and the singleminded embrace of markets has come at the expense of economic equality, the health of liberal democracy, and future generations.Summary: "In this original history of ideas and unforgettable portrait of power, New York Times editorial writer Binyamin Appelbaum tells the story of the people who sparked four decades of economic revolution. Before the 1960s, American politicians hadn't paid much attention to economists. But as the post-World War II boom began to sputter, economists gained influence and power. In [this book], Binyamin Appelbaum traces the rise of the economists, first in the United States and then around the globe, as their ideas reshaped the modern world, curbing government, unleashing corporations, and hastening globalization. Some leading figures are relatively well known, such as Milton Friedman, the elfin libertarian who had a greater influence on American life than any other economist of his generation, and Arthur Laffer, who sketched a curve on a cocktail napkin that helped to make tax cuts a staple of conservative economic policy. Others stayed out of the limelight but left a lasting impact on modern life: Walter Oi, a blind economist who dictated to his wife and assistants some of the calculations that persuaded President Nixon to end military conscription; Alfred Kahn, who deregulated air travel and rejoiced in the crowded cabins on commercial flights as proof of his success; and Thomas Schelling, who put a dollar value on human life. Their fundamental belief? That government should stop trying to manage the economy. Their guiding principle? That markets would deliver steady growth and ensure that all Americans shared in the benefits. But the Economists' Hour failed to deliver on its promise of broad prosperity. And the single-minded embrace of markets has come at the expense of economic equality, the health of liberal democracy, and future generations. Timely, engaging, and expertly researched, [this book] is a reckoning--and a call to rewrite the rules of the market."-- Dust jacket.
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Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 330.973 A646 Available 33111009544012
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In this "lively and entertaining" history of ideas (Liaquat Ahamed, The New Yorker ), New York Times editorial writer Binyamin Appelbaum tells the story of the people who sparked four decades of economic revolution.
Before the 1960s, American politicians had never paid much attention to economists. But as the post-World War II boom began to sputter, economists gained influence and power.
In The Economists' Hour , Binyamin Appelbaum traces the rise of the economists, first in the United States and then around the globe, as their ideas reshaped the modern world, curbing government, unleashing corporations and hastening globalization.
Some leading figures are relatively well-known, such as Milton Friedman, the elfin libertarian who had a greater influence on American life than any other economist of his generation, and Arthur Laffer, who sketched a curve on a cocktail napkin that helped to make tax cuts a staple of conservative economic policy.
Others stayed out of the limelight, but left a lasting impact on modern life: Walter Oi, a blind economist who dictated to his wife and assistants some of the calculations that persuaded President Nixon to end military conscription; Alfred Kahn, who deregulated air travel and rejoiced in the crowded cabins on commercial flights as the proof of his success; and Thomas Schelling, who put a dollar value on human life.
Their fundamental belief? That government should stop trying to manage the economy. Their guiding principle? That markets would deliver steady growth, and ensure that all Americans shared in the benefits.
But the Economists' Hour failed to deliver on its promise of broad prosperity. And the single-minded embrace of markets has come at the expense of economic equality, the health of liberal democracy, and future generations.
Timely, engaging and expertly researched, The Economists' Hour is a reckoning -- and a call for people to rewrite the rules of the market.
A Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller Winner of the Porchlight Business Book Award in Narrative & Biography

Includes bibliographical references (pages [337]-425) and index.

Markets in everything -- Friedman v. Keynes -- One nation, under employed -- Representation without taxation -- In corporations we trust -- Freedom from regulation -- The value of life -- Money, problems -- Made in Chile -- Paper fish.

Tells the story of the conservative economists espousing free market and deregulatory policies during the four decades between 1969 and 2008. Leading figures such as Milton Friedman, Arthur Laffer, Walter Oi, Alfred Kahn, and Thomas Schelling believed that government should stop trying to manage the economy, and that markets would deliver steady growth and ensure that all Americans shared in the benefits. But, Applelbaum argues, these policies failed to deliver on their promise of broad prosperity, and the singleminded embrace of markets has come at the expense of economic equality, the health of liberal democracy, and future generations.

"In this original history of ideas and unforgettable portrait of power, New York Times editorial writer Binyamin Appelbaum tells the story of the people who sparked four decades of economic revolution. Before the 1960s, American politicians hadn't paid much attention to economists. But as the post-World War II boom began to sputter, economists gained influence and power. In [this book], Binyamin Appelbaum traces the rise of the economists, first in the United States and then around the globe, as their ideas reshaped the modern world, curbing government, unleashing corporations, and hastening globalization. Some leading figures are relatively well known, such as Milton Friedman, the elfin libertarian who had a greater influence on American life than any other economist of his generation, and Arthur Laffer, who sketched a curve on a cocktail napkin that helped to make tax cuts a staple of conservative economic policy. Others stayed out of the limelight but left a lasting impact on modern life: Walter Oi, a blind economist who dictated to his wife and assistants some of the calculations that persuaded President Nixon to end military conscription; Alfred Kahn, who deregulated air travel and rejoiced in the crowded cabins on commercial flights as proof of his success; and Thomas Schelling, who put a dollar value on human life. Their fundamental belief? That government should stop trying to manage the economy. Their guiding principle? That markets would deliver steady growth and ensure that all Americans shared in the benefits. But the Economists' Hour failed to deliver on its promise of broad prosperity. And the single-minded embrace of markets has come at the expense of economic equality, the health of liberal democracy, and future generations. Timely, engaging, and expertly researched, [this book] is a reckoning--and a call to rewrite the rules of the market."-- Dust jacket.

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