Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism

Tola Morn — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 04:30:34 +0000

Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism

“Lucid, deeply informed, and enlivened with striking illustrations.” -Noam Chomsky

One economist has called Ha-Joon Chang “the most exciting thinker our profession has turned out in the past fifteen years.” With Bad Samaritans, this provocative scholar bursts into the debate on globalization and economic justice.

Using irreverent wit, an engagingly personal style, and a battery of examples, Chang blasts holes in the “World Is Flat” orthodoxy of Thomas Friedman and other liberal economists who argue that only unfettered capitalism and wide-open international trade can lift struggling nations out of poverty. On the contrary, Chang shows, today’s economic superpowers-from the U.S. to Britain to his native Korea-all attained prosperity by shameless protectionism and government intervention in industry. We have conveniently forgotten this fact, telling ourselves a fairy tale about the magic of free trade and-via our proxies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organization-ramming policies that suit ourselves down the throat of the developing world.

Unlike typical economists who construct models of how the marketplace should work, Chang examines the past: what has actually happened. His pungently contrarian history demolishes one pillar after another of free-market mythology. We treat patents and copyrights as sacrosanct-but developed our own industries by studiously copying others’ technologies. We insist that centrally planned economies stifle growth-but many developing countries had higher GDP growth before they were pressured into deregulating their economies. Both justice and common sense, Chang argues, demand that we reevaluate the policies we force on nations that are struggling to follow in our footsteps.

Review

“Lucid, deeply informed, and enlivened with striking illustrations … [Chang’s] incisive analysis shows how, and why, prescriptions based on reigning doctrines have caused severe harm, particularly to the most vulnerable and defenseless, and are likely to continue to do so.” – Noam Chomsky

“I recommend this book to people who have any interest in these issues – i.e. everyone.” – Bob Geldof

“A smart, lively, and provocative book that offers us compelling new ways of looking at globalization.” – Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics, 2001

” The resulting polemic about the shortcomings of neoliberal economic theory’s belief in unlimited free-market competition and its effect on the developing world is provocative and may hold the key to similar miracles for some of the world’s most troubled economies.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review

About the Author

Ha-Joon Chang is Assistant Director of Development Studies in the Faculty of Economics and Politics, University of Cambridge.

Product details

Full Audio MP3 Program
Full PDF E-Book Included
Publisher : Bloomsbury Press; Reprint edition (January 2, 2009)
Language : English
Print Length : 288 pages
ISBN-10 : 1596915986
ISBN-13 : 978-1596915985

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23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism

Richard — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 10:52:17 +0000

23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

“For anyone who wants to understand capitalism not as economists or politicians have pictured it but as it actually operates, this book will be invaluable.”-Observer (UK)

If you’ve wondered how we did not see the economic collapse coming, Ha-Joon Chang knows the answer: We didn’t ask what they didn’t tell us about capitalism. This is a lighthearted book with a serious purpose: to question the assumptions behind the dogma and sheer hype that the dominant school of neoliberal economists-the apostles of the freemarket-have spun since the Age of Reagan.

Chang, the author of the international bestseller Bad Samaritans, is one of the world’s most respected economists, a voice of sanity-and wit-in the tradition of John Kenneth Galbraith and Joseph Stiglitz. 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism equips readers with an understanding of how global capitalism works-and doesn’t. In his final chapter, “How to Rebuild the World,” Chang offers a vision of how we can shape capitalism to humane ends, instead of becoming slaves of the market.

Review

“Chang, befitting his position as an economics professor at Cambridge University, is engagingly thoughtful and opinionated at a much lower decibel level.” – Time

“Chang presents an enlightening précis of modern economic thought-and all the places it’s gone wrong, urging us to act in order to completely rebuild the world economy” – Publishers Weekly

“I doubt there is one book, written in response to the current economic crisis, that is as fun or easy to read as Ha-Joon Chang’s 23 Things They Don’t Tell you About Capitalism.” – AlterNet Executive Editor Don Hazen

“Myth-busting and nicely-written collection of essays.” – Independent (UK)

“A lively, accessible and provocative book.” – Sunday Times (UK)

About the Author

Ha-Joon Chang is Assistant Director of Development Studies in the Faculty of Economics and Politics, University of Cambridge.

Product details

Full Audiobook MP3 Program
Full PDF E-Book Included
Print Length : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 1608193381
ISBN-13 : 978-1608193387
Publisher : Bloomsbury Press; Reprint Edition (January 24, 2012)
Language: : English

The post 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism appeared first on EASY Digital Pro.

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Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism