The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society & Redefine Democracy
By Raj Patel
3/5
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About this ebook
Radical and original, The Value of Nothing uses basic but forgotten economics and cutting-edge neuroscience to show how the price we pay for everything, from burgers to ballistic missiles, is systematically distorted and to explore some rich alternatives to market fundamentalism.
‘With great lucidity and confidence in a dazzling array of fields, Patel reveals how we inflate the cost of things we can (and often should) live without, while assigning absolutely no value to the resources we all need to survive. This is a deeply thought-provoking book about the dramatic changes we must make to save the planet from financial madness – argued with so much humour and humanity that the enormous tasks ahead feel both doable and desirable. This is Raj Patel’s great gift: he makes even the most radical ideas seem not only reasonable, but inevitable. A brilliant book.’ —Naomi Klein, author of No Logo and The Shock Doctrine
‘Bracingly written and full of surprises, The Value of Nothing is itself invaluable, showing us a path out of the darkness of the economics woods.’ —Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Raj Patel
Raj Patel was educated at Oxford, the London School of Economics and Cornell University. He is currently a fellow at the Institute for Food and Development Policy in Oakland, California, a visiting researcher at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and a visiting scholar at the Center for African Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. He has worked for the World Bank, interned at the WTO, consulted for the UN and been involved in international campaigns against his former employers. Visit Raj Patel at www.rajpatel.org.
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Reviews for The Value of Nothing
9 ratings9 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Didn't really like it, found it informative but not intriguing enough
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I think Raj Patel described many of the issues we see today affecting the economy and the social marketplace. However, I fail to see any new ideas put forth here. We've heard these arguments about market externalities in books like Natural Capitalism and Omnivore's Dilemma. For me, while The Value of Nothingbrought up a lot of good points regarding failures of the current economic model, it doesn't provide the reader with anything novel.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5An interesting look at the interplay between markets and politics. It is well written, with several real-life examples of how things can work better when people have civil rights and an interest in local politics and environment. Easy to read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An eye-opener and pep talk for skeptics of "the-free-market-is-everything" position.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5good ideas, very badly written