Unlike many economists, who present only one view of their discipline, Chang introduces a wide range of economic theories, from classical to Keynesian, revealing how each has its strengths and weaknesses, and why there is no one way to explain economic behavior. Writing with irreverent wit, a deep knowledge of history, and a disregard for conventional economic pieties, Chang offers insights that will never be found in the textbooks. Now, in an entertaining and accessible primer, he explains how the global economy actually works-in real-world terms. (Aug.In his bestselling 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism, Cambridge economist Ha-Joon Chang brilliantly debunked many of the predominant myths of neoclassical economics. What Change shows is that economics in its many guises is vitally important to our everyday lives, and as such remains fascinating, the opposite of Carlyle’s so-called dismal science. Still, it works as an accessible introduction to the field. The book’s whole is less than its parts, partly because the large print and minimal graphics make its many moving parts hard to grasp.
Chang stresses the seriousness of global poverty and environmental constraints, for example, but in clichéd language. Despite these highlights, too much of the book dutifully checks off significant-topics-in-economics boxes. In the bracing chapter, “Dramatis Personae,” Chang presents a sharp-edged summary of individuals and organizations that comprise the world economy. Chang notes depressingly that economic history has, for economists, turned into a “harmless distraction, like trainspotting, and at worst as a refuge for the intellectually challenged who cannot handle ‘hard’ stuff like mathematics and statistics.” The book’s first section tries to reconcile and differentiate lines of thought, examining capitalism as a system through classical, Marxist, Keynesian, Schumpeterian, and other perspectives. The result is a synthesis-half textbook, half browser-that the author suggests should be read in snippets.
Cambridge economist Chang ( 23 Things They Don’t Tell You about Capitalism) wants to popularize his field through accessible writing and explanations of our material world.
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