The
second full category of books in my library are those which I have read but which need to be read and reread for their
full value to be extracted. There are a lot in this category – but let me
select the two which have so far made it onto my desk -
Political Order and Political Decay; Francis
Fukuyama (2014) is the second volume of magnum opus of 1,300 pages and is one
of these rare books of which I keep duplicate copies – although it can be freely downloaded in full
from the internet.
Its
introduction summarises the first volume and the opening chapter set out his
framework - showing the link between
economic, social and political development; and how ideas about legitimacy have shaped our
understanding of the three basic building blocks of “modern” government – “the
state”, “rule of law” and “democratic accountability” (see the figure at p43)
This
first chapter spells out how very different social conditions and traditions in
the various continents have affected the shape and integrity of government
systems (The sequencing of bureaucracy and challenge to political power is of
particular interest)
Doughnut economics – 7
ways to think like a 21st century economist by
Kate Raworth (2017) is another example of a book benefiting from a reread.
She’s an Oxford economist whose book has made quite
an impact. Indeed it’s one of a fairly short list
of books I recommended last year for
people wanting a different approach to economics.
Right from the start her text engages – with an explanation of how
she was put off by the subject initially but came back to it almost 2 decades
later….And then a rare exploration of the importance not only of “framing”
but of diagrams and visuals – and how diagrams were used by Paul Samuelson in 1948
in the first popular economics textbook to plant false perceptions in student
minds.
Chapter one – “Change the Goal” - discusses how the measurement of an economy as know it today (GNP) was invented only in the late 1930s and how it was subsequently used by Roosevelt to measure the impact of the New Deal; and to prepare the US for war. Also how its inventor (Simon Kuznets) came quickly to see the crudities and deficiencies of the measure but remained a prophet in the wilderness. The rest of the chapter reminds us of the things which are left out of this metric – and the recent history of the attempts to bring in more suitable metrics
The early pages of Raworth’s book alerted me to a great book which, some 8 years ago, identified and explored this issue of our being taken over by a new ideology – what the French used to call “La Pensee Unique”, It is Monoculture – how one story is changing everything by FS Michaels and makes a fitting fanfare for the next post which will explore the world of books freely downloadable from the internet
Chapter one – “Change the Goal” - discusses how the measurement of an economy as know it today (GNP) was invented only in the late 1930s and how it was subsequently used by Roosevelt to measure the impact of the New Deal; and to prepare the US for war. Also how its inventor (Simon Kuznets) came quickly to see the crudities and deficiencies of the measure but remained a prophet in the wilderness. The rest of the chapter reminds us of the things which are left out of this metric – and the recent history of the attempts to bring in more suitable metrics
The doughnut is her metaphor for the point we humans have reached
– with us exposed on its outer rim to the limits of 9 planetary boundaries
with climate change; land conversion; biodiversity loss; and nitrogen and
phosphorous loading have already reached its limits….
The doughnut’s inner rim is composed of what she calls the “social foundation” which includes not only food, water and housing but gender equality
and political voice…
The book devotes a chapter apiece to the seven ways she offers for
changing the way we think about economics – but with headings which lack punch
and clarity. Her second chapter “Seeing the Big Picture” draws a brilliant
parallel between the Economics narrative, on the one hand, and a play/film on
the other. Each has its plot, goodies and baddies….There’s
a good interview with her
here
The early pages of Raworth’s book alerted me to a great book which, some 8 years ago, identified and explored this issue of our being taken over by a new ideology – what the French used to call “La Pensee Unique”, It is Monoculture – how one story is changing everything by FS Michaels and makes a fitting fanfare for the next post which will explore the world of books freely downloadable from the internet
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