Economics of the 1%: How Mainstream Economics Serves the Rich, Obscures Reality and Distorts Policy
This book exposes the myths of mainstream economics behind the public discourse and explains why current policies fail to serve the vast majority.
About This Book
“The recent crisis has exposed the weaknesses of not only the business models of the capitalist world but also the flaws in mainstream economic thought. John F. Weeks’ polemic on the ‘Economics of the 1%’ explores these intellectual blind alleys and takes no prisoners. Pointing out holes in the mainstream logic, Weeks aligns himself with the tradition(s) of Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes and Thorstein Veblen, and with such contemporaries as James K. Galbraith, Ha-Joon Chang and Paul Krugman. And Weeks is right. We have to replace ‘fakeconomics’ with proper economic analysis to combat the social inequalities that have grown disproportionately and dangerously in recent decades.” —László Andor, Economist and Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
“Why do economic policies seem so impenetrable and confusing to most? Weeks provides a clear explanation for how the layperson can decipher them. Every concerned voter should read this book to be economically literate.” —Peter Welch, US Congressman from Vermont and Chief Deputy Whip of the House of Representatives Democratic Caucus
“John F. Weeks has performed a big and important service. The economic dogma that sired the financial crash of 2008–9 and the longest recession for a century remains the dominant ideology, for lack of the coup de grace to consign it to oblivion. John F. Weeks sets about this task with a forthrightness and zeal akin to the biblical destruction of false prophets. This book should be read by all who seek the restoration of sanity in economics from the corrupting clutches of perhaps the biggest austerity hoax ever perpetrated.” —Michael Meacher, British Labour MP for Oldham West and Royton
Today’s ‘doctrine of choice’ assures adults that they are competent to make serious personal decisions about healthcare, education and retirement plans.
At the same time, most people are convinced that they are so ignorant of economics that they are not capable of holding an informed opinion, and that economic issues must be left to experts.
The so-called experts of the mainstream economics profession claim to have profound, inaccessible knowledge; in fact they understand little and obscure almost everything.
Understanding the economy is not simple, but it is no more complicated than understanding the political system sufficiently to cast a vote.
In straightforward language, John F. Weeks exposes the myths of mainstream economics and explains why current economic policies fail to serve the vast majority of people in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. He demonstrates that austerity policies have little theoretical basis and achieve nothing but inequality and misery.
He goes on to explain how the current deficit and debt ‘crises’ in the United States and Europe are ideologically manufactured, unnecessary and simple to overcome. Drawing on examples from around the world, this book provides a bold alternative to the economics of the 1%.
Their failure to serve the interests of the many results from their devoted service to the few.
Author Information
John Weeks, an American living in London, is professor emeritus of economics at SOAS, University of London. He has advised numerous governments and written and commented widely on economic and social issues in the United States, Europe and developing regions.
Table of Contents
Preface: Doctor Bob’s Third Law; Introduction: Economic Ignorance; Chapter 1: Fakeconomics and Economics; Chapter 2: Market Worship; Chapter 3: Finance and Criminality; Chapter 4: Selling Market Myths; Chapter 5: Riches, “Sovereignty” and “Free Trade”; Chapter 6: Lies about Government; Chapter 7: Deficit Disorders and Debt Delirium; Chapter 8: Governments Cause Inflation?; Chapter 9: Institutionalized Misery: Austerity in Practice; Chapter 10: Economics of the 99%
Related articles:
- Capitalism in Crisis: FEWER Than 1% of The Plutocrats and 99% of Their Victims
- Recovery Hype: American Capitalism’s Weapon of Mass Distraction
- CRACKS IN THE PILLAR OF POWER: Top Financiers Expose Fissures Within the 1%
- Why Everyone Should Occupy US 1% Corporate Media: They Lie
What is neoclassical economics?
from Lars Syll
For your edification, I offer this link to an elegant explanation of why neoclassical economics presents itself as purely scientific and denies any ideological commitments, and strangles pluralism.
In brief: Arnsperger and Varoufakis define “neoclassical” economics in terms of three “meta-axioms.” First, neoclassicism assumes “methodological individualism,” i.e. that economists must ultimately posit individuals’ behaviors as the root cause of broad economic phenomena. Second, it assumes “methodological instrumentalism,” i.e. that these actors are somehow or other acting instrumentally in pursuit of goals, are “irreversibly ends-driven.” Third, it assumes “methodological equilibration,” i.e. rather than asking whether or under what conditions shall a state of affairs continue unchanged, it seeks to show that if equilibrium occurs, then it will endure.
The big twist of Ansperger and Varoufakis’ argument is that by keeping these assumptions well-hidden and unquestioned, neoclassicism simultaneously guts its own ability to effectively explain and predict real-world economic phenomena AND expands its own discursive authority.
The real genius of this article is in demonstrating how this paradoxical circumstance occurs. They carefully and explicitly reject the view that economics professors are cynically and purposively responsible as a “conspiracy theory.” Instead, they pursue a “functionalist” explanation (which seems like maybe the defining characteristic ofscience itself: showing how cause and effect, independent of any overarching purpose, lead from situation A to situation B), which boils down to funding sources. Basically, they claim that economists who pursue technical elaborations, “who simply ‘get on with the job,’” get funding while those who raise important but non-actionable questions about assumptions, method, and framework do not. “No one wants to keep quiet on the meta-axioms. They are just too busy building magnificent edifices on top of them, and being magnificently rewarded for it” …
So the three meta-axioms of neoclassical economics define the language and concepts which can/must be invoked by any economist who wishes to be taken seriously. By presenting as self-evident and obvious, they effectively make themselves invisible while also precluding alternative approaches.
Some Lectures on Neoclassical Economics in China
http://sttpml.org/some-lectures-and-papers-presented-in-china/