Seven Bad Ideas: How Mainstream Economics Have Damaged America and the World

The author talks about the errors of American economics, but he knows in a good way that this behavior is normal in those activities. The market don't be resoluble without avoiding some failures, and the style of writing of Madrick is very clear about it. The economics authorities cited by him are several, all of a certain importance, and the approach tries to explicate because a policy which is efficient, without being made from "guru", is the one solution. Only if the economists will have such positions because believe in the possibility of success, surely sometimes falling in error, but with a certain trust in the mathematics, but also in a correct sociology.

This book makes no effort to be objective. Neoclassical economists are labelled “right wing” while left leaning economists are given the elegant title of Keynesian. Beyond these labels this book is a case study in circle reasoning and straw man arguments. Throughout the book, the author assumes what he is trying to prove and provides little evidence to support his conclusions beyond saying ABC economic theory is wrong because it wasn’t true in all places and time or because this renowned Keynesian says it’s wrong. I would offer George Box’s aphorism, “all models are wrong, but some are useful”. The author presents a world were a set of economic ideas are 100pct true or 100pct false. No economic theory is correct in all circumstances. We didn’t throw out newtonian mechanics when relativity came along. We recognized that different circumstances required different reasoning. This book has no nuance. Or I should say, it doesn’t give the benefit of nuance to any economic ideas it doesn’t agree with. When you layer on different political and cultural characteristics across millions of economic participants its not hard to see that economic ideas will get some things wrong. What is incredible is how many things they get right.

This is an eye opening book in light of the 2008 crash, it explains the thinking that lead to it and with the upcoming Trump administration it is a must read.

This book is useful and helpful for those of us intent on studying the history of economic ideas in connection with the distribution of wealth and income. There are many variations of economic ideas, but the neoclassical and neo-Keynesian ideas have essentially failed us. Madrick's book provides a useful discussion of many of the ideas that must be reexamined if we are to come to grips with the true causes of growth and decline..

Madrick dismantles the fake and anti-scientific neoliberal economics doctrine in clear and simple language.

This is such an informative book. In terms the non-professional can easily understand, it explains very well how our economic system has failed the people. And it did not have to. But failed theory, held on to by those who would benefit from it, crashed our system and then obstructed the recovery. It is vital the every day citizen understands the huge difference between "family budgets" and "national budgets." We have been sold a bill of goods by deceptive language and concepts. This book enlightens all of this.

Easy and enjoyable to read. The seven ideas Madrick doesn't like are laid out in seven chapters.The Invisible Hand. Very beguiling. Around 1980 when Reagan came to power and Neo-Conservative Economics began to really have it's say --there was an appeals judge that wrote or delivered a paper in which he excitedly reported that he had finally seen The Light. We don't need any government or regulation --laissez faire economics can supply everything we need. With it's profits of course. American free enterprise business will supply everything everyone needs. He was so struck with the marvelous power of free enterprise supply and demand that he recommended to all fellow judges that they make all judicial decisions by simple free enterprise rules. Whomever can most productively put money to use should win all of this judges monetary decisions. Plainly businessmen always win in his court, not bums like me who might even use the settlement for wine and song. I don't remember how he would settle issues like privacy, defamation, racial discrimination. Over-reaching power dissemination, Free Market, spontaneous order with an interesting idea. An economic approach wanting to ensure that money was put into the hands of those most likely to make more money for themselves and others.Next Say's Law and Austerity Economics. Again we have the good proper people and all the rest that need to be herded along.What Madrick and other's call Friedman's Folly. Government should only have a very limited role. Once again The proper Laws of Free Market Supply and Demand will provide everyone with everything they want. Let's not downplay the Amazing Grace of this wonderful Insight.Low inflation is all that matters. I can remember Friedman was really big on this in the Sixties and Seventies. Paved the was for Eighties Supply Side Trickle Down excitements.This is still so big with our gamblers --there is no such thing as a speculative bubble. Really? Lordy. Madrick lumps all of this into Efficient Market Theory. Trying to justify ridiculous salaries for our special CEO club people.Madrick has a great chapter entitled: Globalization: Friedman's Folly Writ Large.And finishes with a fun discussion of the fading idea of the science of economics.Enjoyable reading. :)

Books that point out that economic theory often makes no sense are no longer a satisfactory response to the problem. Piketty showed the way by old-fashioned research, careful thought and logical analysis. Madrick has potential for seven books here, and I look forward to reading them.

Wow. One of the best of its kind I've ever read. Recommended.

Written in a very practical way, the reader can easily understand the economic concepts and the comments about it.

本署の存在は実は翻訳本への書評で気が付きました。これはいやに早く翻訳されたものです。流れとしては、 Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea , Zombie Economics: How Dead Ideas Still Walk Among Us , The Myth of the Rational Market: A History of Risk, Reward, and Delusion on Wall Street に連なるものです。そして問題関心としては、 The Assumptions Economists Make で細かく提示されたところと重なるところが大ですが、そこでの論点をだいぶ経済学の初心者向けにわかりやすくしたものでしょう。実際に、このassumptionsという作品自体が何度も注で取り上げられています。つまるところ経済学は18-19世紀の啓蒙主義イデオロギーから未だ脱却できないある種の「神学」であり、その前提は決して証明や議論の対象とされるべきものではないという現状から脱却していないという一点に尽きます。つまり科学というものではなく信仰であり、科学としての偽装が数学という中立性の道具を使って行われているだけというわけです。科学というものが、「describe, explain, formulate laws, predict and revise」というプロセスの繰り返しを前提とするものであるとしたら、現代の経済学はほとんどその条件を満たしていないようです。せいぜい事実関係のdescribeの作業ぐらいはきちんとしてくれればいいのですが、実はdescribeの作業を主とする経済史というfieldは経済学では軽視されており、それすらきちんとなされていないというのが実情です。因果関係の解明というexplainにいたっては、せいぜいco-relationの存在を示唆するconditional hypothesisの呈示にとどまっており、法則の発見というformulateに至っては,前段階のdescribeとexplainのプロセスがきちんとされていないためでしょうか、法則など見出せないところに、無理やり時代のexpediencyに合わせたこじつけの呈示にとどまっているというわけです。となるとpredictという機能にいたってはせいぜいサイコロを振る行為とほぼ同義であるというわけです。このような限界をふまえた上でreviseという作業が真摯に行われるのであれば、「科学」とはいえなくても学問という基準は満たすのですが、このreviseという作業は金科玉条とされた古いテーゼへの見苦しいほどの執着に終始しており、いつも技術論的な修正にとどまり、理論のよって立つ前提の再吟味にまでとうてい及ぶことはありません。そして現実に濫発されるのは、今は膨大なガラクタの集積となってしまった東ドイツの時代の社会主義文献と同じように、早急なモデリングとデータの膨大な集積から、前もって出来上がっている政策や現代的な関心にrelevantとであるとされる「結論」が提示されるガラクタともいうべきペーパーです。そこで提示されるのはせいぜいco-relationの限定的な「発見」であり、けっして因果関係の解明ではありません。トレーディングの補助道具としては十分でしょうが、それ以上のものではありません。著者が指摘する This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly のドタバタをめぐる政治家の経済学に対するシニカル発言は、この学問のたどり着いた袋小路を象徴的に物語っています。 Austerity: The History of a Dangerous IdeaZombie Economics: How Dead Ideas Still Walk Among UsThe Myth of the Rational Market: A History of Risk, Reward, and Delusion on Wall StreetThe Assumptions Economists MakeThis Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly

This excellent book should be read by all public policymakers. It is a convincing antidote to the market-worship disease that currently dominates government "thought".