A More Accessible but Less Rigorous Version of "Capital and Ideology"
4 stars
Stiglitz comes out swinging in this indictment of neoliberalism, methodically exposing the many failings of this ideology and how it in fact created a society that subsidizes rich people and organizations at the expense of the vast majority of the public. As this book came out in 2013, when the US was still climbing out of the aftermath of the great recession, much of the book is concerned with the 2008 financial crisis and its implications. While still intellectually interesting, these sections are obviously far less relevant today. Beyond that, many chapters (especially on political and legal reform) are mostly data-free, and while I mostly agree with the conclusions I tend to prefer the work of Piketty, and if you've read one of his longer tomes you can probably skip this one. Still, if you're not inclined to that kind of book or you want a quicker, less technical intro …
Stiglitz comes out swinging in this indictment of neoliberalism, methodically exposing the many failings of this ideology and how it in fact created a society that subsidizes rich people and organizations at the expense of the vast majority of the public. As this book came out in 2013, when the US was still climbing out of the aftermath of the great recession, much of the book is concerned with the 2008 financial crisis and its implications. While still intellectually interesting, these sections are obviously far less relevant today. Beyond that, many chapters (especially on political and legal reform) are mostly data-free, and while I mostly agree with the conclusions I tend to prefer the work of Piketty, and if you've read one of his longer tomes you can probably skip this one. Still, if you're not inclined to that kind of book or you want a quicker, less technical intro to the space, this is an excellent book. Highly recommend