A cold, hard look at how modern economics has failed us and why we need a new measure of progress Modern economics has fallen short. It has widened the gap between rich and poor. It has not allocated the world's resources fairly. It has brought the West to the brink of financial ruin. It has placed short-term gain before long-term progress. And it has made us focus on the individual, not the society. The end result is a worldwide financial crisis of epic proportions and a planet being scraped clean of the resources needed by future generations, and things are only getting worse. In The End of Progress: How Modern Economics Has Failed Us popular economist Graeme Maxton looks at what went wrong, and what we can do to get ourselves back on track.
During the Age of Enlightenment society flourished, propelled by the wonder of new discoveries, radical ideas for economic and social development, and a sense that we all had a responsibility to improve our world. It's time to get back to those ideals, step back and examine our values, and work out what humankind really needs.
- Presents a chilling look at our current financial system along with a compelling argument for what we need to change
- Argues for new measures of progress that emphasize what really matters, not personal greed
- Offers a timely look at our broken society and where we're headed next
A thought-provoking, informative book, The End of Progress looks at what got us into our present mess, and shines light onto the road ahead.
As Graeme Maxton's important and entertaining book demonstrates, modern economic theory contains fundamental errors that any intelligent child could spot. This is not just an academic problem; we've left economists to run the world-and the planet is careening toward disaster as a result. Graeme Maxton is one of the first observers to note that world economic growth has reached hard limits. We ignore this shattering news at our peril. But if we can rid modern economic theory of a few fundamental and obvious errors, then a transition to a sustainable and satisfactory new economy is entirely feasible.
The End of Progress is a vitally important and highly readable book-read it and have your eyes opened!
Richard Heinberg
Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute
Author, Peak Everything
Graeme Maxton's panoramic view of economic history reaches back to Adam Smith and the moral and social philosophy that underpinned the Scotsman's belief in free markets. That inspires Maxton's timely and trenchant critique of modern capitalism and the drug of consumption, financed with debt, which led western countries to the financial crisis of 2008. Only by learning the true lessons, Maxton suggests, will they set themselves on a sustainable economic path.
John Gapper
Financial Times columnist
The End of Progress accuses economic thinking about markets of a failure that is leading us towards a dark future. Maxton says the financial meltdown and its aftermath, extremes of income inequality, and the looming crisis over resource availability, consumerism and climate change beckon solutions, for which we are ill-equipped. Maxton should be knocking on open doors in calling for change.
George Magnus
Author of Uprising
Senior Economic Adviser, UBS
Graeme Maxton has produced an important and timely book. It's impossible to argue with his conclusion that the world has taken a wrong turning, and that much is set to change in the near future. The End of Progress should be read by as wide an audience as possible, most of whom will find themselves nodding in agreement as they read his analysis of what has gone wrong, and his suggestions for putting things right.
Giles Chance
Author, China and the Credit Crisis: The Emergence of a New World Order
Visiting Professor, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University
