Description
Book SynopsisA guide to the insanity of the corrupt modern era
Trade Review'A most valuable contribution to public understanding and vitally needed action' -- Noam Chomsky
'Larson adds a critical component to the policy debate about financial reform by explaining why the systemically dangerous institutions (SDIs) -- the 'too big to fail' banks -- imperil our democracy as well as our economy'
-- William K. Black, Associate Professor of Economics and Law, University of Missouri-Kansas City, author of The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One.
'Whether illuminating the rapacious class war being waged by America's CEOs, the remarkably mindless degradation of the world's oceans, or the wishful thinking about the increasingly evident consequences of global warming, Rob Larson consistently brings powerful insights and a biting wit. Larson has a unique skill for translating complex economic and scientific analysis with both clarity and force' -- Roger Bybee, labour journalist
'Robert Larson's range of topics and accessible writing make this book an invaluable contribution to the critical task of connecting environmental degradation and overwhelming corporate power' -- Mary Zepernick, co-founder of Program on Corporations, Law, and Democracy (POCLAD)
'Fact-driven, concise, interesting, and even funny -- that's unusual for a book about economics, policies, and working people' -- Tom Szymanski, Organizer of IBEW Local 275
Table of ContentsPreface The Plutonomy Papers
Part 1: External Damnation The market’s unintended impact on the environment
Introduction 'Externalities' in theory
1. Come Hell and High Water
2. Hug Them While They Last
3. Hot Water Capitalism's "best economic case"
4. The Brown Peril Atmospheric
5. Cause and Side-Effect
6. As Not Seen On TV
Part 2: Will Work For Peanuts The job market and war on labor
Introduction The labor market in theory
7. Classroots
8. Hitting the Class Ceiling
9. Fight and Flight
10. MidEast Meets MidWest
11. Ebony & Irony
12. The Subprime Court
13. Keeping Down With the Joneses
Part 3: The Invisible Hand Gives the Finger The crisis-prone finance market
Introduction Credit markets in theory
14. Pop Goes the Economy
15. Not Too Big Enough
16. Bonanzas As Usual
17. Fed Up
18. Starved For Attention
Conclusion: Invisible Sleight-of-Hand Economics as a failed science
Notes
Index
