About book The Value Of Nothing: How To Reshape Market Society And Redefine Democracy (2010)
A generally entertaining and informative call to action on the current way the richest countries are running their affairs and the affairs of the rest of the world. I appreciated the excursions into the theories of economists of the past and the glimpses of ways in which some communities are testing out new forms of democracy. It gives me hope for a non-consumerist future when I read books like this, even though doubt nags back at me when I consider how much people will need to change in order to build a more co-operative, caring society in the future. I was expecting a lot more from Raj with this book. The quality of his first book mislead me to think that this one would be just as good and, whilst there are very worthwhile bits, it's just not as good as 'Stuffed & Starved'. I think my disappointment stems from the fact that this book is a whole lot more politically specific than 'Stuffed & Starved', it looks at the free market, its affects and what should replace it; regulated markets-and that's where it ends. And whilst a market controlled by those within it, not just those profiting from it is going to bring more justice and equality into society and, as Raj dwells quite a lot upon: democracy, into society. Unfortunately this is as far as Raj goes and it's disappointing that he can't see beyond Market Socialism (in fact it's not even market socialism because he doesn't mention socialising the means of production in his solutions). He says this change in society will be made by introducing participatory democracy into society, does he really think we will all be of one mind and choose the choice he would make? I don't think so.Despite the faults of this book it still offers a very damning and very useful argument against the free market and the total submission of human will to market forces.
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(discovered thru Amazon book review of Harvey's Enigma)
—Stevevvv
I want the whole world to read this book!!!
—Shelley
