America's Free Market Myths: Debunking Market Fundamentalism

ISBN-13: 9783319506357 / Angielski / Twarda / 2017 / 303 str.

Joseph Shaanan

Opis

This book describes and refutes thirteen ideas involving free market principles and the US economic system, arguing that these (mostly familiar) ideas are myths. The different myths generate the recommendation that the system's rewards should flow upward to corporations and a small group of wealthy and politically influential people.

Spis treści

Introduction

I. Economics

Myth 1. America Has Free Markets

Myth 2. A Great Wall Separates Politics and the Economy

Myth 3. The Less Government, The Better

Myth 4. Deregulation Always Improves the Economy

Myth 5. The Economy Has Superior Efficiency                                                                                                                                                                                                      

II. Socio-Economic

Myth 6. Exceptional Living Standards

Myth 7. An Egalitarian Nation

III. Political-Economic

Myth 8. Free Markets Protect Democracy

Myth 9. Corporations Represent Economic Freedom 

Myth 10. Free Market and Laissez Faire Are the Same

Myth 11. A Free Market Nation Does Not Need a Society

IV. The Crash and Bailouts

Myth 12. The Government Caused the Crash of 2007-08 

Myth 13. The Bailouts' Purpose Was to Save the Free Market Economy

O autorze

Joseph Shaanan is Professor of Economics at Bryant University, USA. He is the author of Economic Freedom and the American Dream (2010).

Blurb

This book describes and refutes thirteen ideas involving free market principles and the US economic system, arguing that these (mostly familiar) ideas are myths. The myths are deeply ingrained in the United States' self-image and in political discourse, and are hailed as indisputable, scientifically grounded truths. Unfortunately, an economy dominated by giant corporations bears little resemblance to a free market. So why is so much effort and expense devoted to disseminating these stories? The answer is simple. The different myths generate the recommendation that the system's rewards should flow upward to corporations and a small group of wealthy and politically influential people. The myths help entrench existing economic and political power while distancing America from a more productive and widely beneficial form of capitalism.