John F. Weeks - Böcker

Written for the nontechnical reader and intended to intervene in the policy debate, Debt Disaster? offers informative analysis, controversial assessments, and concrete solutions to bring a close the bleakest period for the Third World since the end of World War II. Out of this volume comes a clear message: the indebted countries cannot grow if they seek to pay their debts, no matter what policies they follow.The contributors include: Barry Herman, Rolph van der Hoeven, Karin Lissakers, Paul M. Sacks, Chris Canavan, Robert Liebenthal, Peter Nicholas, Robin A. King, Michael. D. Robinson, Richard D. Fletcher, JOse D. Epstein, William L. Canak, Danilo Levi, Louellen Stedman, Peter Hakim, Vali Jamal, Bruce Morrison, Rudiger Dornbusch, Osvaldo Sunkel, William Darity, Jr., and MIchael Pl. Claudon.

How much do economists really know? In most cases, they claim to have profound knowledge but in fact understand little and obscure almost everything. Most people are convinced that economics should be left to the ‘experts’, when they themselves are perfectly capable of understanding it. This book explains that mainstream economics serves the interests of the rich through its logical inconsistency and unabashedly reactionary conclusions. John F. Weeks exposes the myths of mainstream economics and explains in straightforward language why current policies fail to serve the vast majority of people in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. Their failure to serve the interests of the many results from their devoted service to the few.

‘Governments should spend no more than their tax income.’ Most people in Europe and North America accept this statement as simple common sense. It resonates with the deeply engrained economic metaphors that dominate public discourse, from ‘living within your means’ to ‘balancing the budget’ – all necessary, or so conventional wisdom holds, to avoid the dangers of debt, taxation and financial ruin. This book shows how these homely metaphors constitute the ‘debt delusion’: a set of plausible-sounding yet false ideas that have been used to justify damaging austerity policies. John Weeks debunks these myths, explaining the true story behind public spending, taxation, and debt, and their real function in the management of our economies. He demonstrates that disputes about public finances are not primarily technical matters best left to specialists and experts, as many politicians would have us believe, but rather fundamentally questions about our true political priorities. Requiring no prior economic knowledge, this is an ideal primer for anyone wishing to cut through the rhetoric and misinformation that dominate political debates on economics and become an informed citizen.