Packed with useful information and insights, this is a useful complement to Thomas Pikkety’s Capital in the Twenty First Century, and makes a serious challenge to the many claims propagated by rich people and their minions."
Tax Justice Network
"This timely and important book exposes the pernicious influence of the super rich on our economic and social fabric. It underlines the need for radical action to redistribute wealth, rebalance our economy and tackle inequality. A must read for politicians and policymakers alike"
Frances O'Grady, TUC General Secretary
"A refreshing antidote to a public discourse that has allowed the perpetrators of the financial crisis to make massive gains, while the full burden of costs falls on those innocent of its causes. A must-read for all those who want to reverse that injustice and a wake-up call for the rich."
Ann Pettifor, Director, Prime: Policy research in macroeconomics
"Sayer puts forth a cogent and thoroughly convincing argument that will enlighten and inform—and may even help instigate the radical changes he puts forth."
Publishers Weekly
About This Book
As inequalities widen and the effects of austerity deepen, in many countries the wealth of the rich has soared. Why we can’t afford the rich exposes the unjust and dysfunctional mechanisms that allow the top 1% to siphon off wealth produced by others, through the control of property and money. Leading social scientist Andrew Sayer shows how over the last three decades the rich worldwide have increased their ability to hide their wealth, create indebtedness and expand their political influence. Written accessibly for a wide readership, this important book uses simple distinctions to burst the myth of the rich as specially talented wealth creators. Furthermore, as the risk of runaway climate change grows, it shows how the rich are threatening the planet by banking on unsustainable growth. The author forcefully argues that the crises of economy and climate can only be resolved by radical change to make economies sustainable, fair and conducive to well-being for all.
Author Biography
Andrew Sayer is Professor of Social Theory and Political Economy at Lancaster University, UK. He has a long-standing interest in moral economy and has written several books on political economy, inequality, class, and philosophy and ethics, including Radical Political Economy: A Critique (Blackwell, 1995); The Moral Significance of Class (2005) and Why Things Matter to People: Social Science, Values and Ethical Life (2011) (both Cambridge University Press).
Contents
Introduction
Part I: A Guide to Wealth Extraction
Slippery Terms and Vital Distinctions
For rent . . . for what?
Interest . . . for what? or We need to talk about usury
Profit from production: or capitalists and rentiers: what’s the difference?
Other ways to skin a cat
Don’t the Rich Create Jobs? –
and other objections
Part II: Putting the Rich in Context: What Determines What People Get?
To what do we owe our wealth?: Our dependence on the commons
So what determines pay?
The myth of the level playing field
Part III: How the Rich Got Richer: Their Part in the Crisis
The roots of the crisis
Key winners
Summing up: the crisis and the return of the rentiers
Part IV: Rule by the Rich, for the Rich
Silent power, pol donations lattice of influence
Hiding it
Illegal? + poachers
What about philanthropy?
Plutonomy
Part V: Ill-gotten and Ill-spent: From Consumption to Ill-Being and CO2
Spending it
Global warming trumps everything
Conclusion: back to basics –
what kind of economy do we need?.
- See more at:
http://www.policypress.co.uk/display.asp?k=9781447320791#sthash.e2aPTWQZ.dpuf
Topic: "Allah Will Destroy Interest"