Against thrift

why consumer culture is good for the economy, the environment, and your soul

by

257 pages

English language

Published Dec. 28, 2011 by Basic Books.

ISBN:
978-0-465-02186-4
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OCLC Number:
701015438

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(1 review)

"Since the financial meltdown of 2008, economists, journalists, and politicians have uniformly insisted that to restore the American Dream and renew economic growth, we need to save more and spend less. In his provocative new book, historian James Livingston-author of the classic Origins of the Federal Reserve System-breaks from the consensus to argue that underconsumption caused the current crisis and will prolong it. By viewing the Great Recession through the prism of the Great Depression, Livingston proves that private investment is not the engine of growth we assume it to be. Tax cuts for business are therefore a recipe for disaster. If our goal is to reproduce the economic growth of the postwar era, we need a redistribution of income that reduces corporate profits, raises wages, and promotes consumer spending"--

1 edition

reviewed Against thrift by James Livingston

Review of 'Against thrift' on 'Goodreads'

Not a bad book. The main premise is easy to follow as are the main arguments. However, everything is couched a relatively inaccessible amount of philosophy which forms the roots of all the assertions of mainstream economic theory and of the author. It's a fascinating book but be prepared to have to work at reading it. As a side note, the Appendix will be very interesting to those looking for the data backing up the author's assertions in the book.

Subjects

  • Financial crises
  • Consumption (Economics)
  • Income distribution
  • History

Places

  • United States