Howdy.
I’m US based and have been starting to get a bit into Noam Chomsky with a MasterClass and now this book. Kind of a “what’s wrong with economics and alternative principles” for someone whose background is all biology/anthropology. I understand statistics and the harder sciences, but have never taken an economics class and only know bare bones stuff and a “this isn’t right” sensation.
Trying to read books from sources like Marx is.. way over my head and drier than mummy wrappings. Any good suggestions similar to this one that can help a newbie to the topic? Books available on audible are also a plus.
Thank you!
by RecipesAndDiving
3 Comments
I agree Marx isn’t the easiest for beginners but maybe look into his shorter and simpler works like Wage Labour and Capital or Value, Price and Profit. Or maybe even Imperialism by Lenin.
Some other suggestions:
The Divide by Jason Hickel
Capital and Imperialism by Utsa Patnaik
Here are some I have enjoyed and found useful:
* [An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25698.An_Inquiry_into_the_Nature_and_Causes_of_the_Wealth_of_Nations?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_13) by Adam Smith
* [The Affluent Society](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41589.The_Affluent_Society) by G. K. Galbraith
* [A Short History of Financial Euphoria](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/270746) by J. K Galbraith
* [When Money Dies: The Nightmare of the Weimar Hyper-inflation](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8567383-when-money-dies?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=hsV4QjHuXJ&rank=1) by Adam Fergusson
* [Scapegoated Capitalism](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32620914-scapegoated-capitalism?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_15) by Ben Irvine
* [The Money Machine](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8182647-the-money-machine?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=MR0fXLomcX&rank=2) by Philip Coggan
* [Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36738613-globalists?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_10) by Quinn Slobodian
I haven’t read them yet, but these have a good reputation:
* [The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2714607-the-ascent-of-money?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_11) by Niall Ferguson
* [The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26634594-the-rise-and-fall-of-american-growth?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=CpVtziZ3fF&rank=1) by Robert J. Gordon
Check out David Graeber’s Debt: The First 5000 Years and Bullshit Jobs. He does a great job of skewering assumptions about the origins of money and its connection to social and moral obligations.
Also, check out Going Postal and Making Money by Terry Pratchett. They’re fantasy novels, but they go pretty deep into public vs. private services, predatory capitalism, fiat currencies, and public trust. They’re also screamingly funny.