Robert Kuttner

After what was a thoughtfully construed first ten chapters, culminating in a brilliant summary of why (national) democracy cannot withstand an onslaught of unfetered global finance and global capitalism, I felt severely let down by the final chapter which turned into a starry-eyed uncritical propagation of the alternative to the current system. That's the only reason why I am giving "just" 4 stars. Although I am convinced of the demerits of the current system, just simply pointing out the flaws of the current system, and then opting for an alternative instead without any form of pre-emptive critique is, in my view, just false reasoning. Still a very enjoyable read though.… (mer)

I've long agreed with almost all of the points made by Kuttner in this book, but I've never had a systematic framework in which to logically relate them. In this book, Kuttner provides that framework. He outlines a history of postwar economics that is both coherent and compelling and draws on Polanyi and Keynes to make sense of why things happened the way they did. His policy recommendations in the last chapter are rational and necessary. The only thing I don't share with Kuttner, however, is his optimism that because they are necessary, they will happen.… (mer)