Finance and the Good Society
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- $25.99
Publisher Description
Nobel Prize-winning economist explains why we need to reclaim finance for the common good
The reputation of the financial industry could hardly be worse than it is today in the painful aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. New York Times best-selling economist Robert Shiller is no apologist for the sins of finance—he is probably the only person to have predicted both the stock market bubble of 2000 and the real estate bubble that led up to the subprime mortgage meltdown. But in this important and timely book, Shiller argues that, rather than condemning finance, we need to reclaim it for the common good. He makes a powerful case for recognizing that finance, far from being a parasite on society, is one of the most powerful tools we have for solving our common problems and increasing the general well-being. We need more financial innovation—not less—and finance should play a larger role in helping society achieve its goals.
Challenging the public and its leaders to rethink finance and its role in society, Shiller argues that finance should be defined not merely as the manipulation of money or the management of risk but as the stewardship of society's assets. He explains how people in financial careers—from CEO, investment manager, and banker to insurer, lawyer, and regulator—can and do manage, protect, and increase these assets. He describes how finance has historically contributed to the good of society through inventions such as insurance, mortgages, savings accounts, and pensions, and argues that we need to envision new ways to rechannel financial creativity to benefit society as a whole.
Ultimately, Shiller shows how society can once again harness the power of finance for the greater good.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Shiller, professor of economics at Yale and author of the best-selling Irrational Exuberance, examines the future of finance in this timely new book. Recognizing the anger of many Americans as evidenced in part by the rise of the Occupy movement Shiller suggests that the way to fix our increasingly unequal society is through the "democratization" and "humanization" of finance. From bankers to philanthropists to lobbyists, he outlines the key players and grapples with the pervasive mood of discontent towards the financial industry. Apologist in tone, Shiller pushes for financial innovation and altruism as a means of helping society achieve its goals. While he notes that this book is for the general public, it was originally intended for his students at Yale, and the academic tone persists. His attempts to connect with a wider readership are often misguided Joni Mitchell, Walt Whitman, and Pablo Escobar (among others) each make a cameo for a paragraph or two, never to be mentioned again. Shiller's biggest difficulty is that he tries for an unruly combination of economics, history, psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy. The resulting jumble of information overwhelms his most fundamental idea: that expanding the scope of finance will help create a good society.
