Why read The Value of Everything?

Book cover of The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy

Book description

Modern economies reward activities that extract value rather than create it. This must change to ensure a capitalism that works for us all.

Shortlisted for the FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award

A scathing indictment of our current global financial system, The Value of Everything rigorously scrutinizes…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Value of Everything as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Dietrich Vollrath

Author

I like this book because it takes a giant step back and asks what “the economy” means. What we measure, and what we choose to classify as “economic activity”, is a choice, not a given. By opting to classify some things as true economic activity (e.g. finance) but others as not (e.g. raising kids) we implicitly make choices about economic policy, as it can only deal with what it can count. It opens up the idea that we could stop and think about what should matter to the economy, and what may not.

From Dietrich's list on the economic challenges of the 2020s.