Showing titles in Theory

Voici le récit d'anticipation sur les ZAD, inspirant et barré, signé par le plus grand auteur français de science-fiction. Tiré d’un recueil de textes qui prend la défense de la ZAD et des projets qu’elle contient : Éloge des mauvaises herbes - Ce que nous devons à la ZAD.

We are in the midst of a startup revolution. The growth and proliferation of innovation-driven startup activity is profound, unprecedented, and global in scope. Today, it is understood that communities of support and knowledge-sharing go along with other resources. The importance of collaboration and a long-term commitment has gained wider acceptance. The Startup Community Way explores what makes startup communities thrive and how to improve collaboration in these rapidly evolving, complex environments.

'Local is Our Future' by Helena Norberg-Hodge connects the dots between our social, economic, ecological and spiritual crises, revealing how a systemic shift from global to local can address these seemingly disparate problems simultaneously. Distilling the wisdom gleaned from four decades of activism and direct experience in both the global North and South, Helena lucidly deconstructs the old narrative of 'progress' through technological advance and corporate growth, while presenting a concise and compelling case for economic localization.

Austrian economics is the most powerful explanation of why governments, no matter how well-intentioned, lack the knowledge, wisdom, and ability to direct the lives of multitudes of people better than those people can do for themselves. In this book, economist Richard Ebeling introduces you to the central ideas in Austrian economics, as well as their importance for us today.

The financial crisis that crested in 2008 destroyed the credibility of the economic thinking that had guided policymakers for a generation. But what will take its place? In How the Economy Works, one of our leading economists provides a jargon-free exploration of the current crisis, offering a powerful argument for how economics must change to get us out of it. Roger E. A. Farmer traces the swings between classical and Keynesian economics since the early 20th century, gracefully explaining the elements of both theories.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Licence to be Bad by Jonathan Alred. Over the past 50 years, the way we value what is 'good' and 'right' has changed dramatically. Behaviour that to our grandparents' generation might have seemed stupid, harmful or simply wicked now seems rational, natural, woven into the very logic of things. And, asserts Jonathan Aldred in this revelatory new book, it's economics that's to blame.

This is the cut-to-the-chase quality that makes economics not only applicable to the interpretation of law, but beneficial to its crafting. Drawing on numerous commonsense examples, in addition to his extensive knowledge of Chicago-school economics, David D. Friedman offers a spirited defense of the economic view of law. He clarifies the relationship between law and economics in clear prose that is friendly to students, lawyers, and lay listeners without sacrificing the intellectual heft of the ideas presented.

The Myth That Made Us exposes how false narratives—of a supposedly post-racist nation, of the self-made man, of the primacy of profit- and shareholder value—maximizing for businesses, and of minimal government interference—have been used to excuse gross inequities and to shape and sustain the US economic system that delivers them. Jeff Fuhrer argues that systemic racism continues to produce vastly disparate outcomes and that our brand of capitalism favors doing little to reduce disparities.

Richness or reach? For business leaders, it used to be a fundamental strategic tradeoff: focus on "rich information", customized products and services tailored to a niche market, or reach out to a broad, general market with watered-down information.

Frederick Kaufman tackles the complex history of money, beginning with the earliest myths and wrapping up with Wall Street’s byzantine present-day doings. Along the way, he exposes a set of allegorical plots, stock characters, and stereotypical metaphors that have long been linked with money and commercial culture, from Melanesian trading rituals to the dogma of Medieval churchmen faced with global commerce, the rationales of Mercantilism and colonial expansion, and the U.S. dollar’s 1971 unpinning from gold.

Thorstein Bunde Veblen (1857-1929) was an economist, sociologist, and critic of capitalism. In The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), Veblen coined the concepts of “conspicuous consumption” and “conspicuous leisure”. His emphasis on conspicuous consumption greatly influenced economists who engaged in critiques of capitalism and technological determinism. In The Theory of Business Enterprise (1904) Veblen looks at the growing corporate domination of culture and the economy, arguing that business interests do not coincide with that of the community.

The purpose of this audiobook is to present an overview of the key tenets of Austrian economics by synthesizing the insights from these thinkers in a set of eight topics that capture the core elements of Austrian economics.

With the publication of Essay on the Principle of Population and its projection of food shortages in the face of ballooning populations, British theorist Thomas Robert Malthus secured a leading role in modern political and economic thought. In this startling new interpretation, Deborah Valenze reveals how canonical readings of Malthus fail to acknowledge his narrow understanding of what constitutes food production.

Identity Economics bridges a critical gap in the social sciences. It brings identity and norms to economics. People’s notions of what is proper, and what is forbidden, and for whom, are fundamental to how hard they work, and how they learn, spend, and save. Thus people’s identity—their conception of who they are, and of who they choose to be—may be the most important factor affecting their economic lives.

The political ideas that fully came together under the name “liberal” in the early 19th century—the ideas we often now refer to as “classical liberalism”—emerged out of major debates and developments from the late 1600s to the late 1700s. These were part of the broad European intellectual movement of that era that came to be known as “the Enlightenment".

David Hume (1711–1776) is a towering and intriguing figure. He was the preeminent philosopher in what is now called the Scottish Enlightenment, a time that was “crowded with genius” and in a place regarded as the rebirth of the golden era of Athens. His writing displayed an astonishing range, addressing everything from metaphysics to politics, and in subject after subject, he produced fresh, novel, and brilliant insights.

Few ideas have been as influential in the development of moral, political, legal, and economic thought in the broad Western tradition as the idea of natural law. It is also true that the understanding of natural law and its influence on specific norms and institutions—rights, justice, private property, rule of law, limited government—is not anywhere near as widespread in the 21st century as it was just 100 years ago.

Ohne Kapitalismus in die Zukunft. Das Wirtschaftswachstum der Moderne versprach uns ein Leben im Wohlstand. Jedoch wird durch die Umweltkrise klar, dass es gerade das Wirtschaftswachstum ist, das die Grundlagen des menschlichen Wohlstands untergräbt. Gleichzeitig hält uns der Glaube, dass der Erfolg im Kampf gegen den Klimawandel davon abhängt, wie viel jeder Einzelne von uns tut, davon ab, einen notwendigen Systemsturz einzuleiten. In diesem Hörbuch analysiert der japanische Philosoph Kohei Saito die Verflechtung von Kapital, Natur und Gesellschaft im Anthropozän.

The Social Currency addresses the idea that money is a social construct, and therefore so is poverty. The book showcases several communities that confronted their financial disadvantages by creating their own currency. These economic activists challenged the idea that money, by definition, had to be created and controlled by the government, locally instituting the printing of money in the process.

From the inquisitive layperson to the professional economist or policymaker, The Inequality Paradox is essential listening for understanding the global economy in its present state. McWilliams is a fresh, authoritative voice entering the global discussion, making this book indispensable in preparing for the imminent economic challenges of our changing world.