The ABCs of Political Economy

Lucidly written, comprehensive in coverage, based on expert understanding and insight' - Noam Chomsky 'Most economists worship the market, describing it as a fair, impersonal arbiter of efficiency. Robin Hahnel brilliantly debunks this religion, providing powerful explanations of market failures on both micro- and macroeconomic levels. He combines clear exposition and mathematical illustration with a compelling passion for progressive social change' - Nancy Folbre, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts 'Must our economic lives be dominated by greed and competition? Free market economists have long answered 'yes'. The ABCs of Political Economy shows that what they 'know' is not so. Robin Hahnel writes with clarity, originality, verve and a relentless moral passion' - Robert Pollin, Professor of Economics and Co-Director, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 'A visionary book ahead of its time. In this second edition Robin Hahnel has done a masterful job analysing the momentous economic, social, political, and environmental events of the past decade and integrating his findings into the work. A stimulating, creative and important contribution to help us all answer the question: 'What is to be done?' in a bold, yet actionable way' - Gar Alperovitz, author of What Then Must We Do? and America Beyond Capitalism is Lionel R. Bauman Professor of Political Economy at the University of Maryland and Co-founder of the Democracy Collaborative