Choice Reviews
Magnuson (visiting fellow, Ashcroft International Business School at Anglia Ruskin Univ., UK, and professor of economics, Portland Community College) presents a robust critique of the US economy that is particularly timely, given the present global financial crisis. However, the content requires a well-developed understanding of classical and neoclassical economic thought as well as Eastern philosophy to fully appreciate the arguments presented, in light of Magnuson's membership in the Buddhist economists' movement, whose mantra is a call to make US capitalism more normative. Analyses focus on three major issues and the fundamental systemic changes needed in the US economy to address them: environmental degradation, inequality, and financial market instability. The overall critique lacks balance and does not extend to other capitalist countries, which is a significant weakness. In the final three chapters, Magnuson sets out Buddhist economics' "mindful" alternatives to US capitalism, such as democracy based on social justice, locally based financial systems, and alternative currency arrangements. The book and Buddhist economics in general cannot avoid several internal inconsistencies in argument, which are particularly apparent in the final chapters. If considered at all, parts of this text could be used in a comparative class. Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations. Upper-division undergraduate through faculty collections. Copyright 2009 American Library Association.
Library Journal Reviews
Magnuson (economics, Portland State Univ. & Portland Community Coll.) presents an intriguing perspective on the U.S. economy by describing the American capitalist system and its key institutions and economic issues, covering the most important consequences of the system and, finally, offering alternatives. His overview of the history and background of the U.S. economic system is thorough, including the development of capitalism, the U.S. financial system and Federal Reserve banks, the stock market, the structure of corporations, and international economic relations. The problems with the system Magnuson discusses include poverty, financial market instability, environmental destruction, and economic downturns. In the final section, he presents a notable study of a mindful economy, writing, "In a mindful economy, we seek to avoid debilitating crises and set out to follow a thoughtful and careful path toward change." He examines ways of achieving a mindful economy of values-based principles: the mindful economy is intrinsically democratic, equitable, just, based on respect for all life and natural processes, and stable. This book should be read by faculty and students studying economics and can be appreciated by those just learning about how the economy works. Highly recommended to academic library collections.—Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY
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