Energy Economics: A Modern Introduction

Book Description

This is a modern text and reference book on energy economics. It assumes as background only the microeconomic portion of the introductory or first course in economics, and the mathematical requirements can, for the most part, be met by secondary school algebra. The subjects taken up in some detail are: oil, gas, coal, electricity, and energy derivatives - i.e. futures, options, and swaps. The long chapter on derivatives is applicable to all commodities, and can serve as an easily read background to financial derivatives. Other topics that are treated include uranium and capital budgeting, and to a lesser extent real option theory and deregulation. There are many simple exercises that are intended to build confidence, and an extensive glossary that both students and energy professionals should find useful.

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The center does not hold. The rise of customizable media has mainstream thinkers, used to a near-monopoly on attention, running scared. Legal scholar Cass R. Sunstein makes the case for a more robust information diet from a slightly left of center point of view in Republic.com. Building on the ideas of the Technorealist movement, Sunstein focuses on the increasing volume of extremist voices as people choose to read or listen to only those points of view they already share. Though it seems that he occasionally overstates his case--it seems unlikely that we'll ever really be able to filter every unwanted or unexpected opinion--he does score some solid blows against the current, more or less laissez faire system. His prose is clear and accessible--exactly the kind of reasoned discourse he values and wants to preserve. His proposed program of government-sponsored and mandated public media spaces probably won't rouse many readers to wholehearted endorsement, but the suggestion that we have problems brewing ought to be enough to spur further thought. Since everyone from the American Nazi Party to the Zapatistas has found a stronger voice via the Internet, it's little wonder that we're starting to hear concerned prophets warning of a new Babel. Whether we can--or should--do anything beforehand is an open question; Republic.com makes a strong and pointed case against the status quo. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

Republic.com exposes the drawbacks of egocentric Internet use, while showing us how to approach the Internet as responsible citizens, not just concerned consumers. Democracy, Sunstein maintains, depends on shared experiences and requires citizens to be exposed to topics and ideas that they would not have chosen in advance. Newspapers and broadcasters helped create a shared culture, but as their role diminishes and the customization of our communications universe increases, society is in danger of fragmenting, shared communities in danger of dissolving. In their place will arise only louder and ever more extreme echoes of our own voices, our own opinions.

In evaluating the consequences of new communications technologies for democracy and free speech, Sunstein argues the question is not whether to regulate the Net (it's already regulated), but how; proves that freedom of speech is not an absolute; and underscores the enormous potential of the Internet to promote freedom as well as its potential to promote "cybercascades" of like-minded opinions that foster and enflame hate groups. The book ends by suggesting a range of potential reforms to correct current misconceptions and to improve deliberative democracy and the health of the American republic.

Chat with Cass Sunstein in a Message Forum hosted beginning April 1, 2001.

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See only what you want to see, hear only what you want to hear, read only what you want to read. In cyberspace, we already have the ability to filter out everything but what we wish to see, hear, and read. Tomorrow, our power to filter promises to increase exponentially. With the advent of the Daily Me, you see only the sports highlights that concern your teams, read about only the issues that interest you, encounter in the op-ed pages only the opinions with which you agree. In all of the applause for this remarkable ascendance of personalized information, Cass Sunstein asks the questions, Is it good for democracy? Is it healthy for the republic? What does this mean for freedom of speech?Republic.com exposes the drawbacks of egocentric Internet use, while showing us how to approach the Internet as responsible citizens, not just concerned consumers. Democracy, Sunstein maintains, depends on shared experiences and requires citizens to be exposed to topics and ideas that they would not have chosen in advance. Newspapers and broadcasters helped create a shared culture, but as their role diminishes and the customization of our communications universe increases, society is in danger of fragmenting, shared communities in danger of dissolving. In their place will arise only louder and ever more extreme echoes of our own voices, our own opinions. In evaluating the consequences of new communications technologies for democracy and free speech, Sunstein argues the question is not whether to regulate the Net (it's already regulated), but how; proves that freedom of speech is not an absolute; and underscores the enormous potential of the Internet to promote freedom as well as its potential to promote "cybercascades" of like-minded opinions that foster and enflame hate groups. The book ends by suggesting a range of potential reforms to correct current misconceptions and to improve deliberative democracy and the health of the American republic.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting, but comon!.......2007-01-16

Lacking in almost everyway. It was lightly interesting, but not really very entertaining. Doesn't make you want to keep reading. Read only if it is assigned in class, like it was for me.

Thought-provoking, but not really scholarly or scientific.......2005-09-10

This was an interesting read for the first... 50 or 70 pages. Then it seemed like the info was repeated over and over again without new substantiation... kind of like debating with oneself - I lost interest right there... maybe that's because I have no background in law...

However, the main thesis of the book is really thought-provoking for those interested in online communication and polit science. The fact that internet is not "all-good" and not "all-evil" is evident from reading this volume; a few good examples vividly demonstrate it, mostly anecdotally and logically, rather than impirically.

I'd recommend this book, it's fist 50 pages are worth the money!

An Authoritarian Trashes the Internet.......2005-03-22

I give this book three stars not because I agree with it but because I think people need to read this book to find out that there are VERY influential people in this country who have a problem with the free exchange of information and ideas that occurs on the Internet. Sunstein's thesis is that the Internet fragments and personalizes information to such an extent that individuals are increasingly isolated from contrary views; this isolation allows "bad" ideas to go unchecked, thereby promoting extremism and threatening democracy. Sunstein proposes a series of "solutions" which are both unworkable and unnecessary, for his basic premise is flawed.

Contrary to Sunstein, the Internet gives people access to more, not less, information, more opinions, not fewer, and gives people more opportunities - not fewer - to challenge and respond to false or contrary information. Chat rooms and web bloggers provide unprecedented opportunities to engage people of differing opinions, opportunities unavailable in the days when everybody sat in front of the TV and passively accepted the scripted, highly centralized news reporting of a Walter Cronkite or Dan Rather. Sunstein seems unaware that even highly partisan websites ALREADY serve as forums for evaluating and responding to contrary viewpoints, and that bitter disputes occur even among people who share the same general philosophy.

Sunstein explicitly yearns for a return to the days when network news programming would provide a "shared frame of reference" for the public; in other words, he longs for the days when news - presented by people with views similar to his own - could function as propaganda, unquestioned by dissenting voices. Sunstein is thus an authoritarian masking as a libertarian; he wants to control and regulate what you see and hear.

A poor solution for a problem that doesn't exist.......2005-03-22

Repulic.com identifies a problem with the new popularity of the internet. With all of the filtering we are able to do through the use of modern software, we may only ever see the type of content that reaffirms our own biases. According to Sunstein, this will result in people having less and less exposure to opposing viewpoints, and the end result will be the fragmentation of the Internet into splinter groups of like-minded individuals. He then goes on to identify a series of ways that this problem can be fixed, all of which involve increased regulation on the content of the web.

The ideas behind this book were poorly thought out from the start, and indicate that the author doesn't have a firm grip on the reality of the Internet, or even of what social interaction involves. He states that we seek out like-minded people and that we can limit our exposure to information that is disseminated only by these people. While this may be true, no two people are ever entirely like-minded. A discussion group on music will have people from all different political backgrounds, a discussion on politics will have people from nearly any religion, and in a religious discussion every possible genre of music fan will usually be represented. People never discuss strictly one subject in an Internet discussion group, in fact this often poses a problem for moderators who want to keep the discussions on topic. Any internet discussion group will have so many different viewpoints that argument is inevitable.

At this point the author might point out that people will be able to filter this content to display only the information that they agree with, but this argument doesn't take human nature into account. People enjoy arguing and convincing others of the truth of their arguments. A person who reads only conservative discussions will inevitably head to a liberal discussion group and start an argument, and vice versa. Sure, they can be banned, but most discussion groups welcome open debates, and this trend shows every sign of continuing well into the future.

Sunstein then argues his case for the Orwellian regulation of all Internet media with the goal of exposing people to more viewpoints. He tries to draw a parallel to the regulation of other media, but misses several glaring differences. Television, newspapers, radio, and magazines are all distributed by a small group of corporations. This makes it easy for a small group of people to control the media, but it also makes them easy to regulate since there aren't many avenues for content to be distributed to the people. The World Wide Web on the other hand, is the diametric opposite of these types of media. Anyone can create content, anyone can find content, and no one can control content.

Throughout the book, the author beats up straw men, compares apples to oranges and extrapolates oversimplified trends to impossible ends. In the end, he never actually explains how his bad ideas could be realistically implemented, but it would inevitably involve a convoluted mess of government regulation. Read it if you must, but this book is only useful as an example of a poor persuasive argument written by an author with only a rudimentary understanding of how the world operates.

A student in the process of reading.......2003-04-02

I recently began to read sunsteins' book, and I have to say that it raises thought provoking ideas on the direction our society is headed if we continue down our current path. I would have to agree with Howe, in that the Daily Me does not open us up to new ideas or other prospectives and therefore does not allow our democracy room to breath. We are sealing ourselves off from the rest of the world by having everything that we like at our disposal while refusing other information.

Book Description

What happens to democracy and free speech if people use the Internet to create echo chambers--to listen and speak only to the like-minded? What is the democratic benefit of the Internet's unlimited choices if citizens narrowly limit the information they receive, creating ever-smaller niches and fragmenting the shared public conversation on which democracy depends? Cass Sunstein first asked these questions before 9/11, in Republic.com, and they have become even more urgent in the years since.

Now, in Republic.com 2.0, Sunstein thoroughly rethinks the critical relationship between democracy and the Internet in a world where partisan Web logs have emerged as a significant force in politics and where cyber-jihadists have embraced the Internet to thwart democracy and spread violence.

Emphasizing the value of unplanned, unchosen encounters, the original Republic.com provoked a strong reaction from cyber-optimists. In Republic.com 2.0 Sunstein answers the critics and expands his argument to take account of new developments, including the blogosphere, and fresh evidence about how people are using the Internet. He demonstrates that the real question is how to avoid "information cocoons" and to ensure that the unrestricted choices made possible by technology do not undermine democracy. Sunstein also proposes new remedies and reforms--focusing far less on what government should do, and much more on what consumers and producers should do--to help democracy avoid the perils, and realize the promise, of the Internet.

Republica.com / Republic.com: Internet, Democracia Y Libertad / Internet, Democracy and Liberty (Estato Y Sociedad / State and Society)

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Republica.com / Republic.com: Internet, Democracia Y Libertad / Internet, Democracy and Liberty (Estato Y Sociedad / State and Society)
Cass R. Sunstein
Manufacturer: Ediciones Paidos Iberica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Republic.com & The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World.(Book Review): An article from: Ethics & International Affairs

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Republic.com & The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World.(Book Review): An article from: Ethics & International Affairs
Ian Hosein
Manufacturer: Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Ethics & International Affairs, published by Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs on April 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1146 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Republic.com & The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World.(Book Review)
Author: Ian Hosein
Publication: Ethics & International Affairs (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 2003
Publisher: Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs
Volume: 17 Issue: 1 Page: 184(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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Republic.com.(Book Review): An article from: Michigan Law Review

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Republic.com.(Book Review): An article from: Michigan Law Review
L.A., Jr. Powe
Manufacturer: Michigan Law Review Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Michigan Law Review, published by Michigan Law Review Association on May 1, 2003. The length of the article is 6525 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Republic.com.(Book Review)
Author: L.A., Jr. Powe
Publication: Michigan Law Review (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 2003
Publisher: Michigan Law Review Association
Volume: 101 Issue: 6 Page: 1947(13)

Article Type: Book Review

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REPUBLIC.COM.(Review)(Brief Article): An article from: Columbia Journalism Review

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REPUBLIC.COM.(Review)(Brief Article): An article from: Columbia Journalism Review
James Boylan
Manufacturer: Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0009FEA3O
Release Date: 2005-06-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Columbia Journalism Review, published by Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism on September 1, 2001. The length of the article is 354 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: REPUBLIC.COM.(Review)(Brief Article)
Author: James Boylan
Publication: Columbia Journalism Review (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 2001
Publisher: Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism
Volume: 40 Issue: 3 Page: 79

Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article

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Saving democracy from the Internet. (In Review).(Republic.com) (book review): An article from: Regulation

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Saving democracy from the Internet. (In Review).(Republic.com) (book review): An article from: Regulation
Adam D. Thierer
Manufacturer: Cato Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Regulation, published by Cato Institute on September 22, 2001. The length of the article is 837 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Saving democracy from the Internet. (In Review).(Republic.com) (book review)
Author: Adam D. Thierer
Publication: Regulation (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2001
Publisher: Cato Institute
Volume: 24 Issue: 3 Page: 78(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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Book Description

This book identifies and discusses the key features of human resource management at the turn of the century from a northern European perspective (particularly referring to Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK). The authors' approach reflects the fact that these countries have become increasingly critical of the universalist model of SHRM common in the USA.The early chapters of the book address differences in concepts and practices in HRM in the region; these are followed by chapters that explore topics seen as particularly relevant in northern Europe. The conclusion looks at the usefulness and future of the notion of HRM as a result of these discussions. Based on the authors' own research and studies in Denmark and the UK, the book also draws particularly on empirical data from surveys by the Cranfield Network for the Study of Human Resource Management in Europe and on contributions from researchers in Sweden, Ireland, and Austria.Researchers and students will find here a useful summary of the challenge posed by northern Europe to universalist concepts of HRM.

The Dilemmas of Dissidence in East-Central Europe: Citizen Intellectuals and Philosopher Kings

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The Dilemmas of Dissidence in East-Central Europe: Citizen Intellectuals and Philosopher Kings
Barbara J. Falk
Manufacturer: Central European University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9639241393

Book Description

The dilemmas of dissidence in East-central Europe discusses one of the major currents leading to the fall of communism. Falk examines the intellectual dissident movements in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary from the late 1960s through to 1989. In spite of its historic significance, no other comprehensive study appeared on the subject.

In addition to the huge list of written sources from samizdat works to recent essays, Falk`s sources include interviews with many actors of those events as well as videos and films (including winners of Oscar).

Book Description

Alarming Drum is an analysis of the UK's past and present relationship with the European Union, together with a scrutiny of global strategic prospects for the next half century.

Customer Reviews:

Superb account of how the EU damages Britain.......2005-10-17

This extremely useful book examines Britain's relationship with the European Union. In particular, the author studies the Constitution for Europe, a key part of the EU drive towards a single EU state.

At the `Convention on the Future of Europe', Giscard d'Estaing, the Convention's President, and Sir John Kerr of the Foreign Office presented the supposed drafting body, `The Presidium', with the text of the Constitution. Giscard rejected all the amendments proposed by the other members of the Presidium and refused to take any votes. He then pronounced (wrongly) that the Presidium had unanimously endorsed the Constitution and warned the EU member governments not to upset their achievement.

The Constitution is designed, not to limit the EU's powers, but to allow further extension of these powers without limit and without even the pretence of consultation. Article I-18 says, "If action by the Union should prove necessary ... to attain one the objectives set by the Constitution, and the Constitution has not provided the necessary powers, the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the European Commission, and after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament, shall adopt the appropriate measures." So the EU's institutions can assume whatever powers they want, with no need for further treaties, for reference to national parliaments, for referendums or elections.

As French Prime Minister J-P Raffarin wrote of the Constitution, "This pact is the point of no-return. Europe becomes an irreversible project, irrevocable after the ratification of this treaty."

Article III-305-2 of the Constitution would put an end to Britain's role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. It says, "Member States which are members of the Security Council will, in the execution of their functions, defend the positions and the interests of the Union ... When the Union has defined a position on a subject which is on the United Nations Security Council agenda, those Member States which sit on the Security Council shall request that the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs be asked to present the Union's position."

Turning to the British economy, Morgan rightly says that industry should be a national responsibility and that Britain should also control its agriculture, food and fisheries. He urges the development of nuclear energy to compensate for the impending reduction in oil output and he points out the "massive scope for invention in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy resources."

Morgan points out that in 2002, Britain's total stock of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) was $568 billion (payments to inward investors $17 billion), and of outward FDI $921 billion (earning $52 billion). From 1994 to 2003, the cumulative inflows of FDI totalled $463 billion, and cumulative outflows totalled $878 billion - net outflow $415 billion. This all sounds very impressive, but what is the result? As he notes, the inward investment is not creating new productive capacity but is almost all spent on acquisitions and mergers, which create virtually no jobs. For example, all 2002-03's inward investment created just 34,000 jobs, 0.125% of British employment. Similarly, 90% of Britain's outward investment goes on acquisitions. So all the sloshing back and forth of these huge sums of capital does nothing to expand the real productive economy.

This stress on capital rather than on production has resulted in Britain's disastrous industrial decline. The technology component of the British economy is far too small. In 2000, the World Economic Forum ranked Britain only fifteenth in technological progress and we ranked only eighteenth in the number of patents granted by the US Patent Office per million people.

The EU's aim was always, in Giscard d'Estaing's words, "to create a new political structure based on far-reaching integration and led by institutions of a federal type ... it was to organise the United States of Europe." The author rightly concludes that the EU is `a federal state' and that it is `fundamentally illegitimate'. He also denounces the Blair government for saying that it would "have `them' see things `our way'." Yet he proposes the same policy as Blair: "the UK must change the rules of the game" and "bring the EU back on track."

Since the EU's basic design is federal and supranational, not intergovernmental, it cannot be reformed into being intergovernmental. Each country must retrieve its national sovereignty and democracy.

We should do what we need to do to save Britain, whether the other EU members see things our way or not. In particular, we should continue to demand a referendum on the Constitution, as the next step on Britain's road to withdrawal from the EU.

Antitrust and the Bounds of Power: The Dilemma of Liberal Democracy in the History of the Market

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The roots of Antitrust

Antitrust and the Bounds of Power: The Dilemma of Liberal Democracy in the History of the Market
Giuliano Amato
Manufacturer: Hart Publishing (UK)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Antitrust | Business | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Subjects | Books

Non-US Legal Systems | Perspectives on Law | Law | Subjects | Books

General | International Law | Law | Subjects | Books

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International Law | Law | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

The roots of Antitrust.......2000-03-28

This is the one book of antitrust that makes a student or lawyer, experienced and unexperienced, to understand the nature of antitrust law and the political and philosophical dilemmas to which it still remains bound to. This is not a casebook nor a hornbook, it is a simple book that describes the reason why antitrust analysis will remain within the same bounds no matter the time or country in which we study or practice it.

Approaches and Dilemmas in Economic Regulation: Politics, Economics and Dynamics

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Approaches and Dilemmas in Economic Regulation: Politics, Economics and Dynamics

Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Policy & Current Events | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Development & Growth | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Policy & Development | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Macroeconomics | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0333804430

Book Description

After a post-war period with extensive use of public service models and macroeconomically orchestrated planned regimes, the 1980's and early 1990's saw a reversion to a more liberal style of economic regulation in Western Europe. The movement from one type of regulation regime to another illustrates the paradigmatic character or economic organization and, as a result, a thorough investigation of the basic assumptions behind the choice of regulatory direction is required. At this deep level, regulatory issues are beyond a single social science discipline and much of the literature on economic regulation is specialized and too narrow to address the issues involved.

Dilemmas of Russian Capitalism: Fedor Chizhov and Corporate Enterprise in the Railroad Age (Harvard Studies in Business History)

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Dilemmas of Russian Capitalism: Fedor Chizhov and Corporate Enterprise in the Railroad Age (Harvard Studies in Business History)
Thomas C. Owen
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Economic History | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Corporate Finance | Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Entrepreneurship | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

Russia | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0674015495

Book Description

Fedor Chizhov built the first railroad owned entirely by Russian stockholders, created Moscow's first bank and mutual credit society, and launched the first profitable steamship line based in Archangel. In this valuable book, Thomas Owen vividly illuminates the life and world of this seminal figure in early Russian capitalism.

Chizhov condemned European capitalism as detrimental to the ideal of community and the well-being of workers and peasants. In his strategy of economic nationalism, Chizhov sought to motivate merchants to undertake new forms of corporate enterprise without undermining ethnic Russian culture. He faced numerous obstacles, from the lack of domestic investment capital to the shortage of enlightened entrepreneurial talent. But he reserved his harshest criticism for the tsarist ministers, whose incompetence and prejudice against private entrepreneurship proved his greatest hindrance.

Richly documented from Chizhov's detailed diary, this work offers an insightful exploration of the institutional impediments to capitalism and the rule of law that plagued the tsarist empire and continue to bedevil post-Soviet Russia.

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Dilemmas of Transition
Zoltan Barany
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Textbook Binding

Economic Policy & Development | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Austria | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Practical Politics | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Exploring the controversies and problems surrounding post-communist transitions, this multi-disciplinary volume develops a strong theoretical framework as it moves between general issues of transitology and specific analyses. Hungary, a state that has weathered political and economic transition more successfully than most, is used to illuminate both comparative and regional issues. By bridging the divide between area studies and comparative politics, this book will be a key resource for advanced students and for scholars in East-European/post-communist studies, comparative politics, and international relations.

Dilemmas of Transition: The Environment, Democracy and Economic Reform in East Central Europe

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Dilemmas of Transition: The Environment, Democracy and Economic Reform in East Central Europe
Susan Baker
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0714643106

Book Description

Civil society is one of the most talked about, but difficult concepts to define. Yet it has captured the imagination of intellectuals and political activists alike. In the post-cold war era there has been a tremendous optimism about the re-emergence of civil society in many countries. However, the promises of change have not always borne fruit.

This volume examines the idea of civil society in its historical and contemporary dimensions. As a collection, it provides a clear, comprehensive and critical mapping of the idea, the burden of expectation that it has carried, and the intellectual and political dimensions that surround it. The major themes covered include the concept of civil society itself, its relation to the state on the one hand and political economy on the other, and the violence of civil society as well as the possibilities it provides for resistance to injustice.

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Superb expose of the idiocies of the European Union

Europe's Economic Dilemma
John Mills
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Money & Monetary Policy | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Public Finance | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

This book analyzes the reasons why the European Union's growth has fallen during the last quarter of a century to little more than a third of its previous level. It concludes that the major reason has been politically driven attempts to lock EU currencies together in inappropriate economic circumstances. These have led to chronic deflation, rising unemployment and falling investment and competitiveness as EU Member States, without exchange rate flexibility, have found themselves unable to compete with Germany. The book then turns to proposals for overcoming the EU's current economic shortcomings. It concludes that the way ahead is not to proceed with the single currency, but to use instead a much more accommodating monetary and macro-economic system.

Customer Reviews:

Superb expose of the idiocies of the European Union.......2001-07-31

This is the book to put into the hands of anybody who still thinks that Economic and Monetary Union would be good for Britain or for any other country. John Mills is a very rare person, an economist with business experience in trade and production. In this excellent book, he shows that Economic and Monetary Union would be bad for all our economies.

Experience shows that the more economically integrated the European Union has become, the worse it has performed. From its start in 1958, the original six members had no form of economic or monetary union, and they grew by 5.4% a year. Then in 1972 they created the currency snake; it lasted only until 1976. By 1974, economic growth had ceased. After the snake expired, growth resumed: 4.9% in 1976, 3% in 1977-80.

They created the Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1979 and it lasted until 1993. The ERM slowed growth and raised unemployment across the EU: growth was only 1.7% a year; unemployment averaged 7% and inflation 7.8%. Even so, we joined, because the whole establishment wanted us to, not because the people wanted to. Polls in 1989 showed that 93% of the Chief Executives of large British companies and City institutions believed that we should join the ERM. We joined in October 1990: during our two-year membership unemployment rose by 1.4 million and national output fell; manufacturing output fell by 7% and manufacturing jobs by 14%. It was worse for us even than for the rest of the EU.

In the same period, the rest of the world grew by 3.2%, proving that the EU's slow growth was not due to world conditions. The ERM was the main cause of the EU-wide recession: from 1990 to 1993, growth ceased altogether. After ERM expired, growth resumed: 2.9% in 1994, 2.4% in 1995. But implementing the Maastricht criteria for EMU slowed growth again and raised unemployment. EU unemployment is now 12%, 30 million, according to ILO figures.

What would entering Economic and Monetary Union mean for us? It would mean deflation, higher unemployment, slump. It would also mean the end of Britain's independence. Politics and economics are indivisible. The arguments for constitutional, economic and political independence are one. The experiment of making the Bank of England independent has clearly failed: we should call on the Government to reassert control of interest rates. This is a political demand, a constitutional demand, and an economic demand.

Under EMU, eight unelected European Central Bankers would control our currency, and as Keynes said, "Whoever controls the currency, controls the Government." To make EMU credible to the markets, they would keep interest rates high, imposing deflation. This would mean higher unemployment and taxes, lower wages and lower public spending.

The Gold Standard was a way of trying to fix currency values together. It failed disastrously, ending in the Great Crash. Economic growth ceased. After the Gold Standard expired, growth resumed. In 1931, Britain left the Gold Standard, devaluing by 24%; money supply rose by 34%; interest rates were about zero, and there was some tariff protection. Labour's `Iron Chancellor' Philip Snowden said leaving the Gold Standard "would reduce the standard of living of the workman by 50%." What actually happened? From 1932 to 1937, manufacturing output rose 58%; 2.7 million new jobs were created (1.3 million in manufacturing); growth averaged 3.8% a year, and living standards rose. Lower interest rates brought a boom in house-building.

By contrast, the French Government stayed in the Gold Standard and kept the franc overvalued: GDP fell by 17%, industrial production by a quarter, until the Popular Front Government devalued the franc.

This Government claims that the way to restore industry's competitiveness is to invest in skill. But this will not restore manufacturing while there is still not enough demand in the economy. The present regime of tight money and high interest rates, leading to a high exchange rate, doesn't work. It's like putting on the brakes when you're going up hill. An overpriced pound means dear exports and cheap imports: in the first quarter of 1998, our goods trade gap was £4.7 billion, the worst since 1990.

The remedy does not lie in reforming the labour market or the public sector. To stimulate output and employment, we need more demand, higher wages and more public spending. Supply-side reforms, better education, more information technology, may improve efficiency and productivity, but without an expansion of demand this can lead not to growth but to more unemployment and unused resources.

The Maastricht Treaty which set up EMU has only money and budget targets, there are no real world targets, for full employment or higher growth. It is innately deflationary: those not meeting the targets must deflate, yet those meeting them do not have to reflate. A Treaty cannot be reformed; it can only be accepted or rejected. Sir Nigel Wicks, Chair of the EU Monetary Committee says, "I would not regard monetary policy as an instrument for solving unemployment." We who have experienced decades of monetarism in action regard that as an understatement. EMU is monetarism on a European scale; it is Thatcherism on a European scale.

We need lower interest rates to fund projects fitting in to our plans for rebuilding Britain. We need lower taxes on jobs. We need taxes on capital: tax Murdoch, not toady to him. We need to legislate so that pension funds, which are heavily subsidised by taxpayers, are required to invest in British industry and services. The Government could promote investments with a high social rate of return. We need to reimpose controls on speculators. But we can't do these jobs when in EMU: EMU forbids them all.

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