The Price of Civilization: Economics and Ethics After the Fall

The Price of Civilization: Economics and Ethics After the Fall

by JeffreySachs (Author)

Synopsis

One of the world's most brilliant economists and the bestselling author of The End of Poverty , Jeffrey Sachs has written a book that is essential reading for everyone - politicians, people in business and industry, and you. Setting out a bold and provocative, yet responsible and achievable, plan, The Price of Civilization reveals why we must - and how we can - change our entire economic culture in this time of crisis. The world economy remains in a precarious state after the recent global recession - where quick fixes were implemented instead of sustainable solutions to systemic problems. Jeffrey Sachs argues powerfully for a new co-operative, common-sense political economy, one that stresses practical partnership between government and the private sector, demands competence in both arenas and occasionally insists on carefully chosen public and private sacrifices. In this new era of global capitalism, Sachs believes that we have to forget partisanship and solve these enormous problems together, clinically and holistically, just as one would approach the eradication of a disease. The Price of Civilization explains how government can be made to reform corporate culture by fairly policing compensation but not stifling competition and forced to improve our energy infrastructure by both taxing emissions and providing market incentives for innovation. Sachs shows how government, business and citizens can find common ground - on bank accountability, the decentralising of social services and taxing the super-rich - as a way to achieve our shared goals of efficiency, equity and sustainability. Sparing no-one but potentially benefiting us all, The Price of Civilization is a masterful roadmap, a programme designed to bridge seemingly impossible divides in our society and a way forward that we - and our leaders - ignore at our peril.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Edition: 1st ed
Publisher: Bodley Head
Published: 06 Oct 2011

ISBN 10: 1847920926
ISBN 13: 9781847920928
Book Overview: THE PRICE OF CIVILIZATION reveals why we must - and how we can - change our entire economic culture in this time of crisis.

Media Reviews
The author draws social, political, demographic, economic and intellectual threads together to weave a powerful narrative explaining why and how the US has changed -- Dan O' Brien Irish Times Sachs by his life and his writing goes far to restore one's wavering faith in the informing inspiration of the post-1945 new dawn, faith in economics, faith in America and faith in humanity... Scholarly, original, independent, rigorous, enlightened and enlightening -- Peter Jay Spectator The Price of Civilization has the air of the world traveller who returns home to find his country a much worse place than he remembered... This is such an important book -- Martin Sandbu Financial Times Weekend Eloquently written, the book is graced with optimism about overcoming the current crisis and redeeming our trust in democracy and equality Good Book Guide The economic critique stands on its own merits -- Oliver Kamm The Times
Author Bio
Jeffrey Sachs is the Director of the Earth Institute and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also Special Advisor to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon-from 2002 to 2006, he was Special Advisor on the Millennium Development Goals, designed to reduce extreme poverty, disease, and hunger by the year 2015. In 2004 and 2005 he was named among the 100 most influential leaders in the world by Time magazine.