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More copies of this ISBNeBook editionsEconomics for Humans:by Julie A Nelson
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Is it asking too much to demand that businesses be socially and environmentally responsible? When child care and elder care are commercially supplied, is caring turned into just another commodity? Many, believing that economies are cold and heartless systems that operate outside human control, would answer yes. But in this impassioned and perceptive work, Julie A. Nelson debunks theories that teach us that our economic lives are somehow separate from our moral values and our human relationships. The impediment to envisioning a more considerate economic world, Nelson demonstrates, is a particular assumption that is shared by both neoliberals and the Left. Despite their seemingly insurmountable differences, they both make use of the metaphor, first proposed by Adam Smith, of “the economy as machine.” This pervasive idea, she argues, has blinded us to the qualities that make us work and care for one another—qualities that also make businesses thrive and markets grow. We can wed our interest in money with our justifiable concerns about ethics and social well-being. And we can do so if we recognize that an economy is not a machine, but a living, beating heart that—when healthy—circulates blood to all parts of the social body while also serving as the seat of compassion and care. Nothing less than a manifesto, Economics for Humans will both invigorate and inspire readers to rethink the way they view the economy, its possibilities, and their place within it. "A stunning rebuke of conventional assumptions that describe our economic system as a robot-like machine. In this deeply intelligent and personally engaging book, Julie Nelson emphasizes the tremendous influence of ethics and emotions on economic outcomes. She challenges both the Left and the Right to think more creatively about the relationship between love and money. Everyone who studies care-or cares about social science-should read this book."--Nancy Folbre, author of The Invisible Heart: Economics and Family Values
"Economics, as it is often taught today, portrays us as homo economicus-someone who doesn't vote in presidential elections, doesn't return lost wallets, and doesn't leave tips when dining out of town. Julie Nelson reminds us that most people aren't really like that. She helps point the way to a richer, more descriptive way of thinking about economic life."--Robert H. Frank, author of Luxury Fever: Money and Happiness in an Era of Excess
"Julie Nelson cares. She cares enough about her home discipline, economics, to demand that it jettison the crippling assumption that the economy is a clockwork machine. She cares enough about people to insist that we recognize the full range of our economically valuable activities, from the unpaid provision of personal care to the ethical management of corporations. In this sparkling, passionate, personal book Nelson shows how to humanize economics without abandoning its commitment to rigorous description and explanation."--Viviana A. Zelizer, author of The Purchase of Intimacy
Synopsis:Is it asking too much to demand that businesses be socially and environmentally responsible? When child care and elder care are commercially supplied, is caring turned into just another commodity? Many, believing that economies are cold and heartless systems that operate outside human control, would answer yes. But in this impassioned and perceptive work, Julie A. Nelson debunks theories that teach us that our economic lives are somehow separate from our moral values and our human relationships. The impediment to envisioning a more considerate economic world, Nelson demonstrates, is a particular assumption that is shared by both neoliberals and the Left. Despite their seemingly insurmountable differences, they both make use of the metaphor, first proposed by Adam Smith, of “the economy as machine.” This pervasive idea, she argues, has blinded us to the qualities that make us work and care for one anotherqualities that also make businesses thrive and markets grow. We can wed our interest in money with our justifiable concerns about ethics and social well-being. And we can do so if we recognize that an economy is not a machine, but a living, beating heart thatwhen healthycirculates blood to all parts of the social body while also serving as the seat of compassion and care. Nothing less than a manifesto, Economics for Humans will both invigorate and inspire readers to rethink the way they view the economy, its possibilities, and their place within it. About the AuthorJulie A. Nelson is an economist and senior research associate at the Global Development and Environmental Institute at Tufts University. She is the author of Feminism, Objectivity, and Economics, coauthor of Microeconomics in Context, and coeditor of Beyond Economic Man and Feminist Economics Today. Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction 1 Tending the Body: The History of Economics 2 Tending the Soul: The Defense of "Noneconomic Values" 3 Bringing Body and Soul Together 4 Love and Money? The Question of Individual Motivation 5 Business and Ethics? The Question of Organizational Behavior 6 Keeping Body and Soul Together Notes Index What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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