100 books like Illiberal Reformers

American economics in the Progressive Era (usually dated from the later 1800s to World War I) is quite fascinating.

Mary Furner’s book is an excellent discussion of the developing American social sciences in this period.

American universities developed rapidly along with the professionalization of the social sciences. At the same time, rapid US industrialization created a raft of new economic and social problems that demanded a response.

This created a tension between the desire for professional “scientific” standing and the demand to respond to obvious social problems by advocating for particular policy responses.

Furner pays particular attention to the work and career of economist H. C. Adams, who was a teacher to a number of the later institutionalist group. In the institutionalist literature, this tension is expressed in the conjoined goals of “science and social control.” 

For institutionalists, the solution to this problem was found in the pragmatic and instrumental… show more.

It is not often recognized just how significant the Rockefeller Foundation, and especially the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Foundation (LSRM), was to the development of Economics in the United States. 

The story is quite extraordinary, starting with the appointment of a very young Beardsley Ruml to head up the LSRM, who led the way by funding economic programs and research institutes (University of Chicago, Social Science Research Council, Brookings, National Bureau of Economic Research), with a particular emphasis on work that was empirical and aimed at social improvement and the solution of social problems. 

Ruml shared the philosophy of “science and social control” that was so central to the institutionalist movement.  

This book provides an excellent discussion of the various policy debates and conflicts that occurred within the New Deal, involving monetary policy, the National Recovery Act, the Agricultural Adjustment Act, as well as many other programs. 

Key to this was the shift away from “planning” and towards the greater use of fiscal policy and anti-trust that occurred after 1935 as the result of Supreme Court decisions. 

Institutionalists played a major role in all parts of the New Deal, but policies were often rather experimental. 

As various ideas were tried and discarded (for both economic and legal reasons), policy eventually arrived at an Americanized version of Keynesianism.     

For myself, one of the most remarkable and fascinating aspects of the recent history of economics has been the resurgence of free-market advocacy opposed to the more interventionist institutionalist and Keynesian policy ideas that dominated economics from the New Deal on through to the post-World War II period. 

Burgin’s excellent book charts this revival of pro-market thinking, focusing particularly on F. A. Hayek, the Mont Pelerin Society, the Chicago School of Economics, and gives an especially important role to Milton Friedman whose work was to influence both Reagan and Thatcher.    

Financial Times columnist Martin Sandbu laments “the end of belonging”, a decades-long but unwritten social contract in postwar Western-style social market democracies that promised boomers and their parents broadly shared prosperity.

Being a boomer myself, I know all too well what he is talking about. However, he argues that globalization is often used as a scapegoat, and posits that national policies to offset the negative side effects of (global) markets are feasible even in a globalized world.

He proposes a range of policies from wealth taxes to minimum wages, active labor market policies, and macroeconomic stimuli to create a high-pressure economy, but emphasizes that it is crucial to put together a comprehensive package of all suggested policies to make (global) markets work for everyone.

You might think this book is a bit left field in the arena of leadership, given its title. I think it cuts to the heart of the big question all leaders, whether of organisations or nations, should be considering, that of economics and economy.

What really resonated with me is the exploration of the subject from holistic and spiritual, or consciousness, perspectives and how this encourages thinking more deeply about the confines and constraints our economic systems place on us, the compromises that ensue in decision-making and, most importantly, the choices we need to consider more carefully from an ethical and human values standpoint.

This is a topic central to human survival and well-being, a must-read for leaders.

In an accessible language and with multiple real-life examples, Madrick systematically critically engages every humdrum idea of principle attributed to the presumed success of capitalism. Following to a great extent Karl Marx’s lead on the self-destruction of the economic system we call capitalism, Madrick updates the critique to the 21st century and shows, time and again, why capitalism is not only prone to recessions and depressions but will bring about its own demise.

This book explains the unchecked power of the Federal Reserve.

Perfect for those who don't have the time to read the 608-page The Creature From Jekyll Island. In this book, Paul explains in very simple terms that the Federal Reserve has been given absolute power over the most essential element of our economy – the price and supply of money.

Formed by a small group of powerful bankers who argued a central bank would stabilize the currency, over the past century since its creation, the Fed has not only destabilized the currency but also created a series of wealth-destroying asset bubbles.

It has also led to a trenchant and destructive wealth gap between the rich and the poor. 

This may seem an unusual choice – and its title is entirely misleading – but what Sanders describes is what the U.S. might look like if it translated Biblical values into policy and law.

Sanders’s real subject is justice – social, economic, racial, and environmental. He describes a compassionate society in which all have access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and in which no one is condemned to suffer because of the accidents of birth.

Significantly, Sanders backs up all his suggestions with explanations of how they could be translated into reality. Read this even if you didn’t vote for him!

While researching a documentary, I tripped over an interview with George Reedy, White House press secretary from 1964-65.

Reedy had also worked in Pres. Johnson’s Senate office, and he spoke about how thirteen days after the Sputnik launch, he and an aide to Alabama Senator Lister Hill plotted to use the space program to transform the South. This book fleshes out much of that story. While it primarily delves into the economic development and transformation of the South, it also provides valuable insights into Johnson’s tenure as a senator.

The book highlights how Johnson used his political acumen to advocate for policies that would improve the economic conditions of his region. He understood the importance of federal investment in infrastructure, education, and healthcare to lift the region out of poverty.