G'day Penners, Peter writes: >I like Jim Devine's idea of writing a text like Understanding Capitalism >but with more and better macro, and more on race and gender. To this I >would add material on alternatives, including participatory socialism, and >more on the meaning of global capitalism for the North and South including >some material on neoliberalism, debt and alternative strategies for >development. Finally, I would add a chapter or section on environment and >sustainability. Such a book still would be less than an encyclopedia >although it would have more history than neoclassical texts. It's a terrific idea! Of course, I'm not up to contributing, but I am in a position to guarantee a sale. On alternatives (something we lefties insist on either taken as given or just avoiding as a topic altogether), might I suggest a component there which simplifies and synthesises market socialism arguments (y'know, the feasability line of a Nove with the critiques of a Schweikart)? And yeah, mebbe an appendix of neo-liberal economics' necessary theoretical assumptions juxtaposed with their empirical refutations (eg 'continuum of traders' or 'stability of preferences') - someone alluded to a series of myths being duly exploded - I think that could be done in a series of punchy paragraphs, meself. Go to it, comrades! Rob.
