Review of The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too (Hardcover)

James Galbraith, this book's author, is the son of famous economist John Kenneth Galbraith. His father was an important figure in economics, with books such as "The New Industrial State" on his resume. I mention this since this volume mentions Galbraith pere approvingly on a number of occasions.

Galbraith begins by noting that our economic discussion is based on a fallacy--that free markets and competition govern our economic sphere. This idea is now the dominant view of how an economic system ought to function in the United States.He goes on to say that (Page xi): ". . .the doctrine serves as a kind of legitimation myth--something to be repeated to schoolchildren but hardly taken seriously by those on the inside." The guiding metaphor for this book, a predatory state, is outlined early on by Galbraith.He says that this refers to (Page xiii): "the systematic abuse of public institutions for private profit or, equivalently, the systematic undermining of public protections for the benefit of private clients."

He develops this thesis, beginning with a first chapter entitled "Whatever happened to the conservatives?" He begins by noting theelements of the Reagan revolution (or Reaganomics as it was then termed)--(1) tax reduction to trigger investment and economic growth; (2) tight money to halt the inflation that had sapped the energy of the economy; (3) deregulation and assaults on unions, to, once more, let market forces rule. He goes on to argue that, first, this perspective did NOT achieve what its supporters allege, and, second, that contemporary conservatives have in essence abandoned these principles to "take over" the government and use that power to enhance the interests ofthe moneyed and powerful class. As a result, Regan's vision has been replaced by "the predator state," which he defines as (Page 131) ". . .a coalition of relentless opponents of the regulatory framework on which public purpose depends, with enterprises whose major lines of business compete with or encroach on the principle public functions of the enduring New Deal."

If that is the problem, what would the solution be? Galbraith suggests three components of addressing the predator state.One is to institute a system of planning, to think ahead and not depend on short term profit making motives of business enterprises. Another is for government to become more involved in setting wages and ensuring a more equal distribution of pay and income (his argument is that there is no evidence that letting wealthy people get wealthier has positive economic benefits). Three, the United States is part of a world economy, and that should help to discipline and inform our policy.

His policy proposal? If you want higher wages, raise them? If you want better jobs--create them. If you want safer foods and cleaner air, mandate it.Don't depend on the market. Just do it. That won't sit well, of course, with those who advocate markets as the answer. But, then, by the terms of his argument, the market will not do that since it does not describe how things work.The final chapter examines how one might pay for his policy choices.

Plenty of examples are mentioned.This is a book that is not always clear in what it argues, although that is not a major problem. It does provoke reflection on how things work, and that is to the good. I must confess that I am not convinced by what are, generically, referred to as conspiracy theories, and this book has a flavor of a conspiracy at work.Nonetheless, in the aftermath of the economic troubles that have beset the United States and other countries, it is useful to examine alternate perspectives and see if they add anything of value to discourse.

3 1/2 stars. . . .



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Review of Energy and American Society Thirteen Myths (Hardcover)

This is an excellent introduction to real energy issues, written by experts, with many useful references for further study.Energy mythinformation (inadvertent or otherwise) propagates all too easily, and this book does a good job of debunking the common myths.

Anyone involved in policies regarding energy&climate change should be familiar with this material, and that includes ordinary citizens, especially those who might care about the US economy and environment seen by any grandchildren.

I'd summarize the book as saying:
a) We face serious problems, as we *will* run out cheap oil, and then cheap gas [look up "Peak Oil" in Wikipedia], and if we keep burning coal without sequestering CO2, we will push the planet into a much hotter state with serious economic downsides. Right now, the US economy depends on cheap oil, and of course, it might be better not to be selling off big chunks of the US economy to other countries to feed our oil habit forever.

b) However, we actually have pretty good solutions for many of the problems, mostly without requiring magic technology leaps.There is no one silver bullet, but a myriad of small actions to be taken to stop wasting energy, many of which actually save money right away.

c) Most of the actions required are actually policy choices, with help from widespread use of existing technologies, plus rational R&D investments.Low electicity-per-capita use in some states has been achieved with no obvious economic catastrophes.[Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and California are not usually considered poor places.]Of course, we have much further to go, but in many cases, it really is a matter of choosing to do the right things.

The editors provide an introduction and summary bookending 13 myth discussions by (mostly) other authors.Following is a list of the 13 myths, with comments on a few of the chapters:

1. Today's Energy Crisis is "Hype"

2. The Public is Well Informed About Energy

3. High Land Requirements and an Unfavorable Energy Balance Preclude Biomass Ethanol from Playing a Large Role in Providing Energy Services
- This is an especially important chapter, as the topic engenders much confusion. Not all biofuels need be from corn, and there is more land available than many think.

4. The Hydrogen Economy is A Panacea
- Dr. Joseph Romm shows why hydrogen (especially for vehicles) is a long way off, if ever, compared to PHEV/FF (plug-in-electric-vehicles with flex-fuels).He shows why research is appropriate, but not spending huge $$ for premature deployment, especially to the detriment of truly useful steps doable much sooner.

I also his recommend Joe's website http://climateprogress.org/, and his book Hell and High Water: Global Warming--the Solution and the Politics--and What We Should Do.

5. Price Signals are Insufficient to Induce Efficient Energy Investments

6. The Barriers to New and Innovative Energy Technologies are Primarily Technical:
- The Case for Distributed Generation
- In many ways, distributed generation of electricity would be more efficient, but power companies are geared for centralized generation, even with expensive long-distance distribution.

7. Renewable Energy Systems Could Never meet Growing Electricity Demand in America

8. Worldwide Power Systems are Economically and Environmentally Optimal
- Tom Casten and Robert Ayres show how far off we are, illustrating the efficiencies gotten with waste-energy recycling / cogeneration ... that are strongly inhibited by regulatory issues and market distortions, compared with places like Denmark or The Netherlands, etc.See Casten's website: http://www.recycled-energy.com/index.html

9. Energy Efficiency Improvements have Already Reached Their Potential
- Amory Lovins shows why not, why "negawatts" are really cost-effective, and whynuclear plants don't seem very cost-effective compared to other options.I especially liked his description of his Rocky Mountain house that lacks a conventional heating system, but whose design cuts heat losses to within 1% of various free heat gains."The last 1% can come from a 50-watt dog, adjustable to 100W by throwing a ball..."

10. Energy Efficiency Measures are Unreliable, Unpredictable, and Unenforceable

11. Energy R&D Investment Takes Decades to Reach the Market

12. Climate Policy will Bankrupt the US Economy
- California is pretty aggressive on this, because we have to be, as all the impacts of global warming will cost us money.Nevertheless, California is hardly poor, and we expect that reworking our infrastructure for energy efficiency, and heading towards minimal use of fossil fuels as early as we can, will only make us more competitive in the face of increasing oil costs.

13. Developing Countries are Not Doing Their Part in Responding to Concerns about Climate Change

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This is a very useful book.I expect to study many chapters in further depth and chase down references.





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Review of Force of Finance: Triumph of the Capital Markets (Hardcover)

Money, capital markets, brain drains, direct democracy, corruption, crime and gold are woven together with skill to produce a stunningly original picture of the world. The argument that society is shaped by the imperative of access to capital, and that when one channel is blocked another opens, is used to explain a wide variety of historical and current events. You can dam the force of finance to change the direction of the river, but sooner or later, one way or another, the water will get to the sea.



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