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"No contemporary writer in English is smarter and more convincing on the benefits of wealth to every aspect of society. It's great to see a book-length treatment of his work." --Nick Gillespie, Editor-in-chief, Reason
"Daniel Ben-Ami is an important voice for reason and fact in our current economic debates. His book is a probing contribution to understanding the decisive way that economic growth helps everyone, everywhere on the social ladder. Ben-Ami's style is incisive and entertaining, his argument crucial to understanding our present economic plight. " --Denis Dutton, Editor, Arts & Letters Daily
"It is all too rare to find a writer who is consistently thought-provoking and yet not unthinkingly contrarian. But in his writings on the economy, Daniel Ben-Ami proves himself to be one of these rare creatures. " --Diane Coyle, Managing Director of Enlightenment Economics
"The global financial crisis has produced a fresh outpouring of growth scepticism: the idea that we would all be better off in a world without economic growth. Daniel Ben-Ami has provided a timely and thought-provoking reminder of of why we need growth and the benefits that it brings." -- David Smith, Economics Editor, The Sunday Times
"Daniel Ben-Ami is an important voice for reason and fact in our current economic debates. His book is a probing contribution to understanding the decisive way that economic growth helps everyone, everywhere on the social ladder. Ben-Ami's style is incisive and entertaining, his argument crucial to understanding our present economic plight. " --Denis Dutton, Editor, Arts & Letters Daily
"It is all too rare to find a writer who is consistently thought-provoking and yet not unthinkingly contrarian. But in his writings on the economy, Daniel Ben-Ami proves himself to be one of these rare creatures. " --Diane Coyle, Managing Director of Enlightenment Economics
"The global financial crisis has produced a fresh outpouring of growth scepticism: the idea that we would all be better off in a world without economic growth. Daniel Ben-Ami has provided a timely and thought-provoking reminder of of why we need growth and the benefits that it brings." -- David Smith, Economics Editor, The Sunday Times
Product Description
The growth of the economy and the spread of prosperity are increasingly seen as problematic rather than positive - a trend Daniel Ben-Ami has termed 'growth scepticism'. Prosperity is accused of encouraging greed, damaging the environment, causing unhappiness and widening social inequalities. Ferraris for all is a rejoinder to the growth sceptics. Using examples from a range of countries, including the US, the author argues that society as a whole benefits from greater affluence. Action is needed - but to increase prosperity and spread it worldwide, not to limit prosperity, as the sceptics would have it. Lively and provocative, this timely book will trigger debate and dissent in equal measure and will be essential reading for everyone who cares about the impact of western policy on developing countries.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Nutritious Content Made Stodgy,
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This review is from: Ferraris for All: In Defence of Economic Progress (Hardcover)
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Part of my work is peripheral to economics and going back a while I had to sit exams on the subject. This usually involved studying extremely dry texts - with one exception, where I still savour how the author made the subject come alive. I therefore embarked on this book with high hopes that it would occupy that middle ground between academic treatise and absorbing narrative, where it is possible to read for enjoyment as well as enlightenment. Unfortunately, I found `Ferraris for All' an extremely awkward read. Communicating abstract concepts needn't involve highfalutin sentences - I feel the art of sharing thoughts on any subject is to deconstruct the elements so that they are easy to absorb. However, taking one sentence as an example, where Daniel explains the purpose of the book, I read: `Nor is its main concern the supporters of what is called decroissance in French, usually rendered as `degrowth' in English, who rail against basing a society on the foundation of economic growth (see Green 2010; Latouche 2009)'. This is only on page 3 but I feel as if I have been given a huge bowl of bland risotto as an hors d'oeuvre with the promise that what is to follow will be even heavier. I had to chew several times before I could swallow that sentence and move on. I agree that the underlying subject matter is worth advocating; in fact it is so thought-provoking that I am surprised that it could be made tedious. I had hoped that the author would engage me but instead, for me, a fascinating subject became dulled in the reading. Perhaps this book was too much of a busman's holiday or I had the wrong sort of expectation but I found the construction of writing simply too heavy and ponderous. Full marks for the argument being advanced but a hefty deduction for the fact that it left me with indigestion.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An essential read,
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This review is from: Ferraris for All: In Defence of Economic Progress (Hardcover)
There's a queue in our house for this book. It doesn't just talk about the importance of economic growth in general - a few commentators have stressed this - but Ferraris for All has explained to me how wanting more stuff, as humans generally do, is not just about taking more, it also stresses our special human ability to make more, too. We don't just create problems in the world through our existence, we have the ability to solve those problems as well. And we have usually been able to do this, as the writer shows, with a number of enlightening examples through history.
The list of inventions that changed the world is a revelation to me - well, I didn't know that the battery was invented in 1800, anyway. It's easy to feel despondent about our future on this planet by reading the papers and listening to the doom-mongers - but Ferraris for All has reminded me how economic growth isn't just desirable, it's essential for our future. Compulsory reading, I'd say.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A clear-minded defense of economic growth,
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This review is from: Ferraris for All: In Defence of Economic Progress (Hardcover)
If you've ever felt guilty about the accoutrements of life in the developed world - plentiful cars, abundant food, cheap energy - economics and finance journalist Daniel Ben-Ami says to stop. He contends that society's elites are afflicted with wrongheaded ideas about how to improve the world. He argues that underprivileged countries desperately need capitalist growth to improve their people's lives, and that developed nations should try to help them boom, not weigh them down with self-denial programs. Ben-Ami's thinking and writing is spotlessly clear but unbendingly hard, and every once in a while he wanders off the path of logic. Nonetheless, he makes a formidable, controversial case. getAbstract suggests his book to corporate managers working on global outreach, economists, and big thinkers who want to ensure the invisible hand is outstretched for a leg up, not a slap in the face.
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