The Roaring Nineties: Seeds of Destruction (Hardcover)

Nationally, the state of the union is far from brilliant with its huge wealth inequality, a large number of people in prison, anxiety and insecurity (millions without health insurance), high infant mortality rates, unconcern about the deterioration of the environment and health care provisions below those of far poorer countries.
In the ‘roaring nineties’, Stiglitz sees the fundamentalist free market ideology of the Bush II governments as a façade for a political agenda: crony capitalism (Enron, Worldcom), downsizing of government, favouring the wealthy. Overwhelming private interests and corporate greed lead to misguided and biased deregulation, bad tax policies, misguided accounting policies, too little investment in vital public needs, education, infrastructure and basic research. Tax cuts were hypocritically sold as good for everyone (trickle-down economy), while the result was frugality for the poor and generosity for the well-off.

Internationally, the US speaks of the rule of law, but it rejects this rule time and again (UN, International Criminal Court, Kyoto Agreements, strategic arms treaty).
Dr. Sam delivered misguided economic prescriptions to the rest of the world via the US controlled IMF. Its free trade rhetoric conceals the fact that the US lives year after year beyond its means, while it lectures others not to do it. In fact, the poor countries are subsidizing the richest: the total value of the benefits that the US gets out of the current system exceeds by a considerable amount the total foreign aid the US provides.

Stiglitz own precepts, called ‘Democratic Idealism’, are based on 3 cornerstones: social justice, political values (democracy and freedom) and the relationship between individuals and communities. It is a vision with a balanced role for government (investments in education and technology, social protection), an attempt to achieve social justice at local and global level, and based on individual and national responsibility.

This book is superbly sarcastic: the conglomerate discount instead of the conglomerate premium (the synergies didn’t work out). Or, the 3 Golden Rules of corporate capitalism: first, oppose subsidies except for your own sector; secondly, favour competition except for your own business; thirdly, favour openness and transparency except for your own books.

With his superb free mind, Professor Stiglitz’s book served perfectly his adage that ‘information is more important than ever’: a well-informed public is the basis of a well-functioning democracy.

A must read.

I also highly recommend Walden Bello’s ‘Dilemmas of Domination’ (a voice from the South) and Robert Heilbroner’s ‘Behind the Veil of Economics ‘.

My only criticism was that given Stiglitz's power and influence during the 90s (he was chief economist at the World Bank and and before that Chairman of Clinton's Council of Economic Advisors) he seems to avoid any of the blame for mistakes that were made.

Some of the points made are not exactly new, Enron, the madness of the hype surrounding the New Economy. But Stiglitz writes well and overall the book is well worth a look.