I was expecting to get more from this than I did. As a critique of mainstream economics it succeeds, and as a way of modelling economic activity it appears to offer some genuine insight. The idea of bringing economics up to date with some of the more creative methods from the natural sciences is a welcome one, and it is even a good read.
The ending (what is to be done) is really weak though, so having teased us with little asides from Shakespeare and Voltaire, appearing to be leading us towards a brilliant final twist, we are left with a resounding 'so what'.
Does the model he has developed tell us anything new or important about fizzy drinks, and if it does, why would it matter? This can't be the main purpose.
On the other hand, there are some curious, mildly radical, political issues arising here and there, about endogenous, inevitable system failure, and even how this might be a good thing, but instead we get rather forced case studies, usually involving Anglo American business stereotypes as reassurance.
I would have preferred it if he had simply stated that the technique he is developing is new, and that he doesn't know what it means. However, for anybody studying economics, read Ormerod, but maybe not this one first!
