A fresh look at some of the mostly deeply held dogmas of economics, exploding many along the way.
A skillfully conducted tour of the role of price, once unmoored from reality, in adding chaos to an already chaotic world.
According to the efficient-market hypothesis, “the taken-for-granted orthodoxy of the economics profession,” the market will sort things out when it comes to setting prices, thanks to the ebb and flow of supply and demand, and prices themselves represent a gathering of bits of information “that create a spontaneous order all around us.” Yet, writes sociologist Russell, even as we live in a world governed by prices, this spontaneous order often dissolves into disorder. Part of the problem lies in the workings of modern “global finance capitalism,” in which prices are a function of the futures market—and those futures are now functions of derivatives, which dissolve the link between prices and real goods and instead trade in intangibles. The author begins with the example of bread, the price of which can be closely indexed to social chaos in places like 18th-century France—“in the eighty years before the Revolution, twenty-one were rocked by bread riots”—and the modern Middle East, with Egypt being both a leading importer of wheat and a polity unnaturally susceptible to spikes in bread prices and resulting social problems. Russell goes on to closely examine the dangers of speculation. Consider this curious case: Thanks to overly sensitive algorithms, with any news concerning the actress Anne Hathaway, the trading firm Berkshire Hathaway enjoys gains or suffers losses. Countries that are resource-rich are similarly blessed or cursed. “Oil-exporting countries are twice as likely to have outbreaks of civil war,” Russell writes, and when you peg the entire economy on the price of a barrel of oil, when prices fall, you get disasters such as Venezuela, “an allegedly socialist state that has its people living as pure market beings.”
A fresh look at some of the mostly deeply held dogmas of economics, exploding many along the way.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-385-54585-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
Essential guidance on proactively navigating the challenges of gender-diverse student bodies.
A comprehensive look at gender-diverse youth in the classroom.
As the transgender student population continues to become more widely visible, navigation tools have become critical for educators and parents alike, notes Key, a veteran gender diversity educator. While written with parents of trans+ children in mind, the book is primarily directed at teachers, administrators, and school staff who directly impact students’ lives on a daily basis. Key shows readers what is involved when a child considers a gender transition process, and he confronts the challenges of gender inclusion, which may be a new topic for some readers. Particularly striking are the stories from parents of trans+ students who are managing the stages of their own apprehension alongside those of their child. Key incorporates learning points on gender vernacular and fighting community stigmatization. Personal anecdotes and timely discussions from school educators complement instructive illustrations and Q&A sections that answer sensitive questions regarding sports participation, bathroom choices, and changing areas. In an encouraging, consistently positive manner, Key addresses the overt political and/or cultural resistance that proliferates within heated debates and public forum discussions, and he asserts that accurate information is the best way to educate and collaborate. He stresses the importance of delivering practical, real-world discussion tools and assistance to parents and educators of trans+ children, who often find themselves without resources, advice, answers, or support to fortify what can often be an overwhelmingly complex experience. Key’s checklists of suggestions successfully bridge the gap between trans+ kids, adults, and school educators with strategically supportive approaches and behaviors. Authoritative yet written in pleasant, straightforward language, this book is an invaluable resource for understanding what it clearly means (and doesn’t mean) to be transgender while ensuring that every student has access to an optimal learning environment free from discrimination.
Essential guidance on proactively navigating the challenges of gender-diverse student bodies.Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9780190886547
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
IN THE NEWS
PERSPECTIVES
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