The Limits of the Market: The Pendulum Between Government and Market
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| Anteprima |
"The
old discussion of 'Market or State' is obsolete. There will always have
to be a mix of market and state. The only relevant question is what
that mix should look like. How far do we have to let the market go its
own way in order to create as much welfare as possible for everyone?
What is the responsibility of the government in creating welfare? These
are difficult questions. But they are also interesting questions and
Paul De Grauwe analyses them in this book. The desired mix of market and
state is anything but easy to bring about. It is a difficult and
sometimes destructive process that is constantly in motion. There are
periods in history in which the market gains in importance. During other
periods the opposite occurs and government is more dominant. The
turning points in this pendulum swing typically seem to coincide with
disruptive events that test the limits of market and state. Why we
experience this dynamic is an important theme in the book. Will the
market, which today is afforded a greater and greater role due to
globalization, run up against its limits? Or do the financial crisis and
growing income inequality show that we have already reached those
limits? Do we have to brace ourselves for a rejection of the capitalist
system? Are we returning to an economy in which the government is
running the show?"--Dust jacket.
