The Tyranny of Dead Ideas

The Tyranny of Dead Ideas PDF Author: Matt Miller
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 142998886X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
A leading political and business thinker identifies the greatest threat to our economic future: the things we think we know-but don't America is at a crossroads. In the face of global competition and rapid technological change, our economy is about to face its most severe test in nearly a century-one that will make the recent turmoil in the financial system look like a modest setback by comparison. Yet our leaders have failed to prepare us for what lies ahead because they are in the grip of a set of "dead ideas" about how a modern economy should work. They wrongly believe that - Our kids will earn more than we do - Free trade is always good, no matter who gets hurt - Employers should be responsible for health coverage - Taxes hurt the economy - Schools are a local matter - Money follows merit These ways of thinking-dubious at best and often dead wrong-are on a collision course with economic developments that are irre-versible. In The Tyranny of Dead Ideas, Matt Miller offers a unique blend of insights from history, psychology, and economics to illuminate where today's destructive conventional wisdom came from and how it holds our country back. He also introduces us to a new way of thinking-what he calls "tomorrow's destined ideas"-that can reinvigorate our economy, our politics, and our day-to-day lives. These destined ideas may seem counterintuitive now, but they will coalesce in the coming years in ways that will transform America. A strikingly original assessment of our current dilemma and an indispensable guide to our future, Miller's provocative and path-breaking book reveals why it is urgent that we break the tyranny of dead ideas, for it is only by doing so that we can move beyond the limits of today's obsolete debates and reinvent American capitalism and democracy for the twenty-first century.

The Tyranny of Dead Ideas

The Tyranny of Dead Ideas PDF Author: Matt Miller
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 142998886X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Get Book Here

Book Description
A leading political and business thinker identifies the greatest threat to our economic future: the things we think we know-but don't America is at a crossroads. In the face of global competition and rapid technological change, our economy is about to face its most severe test in nearly a century-one that will make the recent turmoil in the financial system look like a modest setback by comparison. Yet our leaders have failed to prepare us for what lies ahead because they are in the grip of a set of "dead ideas" about how a modern economy should work. They wrongly believe that - Our kids will earn more than we do - Free trade is always good, no matter who gets hurt - Employers should be responsible for health coverage - Taxes hurt the economy - Schools are a local matter - Money follows merit These ways of thinking-dubious at best and often dead wrong-are on a collision course with economic developments that are irre-versible. In The Tyranny of Dead Ideas, Matt Miller offers a unique blend of insights from history, psychology, and economics to illuminate where today's destructive conventional wisdom came from and how it holds our country back. He also introduces us to a new way of thinking-what he calls "tomorrow's destined ideas"-that can reinvigorate our economy, our politics, and our day-to-day lives. These destined ideas may seem counterintuitive now, but they will coalesce in the coming years in ways that will transform America. A strikingly original assessment of our current dilemma and an indispensable guide to our future, Miller's provocative and path-breaking book reveals why it is urgent that we break the tyranny of dead ideas, for it is only by doing so that we can move beyond the limits of today's obsolete debates and reinvent American capitalism and democracy for the twenty-first century.

The Tyranny of Dead Ideas

The Tyranny of Dead Ideas PDF Author: Matt Miller
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 9780805091502
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Offers the most plausible way to renovate our political and policy thinking to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century."—Joe Klein, Time America is at a crossroads. The global economic downturn that began in 2008 has laid bare the structural weakness of our economy, putting the country through its most severe test since the Great Depression. Yet our political and business leaders have failed to prepare us because they are in the grip of a set of "dead ideas" about how a modern economy should work. Even the proponents of "change" in the Obama administration remain tentative in pushing the boundaries of the conventional wisdom. But as Matt Miller shows in this provocative and influential analysis, the American economy will turn the corner only if we move beyond these outdated ways of thinking and recognize the ascendance of a new set of "destined ideas" that will reinvigorate our economy, our politics, and our day-to-day lives. And in a new preface, Miller shows how today's financial crisis has finally stripped these dead ideas of their power, offering hope for a durable recovery.

Ayn Rand Explained

Ayn Rand Explained PDF Author: Ronald E. Merrill
Publisher: Open Court Publishing
ISBN: 0812697987
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Scorned by the established critics, Rand wrote brilliant popular novels that have become permanent best sellers and founded an comprehensive philosophical and cultural movement which is shaking the foundations of the post-New Deal American political order. Merrill examines her espousal and then rejection of Nietzschean philosophy; her dismissal of religious faith; and her influence on-- and yet hostility to-- both conservatism and libertarianism.

The Tyranny of Experts

The Tyranny of Experts PDF Author: William Easterly
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465080901
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 479

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Book Description
In this "bracingly iconoclastic” book (New York Times Book Review), a renowned economics scholar breaks down the fight to end global poverty and the rights that poor individuals have had taken away for generations. In The Tyranny of Experts, renowned economist William Easterly examines our failing efforts to fight global poverty, and argues that the "expert approved" top-down approach to development has not only made little lasting progress, but has proven a convenient rationale for decades of human rights violations perpetrated by colonialists, postcolonial dictators, and US and UK foreign policymakers seeking autocratic allies. Demonstrating how our traditional antipoverty tactics have both trampled the freedom of the world's poor and suppressed a vital debate about alternative approaches to solving poverty, Easterly presents a devastating critique of the blighted record of authoritarian development. In this masterful work, Easterly reveals the fundamental errors inherent in our traditional approach and offers new principles for Western agencies and developing countries alike: principles that, because they are predicated on respect for the rights of poor people, have the power to end global poverty once and for all.

The Tyranny of Clichés

The Tyranny of Clichés PDF Author: Jonah Goldberg
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1595231021
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
“An indispensable and enduring field guide to the arguments the left makes—and the ones it tries to avoid.” —The Claremont Review of Books According to Jonah Goldberg, if the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist, the greatest trick liberals ever pulled was convincing themselves they’re not ideological. Today, “objective” journalists, academics, and “moderate” politicians peddle some of the most radical arguments by hiding them in homespun apho­risms. Barack Obama casts himself as a disciple of reason: He’s a pragmatist, opposed to the ideology and drama of the Right, solely concerned with “what works.” And today’s liberals follow his lead, spouting countless clichés such as: • One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter: Sure, if the other man is an idiot. Was Martin Luther King Jr. a terrorist? Was Bin Laden a freedom fighter? • Violence never solves anything: Really? It solved our problems with King George III and ended slavery. • We need complete separation of church and state: In other words, all expressions of faith should be barred from politics . . . except when they support liberal programs. With humor and passion, Goldberg dismantles these and many other Trojan horses that liberals use to cheat in the war of ideas. He shows that the Pro­gressive tradition of denying an ideological agenda while pursuing it vigorously under the false flag of reasonableness is alive and well. And he reveals how this dangerous game may lead us further down the path of self-destruction.

Amusing Ourselves to Death

Amusing Ourselves to Death PDF Author: Neil Postman
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN:
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
Examines the effects of television culture on how we conduct our public affairs and how "entertainment values" corrupt the way we think.

The Tyranny of Science

The Tyranny of Science PDF Author: Paul K. Feyerabend
Publisher: Polity
ISBN: 9780745651897
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Paul Feyerabend is one of the greatest philosophers of science of the 20th century and his book Against Method is an international bestseller. In this new book he masterfully weaves together the main elements of his mature philosophy into a gripping tale: the story of the rise of rationalism in Ancient Greece that eventually led to the entrenchment of a mythical ‘scientific worldview’. In this wide-ranging and accessible book Feyerabend challenges some modern myths about science, including the myth that ‘science is successful’. He argues that some very basic assumptions about science are simply false and that substantial parts of scientific ideology were created on the basis of superficial generalizations that led to absurd misconceptions about the nature of human life. Far from solving the pressing problems of our age, such as war and poverty, scientific theorizing glorifies ephemeral generalities, at the cost of confronting the real particulars that make life meaningful. Objectivity and generality are based on abstraction, and as such, they come at a high price. For abstraction drives a wedge between our thoughts and our experience, resulting in the degeneration of both. Theoreticians, as opposed to practitioners, tend to impose a tyranny on the concepts they use, abstracting away from the subjective experience that makes life meaningful. Feyerabend concludes by arguing that practical experience is a better guide to reality than any theory, by itself, ever could be, and he stresses that there is no tyranny that cannot be resisted, even if it is exerted with the best possible intentions. Provocative and iconoclastic, The Tyranny of Science is one of Feyerabend’s last books and one of his best. It will be widely read by everyone interested in the role that science has played, and continues to play, in the shaping of the modern world.

Violence

Violence PDF Author: Slavoj Zizek
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0312427182
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
Philosopher, cultural critic, and agent provocateur Zizek constructs a fascinating new framework to look at the forces of violence in the world.

Dead Money

Dead Money PDF Author: Srinath Adiga
Publisher: Central Avenue Publishing
ISBN: 1771682175
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 423

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Book Description
“An impressive debut.”–Publishers Weekly ***International Book Awards Finalist — Best New Fiction*** They said you can’t take your money with you when you die. What if they were wrong? Srinath Adiga’s timely satire explores the pitfalls of modern capitalism and the dangerous power of myth. Hong Kong, 2002. A stock market trader desperate to pay off a gangster debt invents a scam: Afterlife Dollars. A product inspired by an ancient Chinese custom that allows people to buy their way into heaven. It’s the beginning of a dizzying chain reaction that ripples in Mumbai, where one man does the unthinkable to secure his afterlife—while thousands of miles away in Amsterdam, another man races against time to stop an apocalypse. As a cast of larger-than-life characters grapple with unprecedented moral dilemmas, their choices will affect the rest of humanity. Profound, exhilarating and full of unexpected twists, Dead Money balances intelligence and dark humour with compassion, empathy and hope. Its cleverness lies in its ability to convince us that the impossible can happen—a compelling, thought-provoking read at a time when the world stares at an uncertain future. “A memorable premise lifts Adiga’s impressive debut. Adiga makes the central conceit work as he effectively sends up the tendency of people to believe anything.”–Publishers Weekly “Exhilarating pace, intriguing proposition, and plenty of dark laughs: Dead Money’s the thriller I’ll be burning through in the afterlife.”–Kate Veitch, author of Without a Backward Glance and Trust “A unique and highly original story. If you’ve ever wondered about the rise of BitCoin or how money really works, you’ll enjoy this book.”–Sion Scott-Wilson, author of The Sleepwalker’s Introduction to Flight

Death to Tyrants!

Death to Tyrants! PDF Author: David Teegarden
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400848539
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
Death to Tyrants! is the first comprehensive study of ancient Greek tyrant-killing legislation--laws that explicitly gave individuals incentives to "kill a tyrant." David Teegarden demonstrates that the ancient Greeks promulgated these laws to harness the dynamics of mass uprisings and preserve popular democratic rule in the face of anti-democratic threats. He presents detailed historical and sociopolitical analyses of each law and considers a variety of issues: What is the nature of an anti-democratic threat? How would various provisions of the laws help pro-democrats counter those threats? And did the laws work? Teegarden argues that tyrant-killing legislation facilitated pro-democracy mobilization both by encouraging brave individuals to strike the first blow against a nondemocratic regime and by convincing others that it was safe to follow the tyrant killer's lead. Such legislation thus deterred anti-democrats from staging a coup by ensuring that they would be overwhelmed by their numerically superior opponents. Drawing on modern social science models, Teegarden looks at how the institution of public law affects the behavior of individuals and groups, thereby exploring the foundation of democracy's persistence in the ancient Greek world. He also provides the first English translation of the tyrant-killing laws from Eretria and Ilion. By analyzing crucial ancient Greek tyrant-killing legislation, Death to Tyrants! explains how certain laws enabled citizens to draw on collective strength in order to defend and preserve their democracy in the face of motivated opposition.