Economics of Good and Evil: The Quest for Economic Meaning from Gilgamesh to Wall Street [Hardcover]

Tomas Sedlacek (Author), Vaclav Havel (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2011

Tomas Sedlacek has shaken the study of economics as few ever have. Named one of the "Young Guns" and one of the "five hot minds in economics" by the Yale Economic Review, he serves on the National Economic Council in Prague, where his provocative writing has achieved bestseller status. How has he done it? By arguing a simple, almost heretical proposition: economics is ultimately about good and evil.

In The Economics of Good and Evil, Sedlacek radically rethinks his field, challenging our assumptions about the world. Economics is touted as a science, a value-free mathematical inquiry, he writes, but it's actually a cultural phenomenon, a product of our civilization. It began within philosophy--Adam Smith himself not only wrote The Wealth of Nations, but also The Theory of Moral Sentiments--and economics, as Sedlacek shows, is woven out of history, myth, religion, and ethics. "Even the most sophisticated mathematical model," Sedlacek writes, "is, de facto, a story, a parable, our effort to (rationally) grasp the world around us." Economics not only describes the world, but establishes normative standards, identifying ideal conditions. Science, he claims, is a system of beliefs to which we are committed. To grasp the beliefs underlying economics, he breaks out of the field's confines with a tour de force exploration of economic thinking, broadly defined, over the millennia. He ranges from the epic of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament to the emergence of Christianity, from Descartes and Adam Smith to the consumerism in Fight Club. Throughout, he asks searching meta-economic questions: What is the meaning and the point of economics? Can we do ethically all that we can do technically? Does it pay to be good?

Placing the wisdom of philosophers and poets over strict mathematical models of human behavior, Sedlacek's groundbreaking work promises to change the way we calculate economic value.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sedlacek takes mainstream economics as his clay, digging both his arms in up to the elbows in an attempt to explain the beliefs and ethical values underlying modern economics." - The New York Times

"There has long been a profound moral drive in Czech culture, seeking an ever larger view of the human, and trying to break through conceptual barriers to do so. In this sinewy and marvelous voyage of discovery, Tomas Sedlacek calls us all to think more imaginatively, more fully, and more concretely about economics than we have done for many generations. Many thinkers, including not a few economists, will be stimulated to new explorations by this book." -Michael Novak, author of The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism

"Economics of Good and Evil is an enchanting tour de force, offering the general public an unusual, erudite, and riveting view of the world. Scientists and scholars can choose how to read this book: either condemn it for its lack of a rigidly and traditionally scientific approach, or accept it as an invigorating elixir providing inspiration and vision for further study. I take it as the latter and I am certain the public will too." - Jan Svejnar, Professor of Business, Economics and Public Policy, University of Michigan

"A widely admired economist who sits on the National Economic Council in Prague radically rethinks his field, challenging assumptions about the business world in this work, a bestseller in the Czech Republic."-Publishers Weekly

"Tomas Sedlacek proposes no less than a 'humanomics,' a view of our fate in this world of scarcity that takes account of human stories and philosophies. Economists have crippled themselves by their lack of scholarly breadth, and their 'scientific' disdain for human words. Sedlacek, who ranges from the epic of Gilgamesh to the movie The Matrix, cannot be accused of lack of breadth. What is most impressive, though, is his depth, drilling down into the soul of economics." -Deirdre McCloskey, author of Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce and The Cult of Statistical Significance

About the Author

Tomas Sedlacek lectures at Charles University and is a member of the National Economic Council in Prague, where the original version of this book was a national bestseller and was also adapted as a popular theater-piece. He worked as an advisor of Vaclav Havel, the first Czech president after the fall of communism, and is a regular columnist and popular radio and TV commentator.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199767203
• ISBN-13: 978-0199767205
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 0.9 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Good & Evil

More About the Author

Tomas Sedlacek (1977) was an economic advisor to President Václav Havel, latter to the Finance Minister and now serves as a Chief Macroeconomic Strategist at one of the largest banks. He is one of 15 members of National Economic Council, advisory body to the Prime Minister.
He is a Yale University World Fellow and PhD student at Charles University, where he lectures Philosophy and Economics. Yale economic Review (2006) has ranked him among Five hot shots in economics. He is a regular columnist and a sought-after media commentator.
He has (2009) published a book on philosophy, ethics and history of economic thought "Economy of Good and Evil: from the Epic of Gilgamesh to the Financial Crisis", which has unexpectedly become a national bestseller, selling more than 50 000 copies. The book has also been turned into a theatre play, which was performed over 80 times last year and sold out four times the National Theatre in Prague.

More info in English, tour of the book, endorsements, reviews and video from the Economics of Good and Evil theatre play can be seen at www.tomassedlacek.cz

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sedlacek gives us a new way to look at economics April 21, 2011

By Adam VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Very few book do I read that just surprise my by their originality. The Economics of God and Evil is one. Sedlacek is a Czech Economist, journalist and Economic Advisor to the first Czech President after the fall of communism. This book was originally written and published in Europe (and was adapted as a theater piece) before being reworked and now published in the US.

Few really well documented books (footnotes are about a third of almost every page) also clearly explain fairly academic subjects as well as this book does.

The concept is that Sedlacek traces several texts that show how we have thought of economics in history. These include the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Old Testament, Ancient Greece Philosophy, Christianity and New Testament, Descartes, Mandeville (who I had no concept of) and Adam Smith. He showed how the concepts of economics were different under each of these worldviews and how they influenced the rise of Western Thought about economics. Throughout he gives hints about places where he thinks that modern economics may have ventured away from what might be a better explanation.

Then he traces modern economic thought. The rise of desire, the change of economics from a philosophical science to a mathematical predictive science, the movement of 'invisible hand', the rise of the rational human, the dependence on progress and the eventual bloat of economies due to debt.

There is a real argument here and I am not going to trace it all, but I would encourage anyone that is really interested in economics, especially if you are a Christian (because I think Sedlacek best work is his exposition of the Old and New Testaments), to pick this up and really read it. I found it interesting that this week a survey was released that said that Evangelicals are most likely to think that there is no conflict between Christianity and Capitalism compared to the general population or any other segment of Christianity. In other words, those that are most conservative about their Christianity are also most likely to believe that it matches with the dominant economic model of the day.

In the end, Sedlacek calls for a renewed study in economics on morality and the philosophy of why our economy works as it does. He does not want to do away with the mathematical models that he criticizes so frequently, but to partner them with a deeper (almost religious) view of ethics. The final section is about the limitations of economics (and primarily the mathematical models of economics) and how economists (and those that rely on economists) need to be humble about what economics can reliably do.

One of the more interesting side tracks was the tracing of economics from a 'dismal science' to a progressive science, which views everything improving and getting better. He thinks that it is as much about the personality of the major thinkers as anything else, but he does think that we have moved too far toward a concept of perfectionism (which definitely has some Christian roots). But he is far from the only religious critic of progressiveness. He quotes CS Lewis as saying disapprovingly that we have begun to believe that, "Goodness equals what comes next."

Honestly, this is one of the most insightful and challenging books on economics I have read. I highly recommend it.

_______

This book was provided by the Amazon Vine program for the purposes of review.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Meta-Economics May 8, 2011

By W. A. Carpenter VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

"Economics of Good and Evil" by Economist Tom Sedlacek is a collection of self-contained essays on a general theme. That theme, that modern economics has been overrun by "quants" - those economists that emphasize mathematical models and analyses that ignore the fact that economics is fundamentally about individuals making decisions.

The first part of the book "Ancient Economic" is a collection of essays about the economic world views of various ancient civilizations up through Adam Smith. I particularly enjoyed his essay on the Greek Epicurean and Stoic views.

The second part of the book "Blasphemous Thoughts" is a collection of essays on meta-economics, i.e. it looks at economic ideas and examines them in a philosophical way. I especially liked his discussions of the rather surprising role of myth and religion in economic thought.

This book was originally published in the Czech Republic in 2009 where it became a best seller and was turned, somehow, into a popular play! I admit that I can't imagine how this was done. This translation is well worth reading for the author's fascinating ideas and analysis, but I will say that the translation seems a bit awkward, even ragged, at places and makes reading the book a not unalloyed joy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A well written tour de force April 15, 2011

By Petur O. Jonsson VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This is a very ambitious book. It weaves together a variety of seemingly disparate ideas and comes up with an imaginative and coherent tapestry. In a nutshell, one might say that it is about meta-economics and the history of economic ideas. Sedlacek argues that the concerns of economics are also the concerns of myths, of theology, and of philosophy. Here, one of Selacek's points is that the rigorous structure and formal logic of modern day economics obscure the fact that it represents a narrative and that this narrative supports a particular normative world view.

Definitions of economics usually boil down to it being a social science that focuses on the choices that people make. Thus economics encompasses most human concerns. Certainly it overlaps the other social sciences and we can even think of it as applied ethics (in that economics has a set of normative criteria for judging choices). It is in this context that Sedlacek suggests that key arguments of economics ultimately tend to be about good and evil. Yet, economists strive to deny this and our notion of positive economics is all about avoiding judment. As Sedlacek points out, there is great irony in the fact that economics sees itself as a science of values and yet it pretends to eschew value judgment.

Sedlacek's tour de force narrative is not easily summarized. Suffice it to say that he is a fantastic writer. One might even refer to him as a seductive storyteller. I have seen elements of his arguments before, but I have never seen them put together this persuasively. And, while I did not necessarily agree with all of his arguments, I still enjoyed this book tremendously.

I should note that sometimes his account of modern day economics is oversimplified and he tends to see arguments that were originally made for expository clarity as evidence of a particular a world view. Moreover, he is a methodological anarchist who gives little credence to the intrinsic logic and power of economics. The way I see it, while individual economic models can be wrong or misleading, economics is still built on a set of a few relatively simple and yet pretty much irrefutable ideas: choices have opportunity cost; people tend to respond to incentives; talk is cheap; trade is bilateral, etc. And while recent advances in psychology and neuroscience have complicated things, the basic logic of economics still remains.

All that said, the bottom line is that I loved this book. Moreover, when compared to dumbed-down accounts of economic ideas (like Heilbroner's Worldly Philosophers, for example) this book is a true masterpiece.