Making Capitalism Work - Hardcover

Leonard Silk; Mark Silk; Jonas Pontusson; Robert Heilbroner; Bernard Wasow

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0814780644 ISBN 13: 9780814780640

Publisher: New York University Press, 1996

Synopsis

In 1995, Republicans came to power in the United States with an ambitious program proposing to embrace a degree of laissez- faire economics unknown for generations anywhere in the industrialized world. Simultaneously, politicians, entrepreneurs, and economists championed the new bastions of unregulated capitalism that sprung up in such unfamiliar precincts as Beijing and Moscow. Yet to date many free-market economic policies, be it in Prague or here in America, have not lived up to their initial promises. In fact, it has become a common joke in Russia that capitalism has succeeded in making communism look good, a feat unaccomplished by the Kremlin in its 70 year reign.

In Making Capitalism Work, Leonard and Mark Silk analyze the failures and successes of capitalism as seen most recently in the former Soviet Bloc, Japan, China, the European Community and the United States. While recognizing that capitalism has been successful in a number of countries, the authors point out that overly simplistic policies advocating an unfettered capitalism ignore too large a range of issues central to the formation of any moral economic system. Viewing capitalism as simply one of a number of economic systems, Leonard and Mark Silk address such issues as the obligation of the rich to the poor, the responsibility of the state to insulate its citizens from market fluctuations, the responsibility of present generations to provide for future ones, and whether economic systems can set the proper extent and limits of individual rights and freedoms.

An important, concise, thought-provoking book this is the last book Leonard Silk wrote before his death late last year and has been completed here by his son, Mark.

About this title

Review:

Making Capitalism Work takes on the confused thinking that mistakes the general economic system called capitalism for the particular history and heritage of the United States. Some pundits have argued that free markets are inextricable from a free society and tend to elide qualities they desire or admire (a Puritan work ethic, a democratic form of government, or a low-tax, downsized government) with the necessary conditions for market economies. In what amounts to a comparative study of market economies, the late Leonard Silk describes the many flavors of capitalism. His discussions of the trade-offs between the various approaches pursued by Asian, European, and North American governments are particularly stimulating, pointing out that if it is results we are interested in, there exists a record of economic outcomes that confounds ideological rhetoric.

From the Back Cover:

Making Capitalism Work examines how capitalism has evolved and how it is currently working in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, and the industrialized countries of the West. Recognizing the strengths of different capitalist regimes, the book suggests ways for each to remedy its defects. In the process, the authors show that policies based on a belief in an unfettered free market have failed both economically and politically. The book argues that a strong governmental role remains essential to assure prosperity, to insulate citizens from the fluctuations of the market, and to meet the responsibilities of the rich to the poor and of present generations to future ones.

About this edition

• Publisher: New York University Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0814780644
• ISBN 13: 9780814780640
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 248