Why do so many people live with poverty when society has the tools to do more?
This book challenges common economic ideas and shows how systems meant to create wealth often fail to meet real needs.
It explains how money, prices, and production shape what gets built and who benefits. By comparing the open market with a planned approach, it reveals why abundance has not matched our capacity to create it. The text also differentiates real wealth, like homes and factories, from symbolic wealth, like money and stocks, to show how the value of one depends on the other. It offers a concise path for thinking about how communities could use their resources more effectively.
- See how price and money relate to real, usable wealth, not just exchange value.
- Learn about the practice of non-production and how cultural habits can block progress.
- Understand the two “worlds” the book describes: the physical world and the world of human institutions.
- Explore criticisms of open market ideas and what a production-for-use approach could mean for everyday life.
Ideal for readers curious about economic theory, history, and the factors that shape the goods and services available to households.
Matthew J. Bruccoli is Professor of Eng-lish at the University of South Carolina.