Myth of the Free Market: The Role of the State in a Capitalist Economy

by Martinez,Mark

• ISBN13: 9781565492677
• ISBN10: 1565492676
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2009-04-15
• Publisher: Lynne Rienner

Summary

Free market purists claim that the state is an inefficient institution that does little for society beyond providing stability and protection. The activities related to distributing resources and economic growth, they say, are better left to the "invisible hand" of the marketplace. Mark Martinez argues that the notion of an invisible hand is a common but flawed myth that distorts understanding of how modern capitalist markets developed and actually work. Martinez draws from history and contemporary events to illustrate that political processes and the state are not only instrumental in making capitalist markets work but that there would be no capitalist markets or wealth creation without state intervention. The Roots of Markets and Wealth is a fascinating and accessible introduction to comparative economic systems as well as an incisive refutation of the standard mantras of neoclassical free market economic theory.

Author Biography

Martinez draws from history to illustrate that political processes and the state are not only instrumental in making capitalist markets work, but that there would be no markets or wealth creation without state intervention. He brings his story up to the present day to show how the seeds of a recession and an unprecedented government intervention in the financial markets were sown in past actions. The Myth of the Free Market is a fascinating and accessible introduction to comparative economic systems as well as an incisive refutation of the standard mantras of neoclassical free market economic theory.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. v
List of Illustrations	p. ix
Introduction: Understanding Markets and States	p. xi
Things to (Re)consider
Milton Friedman Got It Wrong: Politics is at the Heart of Capitalism	p. 3
Free Markets and Wealth (Re)Considered	p. 25
The Role of the State in Creating Market Capitalism
The Very Political Roots of Market Capitalism: Embracing Individual Achievement and Vanity	p. 53
Manias and the Philosopher's Stone: The Road to Wealth and Regulated Money	p. 77
Making Markets Work in Practice: The State in Action
War Made the State and the State Made War	p. 95
How Medieval Organized Violence Led to Mercantilism, Middle-Class Bargains, and Market Capitalism	p. 115
Toward "Freer" International Trade	p. 141
America's Post-World War II Grand Liberal Strategy	p. 163
States and Modern Markets: From Political Money to Wall Street Socialism
From Keynes to Deregulation and Exploding Capital Flows	p. 181
An Empire of Debt: Violating Adam Smith's Laws of Nature?	p. 205
The Deregulation Game	p. 241
From Deregulation to the Mother of All Bailouts	p. 267
Bibliography	p. 291
Index	p. 303
About the Author	p. 319
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.