Important new article:
HAVING THEIR CAKE - WHAT IT'S ABOUT
Economics matters - how it affects all our lives
As individuals, we all have a stake in the economy through our work, savings, consumption patterns and pensions.
The wealth and wellbeing of nations is affected by the ability of national economies and governments to cope with global economic forces.
We all have a big interest in the health of the planet, which is being vitally influenced by the effects of economic and political ideas.
Many of us are concerned about the plight of people in poor countries, but often unaware of the extent and causes of poverty and social exclusion in our own societies.
Making sense of complexity and competing ideas
The dynamics of the financial system
Few people are well-versed in the dynamics of the financial markets, but most are constantly reminded of their power through apparently random 'events', some of them positive, but many becoming more threatening to our welfare. We are bombarded by a mass of often competing ideas about what is good for us and also by a cacophony of advertising and exhortations to consume and to borrow.
Behind this 'noise' is a huge complex of interactions between investment banks, corporations, regulatory institutions, academic thinkers, governments and international bodies like the International Monetary Fund. The nature of these interactions is often invisible to the average citizen but nevertheless deeply affects their vital interests.
At the beginning, the focus of the site was UK finance and industry. But as it has become apparent that the UK, like all nations, is deeply affected by economic globalisation, the perspectives widened.
Now it examines the global economy - and as Britain has espoused global free markets more avidly than any other developed nation, readers can explore a classical example of the positive and negative effects of market fundamentalism on one society.
The choices between economic and social philosophies
But even more important, the 20th and early 21st centuries have witnessed titanic struggles between ideologies - Soviet centralism and free-market capitalism - and more recently free-market fundamentalism and social market philosophies.
The outcomes of these contemporary ideological struggles will vitally affect everything in the world, from the wealth and well-being of individuals and nations to the future of the planet.
This website aims to
- Explain the complex financial/industrial system, how it really works and its impacts on us all
- Get to the roots of the important economic and social ideas that influence the actions of governments, industries and individuals
Author
This site is the result of several years of research by Don Young, a retired company director, who first became concerned about the impacts of the investment markets on companies he worked for. The level of debate in the site should be useful to all educated people with a normal level of interest in the state of the nation and the world, economic realities and business practice.
So read this site if you want to understand the dynamics of the economic system, the fascinating battle of ideas affecting its evolution, and how these things affect our lives. And don't worry - our serious purpose is moderated by a sense of humour.
Site guide
Ideas that shape our world
Every economic system is rooted in ideas that are often implicit. This section will equip readers with an understanding of the ideas that drive the world of economics
Our financial/industrial system
A look inside the financial and industrial system that drives economies
Consequences
How the economic system affects our worlds and the future of the planet
Resources
A wide range of cases, reading, research and opinion
Archive
Where it all started, "Having their Cake", the book
Author
Don Young, his life and hard times
