The Future of the Global Economy
TRANSATLANTIC PERSPECTIVES - A VIEW FROM AMERICA
The Institute for Shallow Thinking
We met Anne Carr and Joe Weiss in New Zealand and were immediately engaged by their acute observations of the world we live in, intellectual rigour and sense of humour. Both are well-educated professional people; Joe had retired from a senior management position in a major manufacturing and technology company. Too often in the recent past, external impressions of the United States have been coloured by the views of vociferous neo-conservatives.
The Institute for Shallow Thinking, founded by Anne and Joe, provides a welcome counterpart, that of educated, thinking Americans with a deep interest in the wider world, which has at times been drowned out by the conservative ‘noise’. To our mind they represent America as a force for good in the world.
Here is the first of their occasional contributions to this website:
HAVING THEIR CAKE - WHAT IT'S ABOUT
Market fundamentalism has failed - finding an intellectually rigorous replacement is crucial to our well-being. This site reviews the options
The growth of a global financial system, operating outside the restraints of democratic accountability, is one of the most important new developments of our generation. As the recent disasters are revealing, it affects us all in our day-to-day 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 international, regional and national economies and institutions 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.
Understand the dynamics of the global financial system and the fatal flaws in the economic philosophy that has driven it.
Making sense of complexity and competing ideas.
Few people are well-versed in the dynamics of the financial markets. 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, Think Tanks, academic researchers, 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.
The choices between economic and social philosophies
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 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, and latterly has widened his interests to examine the wider financial and economic systems. 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 drive our financial system
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
