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The free-market capitalist system is in the process of collapse and we must now adjust to the reality of declining prosperity in the West. We should forget about growth and concentrate instead on the creation of jobs and reducing fossil fuel use—and it isn't impossible to achieve these two apparently conflicting aims.
This is the thrust of the author's arguments and through the use of clear consistent charts he builds his case up from first principles. He graphically illustrates every important point and creates a compelling and powerful picture of why it's bad, why it's going to get worse, and why this presents an opportunity to make things better.
This is a vision of life in which we will be forced to confront the real issues. Among other things, we must recognize that all wealth comes from the earth, we must concentrate on creating jobs and sharing earnings more fairly, and we should have more regulation especially in relation to banks and corporations and reducing competition between nations. And most of all we must return to the real values of real industry away from the current obsession with making money from money.
Mike Roscoe is a journalist with many years' experience in the interpretation of data and the illustration of such information in graphic form, accompanied by clear and concise text. He has worked at the Financial Times, the Economist, the Daily Telegraph, and the Independent.
PART ONE — Why Things Are Bad
CHAPTER 1 — THREE CHARTS
Summary of the problems
CHAPTER 2 — WHAT IS WEALTH?
Basic economics; GDP explained
CHAPTER 3 — WHAT HAPPENS TO WEALTH?
The vanishing trillions
CHAPTER 4 — SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING
An investigation into values
CHAPTER 5 — THE VALUE OF MONEY
A brief history of money and debt
CHAPTER 6 — BETTING NAKED
The growth of finance; derivatives explained
CHAPTER 7 — FROM WAREHOUSE TO WHOREHOUSE
Earlyindustry and the dawn of trade
CHAPTER 8 — MEASURING WEALTH
The accumulation of wealth and the importance of oil
PART TWO— Why It’s Going To Get Worse
CHAPTER 9 — WEALTH AND WORK
The productivity problem; was Marx right?
CHAPTER 10 — THE TECHNOLOGY DILEMMA
Why real jobs are in decline
CHAPTER 11 — VIRTUAL VALUES
The internet as job killer
CHAPTER 12 — LIVING IN NEVER-NEVER LAND
Bubble trouble and the debt of nations
CHAPTER 13 — THE DECLINE OF EUROPE
The Eurozone debt problem and lessons from Japan
CHAPTER 14 — A RACE WITH NO WINNERS
The high price of cheap goods
CHAPTER 15 — THE CASE FOR PUBLIC ENTERPRISE
Socialism is not a dirty word
CHAPTER 16 — TEN REASONS…
Why the rich world is getting poorer
PART THREE — Why We Should Be Glad
CHAPTER 17 — ECONOMY OR ECOLOGY?
More jobs, less fossil fuel use
CHAPTER 18 — LIFE WITHOUT OIL
So what are the alternatives to fossil fuels?
CHAPTER 19 — TIME TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM
Re-evaluation of values; jobs first
CHAPTER 20 — JOBS WITHOUT GROWTH
Politics that work, why we need global regulation
CHAPTER 21 — WHERE NEXT?
Likely trends; why the US will stay on top
CHAPTER 22 — IS THERE A BETTER WAY?
CONCLUSIONS