The Value of Nothing

"The Value of Nothing - How to reshape market society and redefine democracy", by Raj Patel.

This book is about Socialistic Economics. Even if you think "socialism" is a bad word, you'll still do well to pay attention.

The popular explanation for the global economic crisis of 2008-2010 is that a few key regulations were missing to keep the markets from getting out of control. But Patel argues, the problem is more fundamental. It's a political problem. It's that our democracies aren't really democratic. We resort to the markets to make every economic decision for us. But are we sure the markets give the right answer? Patel says 'absolutely not'. Markets work only for the powerful. They get to make the rules (and the models and the policies), and they game the system to boot. Markets price goods and services based on the limited data they are fed in, and that's often very incomplete. That new cell phone is "free" for you, but it's far from free for the people in the coltan mining region of Congo. These people, especially the women, suffer great brutality: rape, torture, slavery and murder, in the hands of the military units that patrol these mines. Our markets do not price in such externalities. The markets don't give the right answer for these Congolese people, for sure.

What we have is an unfair and unsustainable economic system based on the Ayn Randish theory that markets know best. Patel argues for a "commons" based system of collective ownership (rights + responsibilities) of the basic resources of life (land, water, air,..). He believes that in this approach lie the solutions to our food, climate and economic crises.

Patel does seem to have a lot of affection for Marxism, and is greatly influenced by Karl Polanyi's ideas of the "double movement". He seems to be well traveled, and cites a number of examples from around the globe of grass-roots movements, mostly of the under-privileged, that have fought market forces and succeeded in establishing some sort of a "commons".

He also argues for a more participative model of democracy, and cites various examples from around the globe, where participation of the masses has made a great positive change in the quality of governance. He acknowledges the impracticality of this model for large populations, but it is still something too intriguing to ignore.

There are several examples of groups of repressed people organizing themselves democratically, and fighting for their rights. One such, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers made a particular impression on me, especially as someone who loves tomatoes.

The book is fairly coherent, with intermingled flashes of wry humor and passion, bordering on anger. It is well researched, well written and not longer than necessary. I learnt a few new things and most importantly, got to see the world from a slightly newer angle.

Dreams from My Father

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance - Barack Obama

No need to mention Obama's writing skills. His story telling is very engaging. I listened to the audio book, and he reads it fantastically: uses different accents (not always consistently, but enough to add a dimension); a must read to understand the man.