Loucura do Livre Mercado

by Peter A. Ubel, Rodrigo Sardenberg (Translator)

Loucura do livre mercado oferece ao leitor a oportunidade de aprender sobre como se comportar face ao modelo de livre economia. Muitas vezes, nosso subconsciente nos faz agir contra nossos próprios interesses: fazemos empréstimos que nós não podemos pagar, por exemplo, comprometendo entre outras coisas o nosso próprio bem-estar. Peter A. Ubel mostra que podemos parar os prejuízos causados aos nossos corpos, as nossas finanças, e a nossa economia como um todo.

Genres: Economics, Psychology

280 pages, Paperback

First published December 16, 2008

About the author

I am a physician and behavioral scientist at Duke University. My research and writing explores the quirks in human nature that influence our lives — the mixture of rational and irrational forces that affect our health, our happiness and the way our society functions. (What fun would it be to tackle just the easy problems?) My goal is to show you, in an entertaining way, why the key to living better, healthier lives, and improving the societies we live in, is to understand human nature.

I’m also a Professor of Business, Public Policy and Medicine at Duke University. (Officially, I’m the – prepare to be impressed – Madge and Dennis T. McLawhorn University Professor of Business at Fuqua.) My research explores controversial issues about the role of values and preferences in health care decision making, from decisions at the bedside to policy decisions. I use the tools of decision psychology and behavioral economics to explore topics like doctor-patient communication, medical decision-making, and healthcare cost containment.

I grew up in Minnesota where I attended an all boys, Roman Catholic, military high school – a definite triple whammy for a horny teenager. Then when I submitted my high school photograph to my undergraduate college, Carleton, and it got posted in the annual book of new students, my classmates decided I was a fascist , leaving me at a decidedly unCatholic, non-military, co-ed college, already shunned. Sigh…

In my spare time, I enjoy classical piano (fanatical about Beethoven and Chopin), chili peppers (both growing and eating them), and sports (when I’m not nursing my most orthopedic injury).

When my now “adult” kids are both in town, we love to spend dinner time playing bridge, the greatest card game ever invented. (Spologies to poker fans)

Reviews

[Mark Dickson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's probably a disservice to this book that I read immediately after Barry Schwartz's The Paradox of Choice. Which isn't to say that Ubel's book compares unfavorably, but rather, that the two books cover a great deal of the same social science, and thus Free Market Madness felt a bit redundant to me.

Ubel's thesis is simple: The success of the free market in making people happy relies on their rationality; since people often make irrational choices, the free market empowers them to contribute to their own misery; as such, we (i.e. the government) should regulate the market (more than it already does).

He quite capably argues the premises, but is unsuccessful in arguing the conclusion--that some nebulous government intervention will make us happier, better people. While ostensibly a social science book about human nature, Free Market Madness is ultimately a criticism of Libertarianism. While I'm certainly not averse to the notion of government intervention in the market, the potential solutions Ubel offers to combat irrational decision-making are generally given too short shrift. In some ways, I'd have liked to have seen these suggestions earlier in the book, supported in-line with history and research, and not all packed together in the end as a sort of coda. In particular, I think the call for a cultural shift that comes on the third to the last page of the book comes far, far too late--especially given that it's probably the most powerful and likely solution to "free market madness."

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a few books on behavioral economics, but this one is quite different. The style is different, but this is not that important to me. I'm more impressed by two things:

1. He used his expertise well, being trained as a medical doctor and in economics. I learned a lot about the role the market plays in healthcare (I never spent much effort in this area). The author definitely has the right background for the discussion.

2. The author didn't mince word, and was not shy from confronting market extremists, and supported the view that government has a bigger role to play to reduce the ill effect from market extremists (should I call them market fundamentalists?)

I want to quote this from the book to end my comment:

Marketing experts are paid to know how people think, decide, and behave. When Adam Smith envisioned the invisible hand, he could not have foreseen how marketing scientists would manipulate the movement of these hands.

[Marc Resnick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book, especially for anyone who wants an easy to read recap of a ton of behavioral research but written for the average joe and full of hysterical (if they weren't true) stories. If you are already familiar with behavioral economics, you will recognize a lot, but this guy has read it all.

One caveat, he goes a little over the top in his criticism of rationality. So you need to keep a few grains of salt with you. But it's still well worth reading.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

an incredibly effective, carefully written and actively funny survey of the behavioral economics literature with a particularly effective and unconventional approach to how insights from that literature should be applied in the realm of policy.

its just like nudge, only funnier and less afraid to take on the economics establishment in terms of thinking about policy change.

[Jeremy Holtan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does not offer as many solutions as I hoped it would, but presents some compelling arguments about the relationship between the economy and our longevity as human beings. Fascinating, but not necessarily a call to action.

[Theodore Kinni · Rating 2 out of 5]

A polemic: We consumers make irrational choices and harm ourselves, particularly our health, in free markets. Companies utilizing sophisticated marketing skills can make matters worse. Ergo, 'good government should find appropriate ways to protect us from ourselves.'

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this book was pretty good. It was pretty straightforward and did a pretty good job of explaining behavorial economics without sounding too technical.

[Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humans are not rational. This book demonstrates it through examples, and explains what this means for economic policy and human welfare.