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Justice Is an Option: A Democratic Theory of Finance for the Twenty-First Century
More than ten years after the worst crisis since the Great Depression, the financial sector is thriving. But something is deeply wrong. Taxpayers bore the burden of bailing out “too big to fail” banks, but got nothing in return. Inequality has soared, and a populist backlash against elites has shaken the foundations of our political order. Meanwhile, financial capitalism seems more entrenched than ever. What is the left to do?
Justice Is an Option uses those problems—and the framework of finance that created them—to reimagine historical justice. Robert Meister returns to the spirit of Marx to diagnose our current age of finance. Instead of closing our eyes to the political and economic realities of our era, we need to grapple with them head-on. Meister does just that, asking whether the very tools of finance that have created our vastly unequal world could instead be made to serve justice and equality. Meister here formulates nothing less than a democratic financial theory for the twenty-first century—one that is equally conversant in political philosophy, Marxism, and contemporary politics. Justice Is an Option is a radical, invigorating first page of a new—and sorely needed—leftist playbook.
Justice Is an Option uses those problems—and the framework of finance that created them—to reimagine historical justice. Robert Meister returns to the spirit of Marx to diagnose our current age of finance. Instead of closing our eyes to the political and economic realities of our era, we need to grapple with them head-on. Meister does just that, asking whether the very tools of finance that have created our vastly unequal world could instead be made to serve justice and equality. Meister here formulates nothing less than a democratic financial theory for the twenty-first century—one that is equally conversant in political philosophy, Marxism, and contemporary politics. Justice Is an Option is a radical, invigorating first page of a new—and sorely needed—leftist playbook.
- GenresEconomics
304 pages, Hardcover
Published April 19, 2021
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109 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 2, 2022
Lacks clear articulation of who would take the other side of the trade and while reading this and becoming more and more frustrated by this the author punts and says in a footnote that this is best left to be answered in another book.
Footnote 47, Chapter 7 - By extending this framework, we could usefully describe what I have been calling the cumulative effects of past injustice as misappropriation of a negative social impact put. The deep difficulty with taking this next step is whether the value would continue to increase if the effect of buying such a put is to reduce negative social impact by redistributing wealth. If this is certain to be so, why would an investor buy it for a price at which it would be worthwhile for the seller to sell? And what follows for the future of inequality— and possibly for its past— if the lasting effects of settling an historical injustice can never be certain? An answer to this question could be the topic of another book.
Also the reliance on crypto to possible facilitate this is absurd. Unfortunate as there are moments of brilliance in his framing. The ability to finance social well being through the collection of what is essentially a liquidity guarantee by the Federal Reserve should be pursued.
Footnote 47, Chapter 7 - By extending this framework, we could usefully describe what I have been calling the cumulative effects of past injustice as misappropriation of a negative social impact put. The deep difficulty with taking this next step is whether the value would continue to increase if the effect of buying such a put is to reduce negative social impact by redistributing wealth. If this is certain to be so, why would an investor buy it for a price at which it would be worthwhile for the seller to sell? And what follows for the future of inequality— and possibly for its past— if the lasting effects of settling an historical injustice can never be certain? An answer to this question could be the topic of another book.
Also the reliance on crypto to possible facilitate this is absurd. Unfortunate as there are moments of brilliance in his framing. The ability to finance social well being through the collection of what is essentially a liquidity guarantee by the Federal Reserve should be pursued.
October 30, 2023
Really good analysis of finance capital, but I'm not convinced that "leftist cryptocurrency" is the real answer we're seeking
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews