John Cassidy's "How Markets Fail"

This is the best book I've read about the economic crisis of 2008. The book is divided into three secions:

• Several chapters on economic theory and how "utopian" economists (one's who believe that an invisible hand gives the best result and needs no regulation) took control of academia, politics, and business. I've read several books that review economic thought. Cassidy's book is as good as any of them in covering ideas. I like the fact that he is more pointed in making clear how wrong these ideas were. He makes it very clear that this is lovely theory, wonderful math, but based on assumptions that have nothing to do with the real world.


• Several chapters review the real economics that govern our world. He looks at things like behavioural economics and the kinds of cognitive failures that lead us into trouble. His fundamental point is build around the Prisoner's Dilemma that underlies "rational irrationality" (the fact that sometimes what is good for an individual is disasterous for a society).


• The final chapters walk you thought the financial crisis that culminated in 2008. It is a good presentation of the history. It doesn't pull its punches. It names names.

This is an excellent book to read to understand what we just went though. And more importantly: how nobody is fixing the problem so we are condemned to go through it yet again until we can get politicians in place to change the rules to get the fanatical "free enterprise is perfect" ideology out of academia, politics, and business.