Mass Flourishing

Winner of the 2014 Gold Medal in Economics, Axiom Business Book Awards One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2014 One of Bloomberg Businessweek's Best Books of 2014, chosen by chosen by Bjorn Wahlroos One of Financial Times (FT.com) Best Economics Books of 2013 A "Best Business Book of the Year for 2013" selected on LinkedIn by Matthew Bishop, Economics Editor of The Economist "[W]ide-ranging."--Benjamin Friedman, New York Review of Books "The book eloquently discusses the culture of innovation, which can refer to both an entrepreneurial mind-set and the cultural achievements during an age of change... The dismal science becomes a little brighter when Mr. Phelps draws the connections between the economic ferment of the industrial age and the art of Beethoven, Verdi and Rodin."--Edward Glaeser, Wall Street Journal "[I]nquiring readers, not just academics and social scientists, will enjoy the vast learning in Phelps's sophisticated, sometimes sardonic, look at homo economicus."--Publishers Weekly "Phelps, a Nobel laureate in economics, defies categorisation. In this extraordinary book--part history, part economics and part philosophy--he proclaims individual enterprise as the defining characteristic of modernity. But he fears this dynamism is lost. One does not have to agree to recognise that Phelps has addressed some of the big questions about our future."--Martin Wolf, Financial Times "Phelps has written a book that transcends the materialist walls of standard economics... It is a book J.M. Keynes would have admired."--Paul DeRosa, American Interest "[F]ascinating, versatile and profound."--Felix Martin, New Statesman "A great book that will annoy big business and absolutely infuriate the left. I loved it."--Diana Hunter, Financial World "Nobel laureate Edmund Phelps' latest book should be read by those seeking a broader context to the challenges currently facing the global economies. In his wide-ranging and insightful book, Professor Phelps draws on historical trends and cultural shifts to present his hypothesis that a lack of dynamism in modern economies lies at the root of the current malaise... Indeed, this remarkable book addresses the central economic question of why some economies thrive while others languish."--Declan Jordan, London School of Economics Review of Books "Few leading economists ... have tried to develop Marx's contention that there is an ineluctable relationship between human psychology and market participation. This relationship is what Phelps describes as human 'flourishing.'"--Andrew Godley, International Journal of the Economics of Business "Phelps has produced an insightful work that bridges gaps among economics, sociology, and philosophy to identify countries that have the capabilities to prosper and flourish. This book is an essential read for individuals interested in better assessing countries' economies and competitive advantages."--Library Journal "The author ranges extremely widely and any student of any age will gain something from it, irrespective of political views."--Samuel Brittan, Financial Times "Phelps's book deserves credit for showing that the strength of an economy doesn't depend on small differences in the tax rate, or the tactics of a country's central bank. Phelps rightly points out that economic dynamism depends on much deeper issues like a culture's affinity for risk taking and respect for individual achievement. And he wields convincing statistics that suggest actors in our political economy, from our government, to corporations, to workers, have to some extent lost their reverence for these values."--Chris Matthews, Time.com Money & Business "I ... find his values-driven view of national prosperity fascinating--and applicable to corporate and personal prosperity. If innovation and the prosperity it yields stem from the values to which we subscribe as individuals, organizations, and nations, it stands to reason that we should be paying a great deal of attention to the particular values we adopt and espouse."--Theodore Kinni, Strategy-Business.com "[E]xciting."--William Watson, National Post "[W]ide-ranging... Mass Flourishing: How Grassroots Innovation Created Jobs, Challenge and Change, a distillation of years of research and thought about the changes in values and attitudes that once unleashed wide-scale creativity and risk-taking and which are under severe threat today."--Brian Milner, Globe & Mail "The book is wide-ranging and highly eclectic: in just two pages (pp. 280-281) you'll find references to Cervantes, Shakespeare, Hume, Voltaire, Jefferson, Keats, William Earnest Henley, William James, Walt Whitman, Abraham Maslow, Rawls, Nietzsche, and Lady Gaga! ... Anyone interested in the synthesis of free markets and social justice will find this eminent thinker's distinctive version of that synthesis both illuminating and thought-provoking."--Brink Lindsey, Bleeding Heart Libertarians blog "Phelps has given us a clear warning of the dangers of corporatism. I hope that more people hear and heed the warning."--Arnold Kling, Econlog "[I]t wasn't until today that I started looking at Mass Flourishing by Edmund Phelps, about the central role of innovation in modern growth and, more, in the enabling of the good life. Obviously I should have read it last week. It looks right on theme, and it is pleasing to pick up an economics book that has a chapter on Aristotle."--Enlightened Economist "One does not have to agree to recognise that Phelps has addressed some of the big questions about our future."--Financial Times "Mass Flourishing offers a brilliant dissection of the origins, causes, and eventual decline of modern capitalism--an inclusive economy characterized by the complex unfettered interactions among diverse indigenous innovators, entrepreneurs, financiers, and consumers... This book should be accessible to general readers and is especially stimulating for graduate students and those interested in economics, sociology, history, political science, and psychology."--Choice "It applies many important aspects of Virginia political economy, making a contribution to understanding not only the positive, but also the normative implications of the rules of the game."--Rosolino Candela, Public Choice "It challenges many of our prized assumptions about what makes economies succeed."--David P Goldman, Standpoint "This is a recommended read, not only because it was written by Edmund Phelps, the 2006 Nobel Laureate in economics, but for encouraging reflection on fundamental issues related to modern life and the contemporary interpretation of Aristotle's 'the good life'. The author is such an experienced and iconic guide that it makes the journey through the subjects covered in the book an excellent read for anyone."--Jacek Klich, Central Banking Journal "It is a marvelous book that deserves to be read by everyone, but particularly those entrusted with the design of the European future."--Bjorn Wahlroos, Bloomberg Businessweek "Phelps masterfully utilizes aggregate data on cross-comparative national economic productivity and adeptly complements it with international individual employee satisfaction survey results give the reader a rich empirical tapestry that support his theme."--Thomas A. Hemphill, Cato Journal