Morals and Markets: The Dangerous Balance
By Dan Friedman and Daniel McNeill, 2013
The topic of morals and markets has been in great need of an update since the financial crisis struck in 2008, when the first edition of Morals and Markets was published, so the authors have put out a second paperback edition featuring almost 60% new content. In this compelling book, Daniel Friedman and Daniel McNeill reveal the underpinnings of such disasters as the Great Recession and other global crises that arise when morals sabotage markets, or vice versa.
The ethical compass is a poor guide to the market landscape. As Friedman and McNeill demonstrate, our moral sense developed over eons in tribes on the African savanna, yet markets are quite recent development. This book traces the rise of markets from ancient moral straitjackets to the freewheeling semi-morality that led to the 2008 crash. It addresses issues such as the Greek riots, the agony of the eurozone, and the ethics of bailouts, as well as acid rain, the Russian Mafiya, poker, and the rescue of the halibut fishery. As Friedman and McNeill show, we must understand the dangerous balance of morals and markets—or we’re in for debacles again and again.
Morals and Markets was published June 11, 2013 and can be purchased via your favorite online retailer, independent bookstore, or through the publisher Palgrave Macmillan: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, Palgrave.
Mentions in the media
Marketwatch guest editorial June 24