bibliography
glossary
foreword
1/ WHY?
I argue that the economics they teach in schools is a flawed science, consisting of a sophisticated superstructure of mathematical method founded on questionable premises that were established by guesswork. I cite some of the fallacies, and explain how they distort our view of the world.
Why
2/ THE NUMBERS GAME
Conventional economics assumes that everything can be measured by numbers, and that the numbers measure real value. That's a fallacy because if you count only the numbers a hurricane, earthquake or other natural disaster can increase our Gross Domestic Product by as much as the discovery of a new oil well. Many things that increase our GDP actually decrease our wealth, and most official figures tell us nothing about the state of our economy.
The numbers game
3/ MIDAS' MISTAKE
Many people believe that jewelry, precious metals and even paper money have real value. In fact they only represent value, and their worth depends on the existence of the real value that they represent. In fact, money can be and often is created in the absence of real value.
Midas' mistake
4/ THE PREDATORS AMONG US
Our economic system developed with producers and predators operating in tandem and it now includes more predators and parasites than producers. Some modern predators serve useful functions, but we can understand the economy only if we remember that much of our economic activity does not actually produce anything useful.
The predators among us
5/ ARISTOTLE'S AUTHORITY
Our view of the world is shaped by our schooling, and that schooling gives us a distorted perspective. Since the days of Aristotle schools have served the needs of priests and rulers, but in many cases they have not served the needs of society or of their students.
Aristotle's authority
6/ WASHING BRAINS
Propaganda is big business in the modern world, and many of the people who live by it pretend that they are not in business at all. "Charities" and "non profit" businesses now make up a significant proportion of the Canadian economy, but some of them produce more benefits for the people who run them than for the people they pretend to help. I cite figures from a parliamentarian's report on charities and "non profit" businesses. I also look at the feminist movement's effect on our economy.
Washing brains
7/ NATIONAL AND COLONIAL ECONOMICS
Europeans colonized Canada to provide raw materials and markets for the European mother countries, and for years it was actually against the law for Canadians to establish businesses that might compete with the mother countries. We are now supposed to be independent but much of the Canadian economy is still dominated by the colonial attitude that our place is to provide components, raw materials and markets for manufacturers in other countries.
National and colonial economics
8/ A NEW CONFEDERATION
Canada was confederated for England's benefit, not for Canadians', and it served the needs of 19th century England very well. I argue that we need a new confederation, planned for the needs of Canadians in the 21st century. I believe that Quebec nationalists who want their own independent country should be allowed to separate, but that Quebec can be broken up too and that any parts of Quebec that want to remain in Canada must be allowed to stay.
A new confederation
9/ RICARDO'S RATIONALE
The global market has been very good for members of first and third-world elites, but a disaster for the environment and for humanity as a whole. I explore the origins of globalism, and it's effects on the world. I also look at the global disaster we call the tourist industry, and at the effects of the global market and global migration on the third world.
Ricardo's rationale
10/ PLAGUES, PESTS AND CATASTROPHES
The global market and global travel are spreading pests and disease around the world and, in the long run, they may destroy us. Here I explore the effects of globalism, and note some of the dangers.
Plagues, pests and catastrophes
11/ THE TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS
If we all worked for the general good the world would work well but most of us think we can gain more by greed than by cooperation. This is an old problem, but if we can solve it we will all be better off.
The tragedy of the commons
12/ WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
I argue the need for new banking laws, a new education system, effective environmental protection and re-organization of our national union to meet the needs of Canadians in the coming century.
Where do we go from here?
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