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A review by gigahurt
Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society by Eric A. Posner, E. Glen Weyl
4.0
I found Radical Markets to be a worthwhile book. It explores how we might decentralize power in key areas of our society where the centralization of power (monopoly) has created problems.
The book is fundamentally egalitarian. If you are interested in how to create a more egalitarian society, then this is a book for you. One major concept I am taking away from this book is that if you are egalitarian, then you should logically be anti-monopoly across most if not all dimensions of life.
I appreciate the structure of the book. Each section started with a fictitious vignette to describe what the world might look like after adopting that section's ideas. From there, it explained the overall concept. Each section also took time to discuss counter arguments.
I will not get into the ideas I liked, because I like a good amount of them, and I might as well not spoil it. However I do want to briefly touch on a few critiques:
The book discusses how we would largely eliminate private property. However, it does not really engage in a philosophical argument around why this is an ethical thing to do.
I am interested in how the COST system would work with perishables. Do I have to pay a tax on an apple I have already eaten? If I don't specify a value, does that mean people can simply take my perishables from me?
The argument that a COST system would increase community and civic engagement is counter-intuitive to me. It seems like you would make people even more economically driven.
I was very disappointed to hear the author patented the quadratic voting method described in the book. Or at least its digital incarnation for measuring opinions. I don't know if they plan to enforce this patent, but I know I am not receiving a social dividend. It also seems very close to patenting math.
How do we determine what to hold a quadratic voting session on?
The VIP system described relies on bringing immigrants in and paying them less than minimum wage. Would they be paid enough to survive in an economy with prices like ours?
While the data labor chapter eventually convinced me why addressing this problem is an important issue, the initial vignette was terrifying.
The idea that computers can plan you proposed at the end of the book would slowly erode diversity of thought. Even if it were technically possible, which it might not be, I don't like the idea.
The book is fundamentally egalitarian. If you are interested in how to create a more egalitarian society, then this is a book for you. One major concept I am taking away from this book is that if you are egalitarian, then you should logically be anti-monopoly across most if not all dimensions of life.
I appreciate the structure of the book. Each section started with a fictitious vignette to describe what the world might look like after adopting that section's ideas. From there, it explained the overall concept. Each section also took time to discuss counter arguments.
I will not get into the ideas I liked, because I like a good amount of them, and I might as well not spoil it. However I do want to briefly touch on a few critiques:
Spoiler
The book discusses how we would largely eliminate private property. However, it does not really engage in a philosophical argument around why this is an ethical thing to do.
I am interested in how the COST system would work with perishables. Do I have to pay a tax on an apple I have already eaten? If I don't specify a value, does that mean people can simply take my perishables from me?
The argument that a COST system would increase community and civic engagement is counter-intuitive to me. It seems like you would make people even more economically driven.
I was very disappointed to hear the author patented the quadratic voting method described in the book. Or at least its digital incarnation for measuring opinions. I don't know if they plan to enforce this patent, but I know I am not receiving a social dividend. It also seems very close to patenting math.
How do we determine what to hold a quadratic voting session on?
The VIP system described relies on bringing immigrants in and paying them less than minimum wage. Would they be paid enough to survive in an economy with prices like ours?
While the data labor chapter eventually convinced me why addressing this problem is an important issue, the initial vignette was terrifying.
The idea that computers can plan you proposed at the end of the book would slowly erode diversity of thought. Even if it were technically possible, which it might not be, I don't like the idea.