About this item
A provocative critique of the pieties and fallacies of our obsession with economic growth We live in a society in which a priesthood of economists, wielding impenetrable mathematical formulas, set the framework for public debate. Ultimately, it is the perceived health of the economy which determines how much we can spend on our schools, highways, and defense; economists decide how much unemployment is acceptable and whether it is right to print money or bail out profligate banks. The backlash we are currently witnessing suggests that people are turning against the experts and their faulty understanding of our lives. Despite decades of steady economic growth, many citizens feel more pessimistic than ever, and are voting for candidates who voice undisguised contempt for the technocratic elite. For too long, economics has relied on a language which fails to resonate with people's actual experience, and we are now living with the consequences. In this powerful, incisive book, David Pilling reveals the hidden biases of economic orthodoxy and explores the alternatives to GDP, from measures of wealth, equality, and sustainability to measures of subjective wellbeing. Authoritative, provocative, and eye-opening, The Growth Delusion offers witty and unexpected insights into how our society can respond to the needs of real people instead of pursuing growth at any cost.
About the Author
David Pilling has reported from at least 50 countries over two decades as a foreign correspondent working for the Financial Times. That probably makes him 50 times more confused than the average person, but it has also made him inquisitive and unafraid of asking dumb questions. Pilling became accustomed to writing about "the economy", "growth" and "GDP" early in his reporting career. But only as he moved around the world from supposedly stagnant Japan to booming China and Brexit Britain did he begin to realise just how deluded the public debate can be about what an economy is and what it is for. He wanted to use an entertaining style, interviews and anecdotes from around the world to write a short book that would shed light on matters we often leave to economists - but really shouldn't. The result is "The Growth Delusion".David Pilling has worked for the Financial Times since 1990 in various writing and editing roles. He was in Latin America (1993-96) ; London (1997-2001) ; and Tokyo (2002-2008) . He was Asia Editor of the FT based in Hong Kong (2008-15) and is now Africa Editor and an Associate Editor of the FT. He has won several awards in the UK and Asia for opinion pieces and feature writing. His first book, "Bending Adversity: Japan and the Art of Survival" (Penguin Press, 2014) received outstanding reviews on both sides of the Atlantic and the Pacific. He is based in London but travels frequently to Africa.
