Author:David Marquand
'One of Britain's leading political thinkers' John Gray
The follies and failures of bankers, regulators and governments have loomed large in public debate over the past five years. In this passionate and hard-hitting book, David Marquand digs deeper. At the heart of our predicament, he argues, lies a profound crisis of our moral economy, our public culture and our democracy. The empire of money has grown remorselessly for three decades, narrowing the space for a common life without which democratic institutions are empty shells. Increasingly, worth is equated with wealth and greed is thought to be good. Inequality has soared as a narrow elite of the super-rich has raced away from the rest of us. Humiliation at the bottom of the pile is matched by callous indifference at the top. The better angels of our nature survive, but they have taken a heavy hit. We are sleepwalking towards a seedy barbarism.
The long struggle to master markets and curb property rights in the public interest - a struggle waged by leaders of all the main political families of our history, whether conservative, liberal and socialist or social-democratic - has gone into reverse. The language of the public interest is rarely heard; the notion that the common good should take precedence over individual appetites has virtually disappeared from political discussion. Public trust, essential for properly functioning markets as well as for democratic rule, has plummeted. The fetish of 'free choice' has mutated into an unsought communal fate.
Marquand's message is plain: we cannot go on as we are. He sets out the framework of a new public philosophy, based on the values of stewardship, democratic dialogue, civic engagement and freedom from humiliation, to spring the trap into which we have stumbled.
DAVID MARQUAND is one of the leading left of centre political philosophers in the UK. He is a former Labour Member of Parliament and Chief Advisor in the Secretariat General of the European Commission, and from 1996 to 2002 was Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford. His many books include Ramsay MacDonald, The Unprincipled Society: New Demands and Old Politics, The Progressive Dilemma: From Lloyd George to Blair, Decline of the Public: The Hollowing-out of Citizenship, Britain Since 1918: The Strange Career of British Democracy and The End of the West: The Once and Future Europe. He is a Fellow of both the British Academy and the Learned Society of Wales. In 2001 he received the Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize for a lifetime contribution to Political Studies.
PRAISE FOR PREVIOUS BOOKS
'David Marquand is a unique, perhaps irreplaceable, figure in British life. He has in his time played many parts: leader writer, Labour MP, Eurocrat, Oxford don. But his starring role has been as public intellectual, a civilising rhetorician of a type more common in France or the US ... Our outstanding centre-left theorist' Kenneth O. Morgan, Independent
'An engaging and stylish political thinker, who moves adventurously across academic frontiers and straddles the worlds of scholarship and politics' Prospect
'An extremely pithy and witty writer' Dominic Sandbrook, Telegraph
Much more than a demolition job. These chapters are full of constructive proposals - a glimpse of what the "rescues" would have looked like had the troika, perish the thought, hired their critic Stiglitz to design them
—— Martin Sandbu , Financial TimesStiglitz is one of those economists with a rare ability to help readers understand complex ideas. He writes with pace and passion ... There is much rich analysis and some bold ideas in The Euro.
—— Philip Aldrick , The TimesA cogent and urgent argument of compelling interest to economists and policymakers
—— KirkusCoolly analytical ... on the essentials, he is surely right. Without a radical overhaul of its workings, the euro seems all but certain to fail
—— Economistsupremely gripping ... a thrilling tour de force of reporting, revelation and reasoning ... unmissable
—— Iain Martin, bestselling author of MAKING IT HAPPEN: FRED GOODWIN, RBS AND THE MEN WHO BLEW UP THE BRITISH ECONOMYAn incredibly entertaining, globe-straddling inside account of how one trader turbocharged a greedy cabal that scammed savers and borrowers everywhere. A must read if you want to understand how big banks and traders really work
—— Marcus Brauchli, former Executive Editor of the Washington Post and Managing Editor of the Wall Street JournalEqually entertaining and illuminating … Enrich’s brilliant depiction … owes to deep reporting, deft writing, and a nuanced approach that characterizes the entire book… First-rate.
—— John Helyar, bestselling author of BARBARIANS AT THE GATEhow did a socially awkward English math whiz mastermind manipulation of lending rates on a global scale? And was Tom Hayes truly the mastermind, or just a cog in a corrupt banking system? In David Enrich’s gripping tale, the characters have nicknames worthy of the Mafia, and their ethical compasses aren't much better
—— Paul Ingrassia, Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author of CRASH COURSEgripping and disturbing ... It reads like a thriller and has some hilarious moments, whilst raising important questions about the nature of our financial and judicial systems
—— Ian Fraser, journalist and author of SHREDDED: INSIDE RBS, THE BANK THAT BROKE BRITAINDavid Enrich is a masterful story teller ... Michael Lewis has a new rival
—— Sheila Bair, former chair of the FDIC and president of Washington CollegeAn absorbing read that provides both a meticulous dissection of an immense scandal as well as a fascinating human story
—— Bethany McLean, bestselling author of THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM: THE AMAZING RISE AND SCANDALOUS FALL OF ENRONFor years, David Enrich has chased down the inside story of one the biggest financial frauds in history and was even threatened with jail by a British court if he printed what he knew. Now, in his blockbuster book The Spider Network, all of the secrets come spilling out…With an unerring eye for detail, Enrich shows in this masterful work how a toxic stew of greed, arrogance and a lust for power led to a criminal scheme of unparalleled dimensions. It should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand the dirty underbelly of the financial world.
—— Kurt Eichenwald, Pulitzer Prize winning author of THE INFORMANTThis dwarfs by orders of magnitude any financial scams in the history of markets.
—— Andrew Lo, Professor of Finance at MITIn the hands of journalist David Enrich, the true tale of former UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes becomes a page-turning crime drama that engages – and educates – readers from beginning to end.
—— The Charlotte ObserverA gripping narrative ... impressive reporting and writing chops are on full display ... reads like a fast-paced John le Carré thriller, and never lets up
—— New York Times book reviewa feat of reporting, and much of it reads like a novel
—— Leigh Gallagher , Washington Posta remarkable read
—— John Arlidge , Sunday Timesjaw-dropping
—— Financial Timesa gripping financial thriller
—— Daily MailWell worth the read. I couldn’t put it down
—— Investing.com A potent book... an incisive social critique that slices through financial jargon and gobbledygook to accurately map the all-too-common corruption in America’s hedge funds that are sucking up billions and billions that used to be invested for the growth and benefit of society as a whole in building infrastructure, expanding existing and new businesses and creating jobs
An utterly absorbing look at how Cohen pushed his traders to the limit—that “black edge”—and how he mostly insulated himself from the potential ramifications. This fast-paced, true-life thriller will leave readers enraptured—and troubled
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