this thoughtful polemic... is clear, punchy and... convincing... their breezy, no-nonsense guide is packed with excellent advice - a plea for expertise rather than feeling, for pragmatism rather than ideology and for listening rather than shouting.

Two of the most thoughtful economists writing today ... Collier and Kay are interesting on almost every subject they alight upon.

Written by two of the UK's best economists, the book attacks the solipsistic individualism that permeates modern economics and far too much of modern society. The book's animating idea is that humans are first and foremost social animals. Our successes always depend on co-operation. The authors apply this concept to our economic, social and political institutions, which can, they argue, only be revived by being seen as self-sustaining communities.

Their analysis is pitiless and compelling. This is a fine, incisive polemic.

In a provocative but thought-provoking and nuanced argument, Collier and Kay argue that our culture of hyper-centralisation is choking us.