StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Predator State by James Galbraith - Book Report/Review Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Predator State by James Galbraith " states that the market requires robust reforms that include proper planning with clear policies that are aimed at ensuring that the market remains what it is meant to be while having the government take the lead in governance…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.7% of users find it useful
Predator State by James Galbraith
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Predator State by James Galbraith"

? CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE BOOK: PREDATOR BY JAMES GALBRAITH Introduction Understanding how the economy works is one of the most interesting things one would love to know. The dynamics behind the operations of an economy are wide and controversial in some sense. James Galbraith tried to bring into understanding how the markets work and why the markets need some regulation (Galbraith, 2008 p. 6). The book talks about talks about the market regulation by the government so that the institutions can work in harmony to bring about sanity in the society. He further talks of the state being able to be in charge of the economy as a way of dealing with the issues of inequalities in the society. The gap between the rich and the poor he argues can only be cured by the intervention by the government. His main arguments are that there should be tax cuts for individuals. This he explains would ensure more savings and spur economic growth. He further argues that market forces have been allowed to rule and the unions that fight for market regulation have been assaulted. He claims that the government has been twisted and cannot deal with the rogue markets. He is of the opinion that there needs to be a tight regulation of the monetary system. Galbraith says this would stop the inflation that in turn brings a mess into the economy. He proposes that there should be a system of planning to help in planning for the future. Further, the government should regulate the amount of wages payable to an individual. Lastly he argues that the United States a global leader should help bring sanity to the world economies. His thesis is that markets should not be left on their own but regulated for the sake of fairness and objectivity. While I agree with some of the findings, I do not subscribe to some of his agendas. Markets cannot be subjected to regulation by the state. Markets best work when the market forces are allowed to dictate the operations that happen in the market. When the government takes part in the regulation process, profits may reduce and people may lose jobs, as production would be declined. Reason being that a government is all about politics and politicians only act to appease the egos of their constituents. This may not be viable for an economy because the government might introduce a system for example regulating the prices of commodities. This would be done without taking into consideration the input in terms of resources invested to produce the goods. This would make the companies run into losses, thus grounding to a halt. This would also affect competition that would in turn lead to undervalued goods in the market (Epstein, Allen, and Wood, 2008 p. 6). Galbraith does not give a clear argument for free trade and appears vague in trying to compound on the point. He is of the view that airlines and telecommunication industries need external markets to meet their expectations. These kinds of industries cannot meet their targets if they were to depend on the domestic markets. Nevertheless he argues that there is a danger in a very open system of trade. On this he does not give any proposal on what is the best that can better free trade. The government cannot provide all the essential social facilities. The private sector plays a huge role in complimenting the government’s work. Galbraith argues that liberals seek market solutions for social problems. In other words he is opposed to other institutions providing the services. He is about the idea that liberals should seek employers nod to seek universal coverage. He totally disregards the private insurance firms but favors the single payer system. The notion that conservatists are for the idea that health care should be privatized is a fallacy. The government controls a big portion of the health care system and by thinking that the private sector can take over the system would only lead to a collapse. The private sectors are only there to compliment. His argument for free markets and the central planning in my opinion does not hold water. Why? The United States is a mixed economy and this has become to be so over the years. The government has a role to play same to the private entities. He is of the opinion that the markets should work in harmony with the government. He feels that that kind of a system is the best. He further was also explicit about this kind of a system where the government and the markets worked in in harmony. This cannot however be the case at the moment because of the different dynamics that have characterized the world today. Galbraith completely disregards the markets failing to understand that the market is the best provider of goods and services and calls for the liberals to throw the markets in the trash. This is a huge misunderstanding on the operations of the markets. The arguments that the government should be naming the prices of commodities while the unions determine the wages is an outright misconception falling short of the effects of globalization. Conclusion One thing about this book that I agree with is that markets should check but it should only be to protect consumers against unscrupulous traders. The ideas of the regulation of markets and the entities that need to work together were a new phenomenon that I learned in this book. I was amazed to find out that such a system existed before in the United States where the government and various institutions worked in harmony to achieve some equality. The political economy of the United States changed when Reagan came to power with far reaching reforms. Tax cuts, strict monitoring of the currency and market regulation were some of the measures initiated by Reagan. This however changed with the coming in of George Bush. The systems put in place by the Reagan administration did not work and thus Bush wanted to do something differently. This changed completely the political economy of the United States. The market forces have been left to dictate the operations of the market while the government has less influence on the governments (Przeworski, 2003 p. 20). The economy today cannot be said to be a free market economy. There are a lot of combinations that make the economy a mixture of entities. There are public and private factors that characterize the economy. Education, health and many other things from the bulk of what brings about the combination. The market should not be subjected to a lot of pressure with an aim of cutting it into a size. The market requires robust reforms that include proper planning with clear policies that are aimed at ensuring that the market remains what it is meant to be while having the government takes the lead in governance. List of References: Epstein, Richard Allen, and Geoffrey Wood. 2008. Free markets under siege: cartels, politics, and social welfare. Stanford, Calif: Hoover Institution Press. Galbraith, James. 2008. The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too. University of Texas. Press. Przeworski, Adam. 2003. States and markets: a primer in political economy. Cambridge [u.a.]: Cambridge Univ. Press. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Critical Review of James Galbraith, The predator state: how Book Report/”, n.d.)
Critical Review of James Galbraith, The predator state: how Book Report/. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1495657-critical-review-of-james-galbraith-the-predator
(Critical Review of James Galbraith, The Predator State: How Book Report/)
Critical Review of James Galbraith, The Predator State: How Book Report/. https://studentshare.org/history/1495657-critical-review-of-james-galbraith-the-predator.
“Critical Review of James Galbraith, The Predator State: How Book Report/”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1495657-critical-review-of-james-galbraith-the-predator.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Predator State by James Galbraith

Predatory Pricing as a Business Strategy

Individuals in favour of predatory pricing state that pricing is an integral part of a company's unique selling proposition and hence freedom must be given to ensure a fair balance in the market.... The dislodgement of competitors from the market gives a monopolistic power to the predator that is against the rules of the competition and ultimately leads to an unhealthy market situation....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Analysis of The Great Crash by John Kenneth Galbraith

The paper "Analysis of The Great Crash by John Kenneth galbraith" highlights that strategies outlined by galbraith to limit the eventuality of a future economic crash are varied and provide lessons for the future to ensure that a crisis like the Crash of 1929 never occurs again.... The Great Crash, 1929 is incredibly timely in light of the current global economic meltdown and although galbraith provided strategic economic aims to ensure that an event like the Great Depression never occurs again, it is obvious that his forewarnings more than half a century ago have gone unheeded....
4 Pages (1000 words) Book Report/Review

The Connection between Drugs and Youth Crime

The essay "The Connection between Drugs and Youth Crime" focuses on the critical analysis of the discussion in the sociological context of why drugs lead to youth crime.... It attempted to do this by first, defining drug abuse, then talking about the reasons why people succumb to this vice.... ... ...
16 Pages (4000 words) Essay

Sexual Predator Prosecution

This report states that a person is considered a sexual predator if they participate in the "crime of a sexual predator" or after October 1, 1993, or after the repetition of a sex predator after a previous crime of a similar magnitude.... he Florida Sexual predator Act requires every person designated as a sexual predator.... The Florida Sexual predator Act requires every person designated as a sexual predator to register as a sexual predator after serving a sentence....
3 Pages (750 words) Assignment

Sex Predator - Societal Protection vs. Constitutional Rights

The state has the role of detaining the offender and give treatment until the individual is cured of the illness as explained by Bartol & Bartol (2012).... The supreme court of the United States holds the Kansa's sexual predator law, which requires the state prove mental abnormality as a before detainment of the offender.... The writer of the essay "Sex predator - Societal Protection vs.... In communities, a predator may refer to somebody who seeks dominance or submission in an exploitative manner....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Otaku in Japan and America

This report takes a look at the rise of Otaku culture in Japan and America and its significance on the society.... The author states that Nowadays the culture of Otaku is widely accepted by youth who have a specific set of attitudes and are engaged in specific activities.... .... ... ... Otaku subcultures as it has been conceptualized in Japan should be able to exist anywhere in the world....
11 Pages (2750 words) Term Paper

Interactions between Predators and Prey

This paper 'Interactions between Predators and Prey' examined the effect of growth on the population of mice when there are no predators and in the environment where there are predators.... The process of natural selection outlines the way organisms survive within an ecosystem.... ... .... ... ... The dynamics of a population are highly influenced by abiotic and biotic factors within the ecosystem....
5 Pages (1250 words) Lab Report

The End of Normal James K Galbraith

galbraith's proposition that institutions and policies going forward be designed modestly in order to guarantee a good life under difficult times is hard to adopt given the dynamic nature of the world economy that calls for varied strategies to steer.... galbraith primarily focuses on three main things.... According to galbraith, 'normal' stability concept precluded mainstream economists from projecting radical instabilities of financial arrangements....
4 Pages (1000 words) Book Report/Review
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us