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bechols's review against another edition
3.0
Tyler Cowen is fantastic but this isn’t his best. Read Average is Over instead. This book makes solid arguments but I bet the people that’ll read this book already agree.
The focus is on specific critiques/complaints, but I think it would have been more effective to directly address the underlying assumption/belief that we could somehow keep the same level of wealth and invention but replace the entities that produce it. He alludes to other countries and eras without good governance or active free economies but doesn’t hammer the point - the incredible prosperity we enjoy is an amazing, precarious result of countless people and systems interacting in a historically unique way, and all other approaches haven’t come close.
The focus is on specific critiques/complaints, but I think it would have been more effective to directly address the underlying assumption/belief that we could somehow keep the same level of wealth and invention but replace the entities that produce it. He alludes to other countries and eras without good governance or active free economies but doesn’t hammer the point - the incredible prosperity we enjoy is an amazing, precarious result of countless people and systems interacting in a historically unique way, and all other approaches haven’t come close.
beccabookworm's review against another edition
Was assigned to read this for school during the latter half of the semester and was just so bored that I barely skimmed the second half after reading the first half.
torpidcup's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
I'm moderately libertarian, so many of these ideas aren't a hard sale for me, but I think Cowen does a respectable and tidy job here.
alexherder's review
5.0
The premise of this book is a little absurd: An unabashed defense of corporations. After all, why would the most dominant collective enterprise legal structure need defending? It feels a bit like advocating for a "White History Month" or a defense of Christianity in the US. And in practice, this book does feel like this at times.
But at the same time, I felt like I needed this book. It's too easy to forget that corporations and markets are in fact responsible for the vast majority of the goods and services we use. And, perhaps I am not speaking for everyone here, but I mostly like the goods and services I use. I also happened read this alongside [b:This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate|21913812|This Changes Everything Capitalism vs. The Climate|Naomi Klein|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1418103804l/21913812._SY75_.jpg|41247321], which makes for a depressing juxtaposition but I can't help but think that Cowen is in some ways right. The casual and assumed anti-corporate bias in most of my conversations with friends, family, and in the culture generally is naive. For anyone who seriously disagrees I welcome the conversation because I'm trying to work this out myself.
There is so much that is ignored in the pages of this book. Cowen doesn't do nearly enough to acknowledge or validate many of the criticisms of business, but that's not his mission here. This is not a balanced or comprehensive review of the role of big business. As he says in the subtitle, this is a love letter, and it's one that I really appreciate having read.
But at the same time, I felt like I needed this book. It's too easy to forget that corporations and markets are in fact responsible for the vast majority of the goods and services we use. And, perhaps I am not speaking for everyone here, but I mostly like the goods and services I use. I also happened read this alongside [b:This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate|21913812|This Changes Everything Capitalism vs. The Climate|Naomi Klein|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1418103804l/21913812._SY75_.jpg|41247321], which makes for a depressing juxtaposition but I can't help but think that Cowen is in some ways right. The casual and assumed anti-corporate bias in most of my conversations with friends, family, and in the culture generally is naive. For anyone who seriously disagrees I welcome the conversation because I'm trying to work this out myself.
There is so much that is ignored in the pages of this book. Cowen doesn't do nearly enough to acknowledge or validate many of the criticisms of business, but that's not his mission here. This is not a balanced or comprehensive review of the role of big business. As he says in the subtitle, this is a love letter, and it's one that I really appreciate having read.
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