The Pound and the Fury: Why Anger and Confusion Reign in an Economy Paralysed by Myth

Description

What's wrong with the UK economy? Everyone has an opinion. But no one has an answer. Why? For decades the UK economy has failed ordinary people. A small minority make obscene profits, while the rest are plagued by stagnant wages, underemployment, and the rising cost of basic goods like healthcare, education and housing. Meanwhile, we hurtle headlong towards an environmental emergency. There is no shortage of anger and anti-elite sentiment expressed in 'the culture wars.' But no challenge to our current economic model has broken into the mainstream. The pound and the fury argues that behind this failure of imagination are a set of myths about how the economy works. Myths that stifle debate and block change. This book analyses the origins of these myths. It asks how they might be dispelled at a time when, away from the public gaze, economic theory is opening up new possibilities of economic action. Possibilities that, as we emerge from the chaos of COVID-19, could lead to the radical structural changes we desperately need. A gripping and brilliant examination of the lies and misconceptions that keep the UK in a state of furious paralysis, Jack Mosse's passionate debut forces us to cut through the noise and look for real solutions.

Jack Mosse works in London as a dyslexia tutor for adult learners. He holds a PhD from the Media and Communication department at Goldsmiths University and has further degrees in Philosophy and Social Anthropology. The pound and the fury is his first book. -- .

'A brilliant expose of how our financial system continues to operate largely unquestioned based on a blueprint for confusing and exploiting people.' Danny Dorling, author of Slowdown: The End of the Great Acceleration - and Why It's Good for the Planet, the Economy, and Our Lives 'Read this book if you want to understand the discriminative and unfair power relations behind the economy and why the public are deliberately blinded by myth and disinformation.' Oliver James, author of Affluenza: How to be successful and stay sane 'A must read for anyone interested in the economy and economic policy as we face up to the huge challenges of rising inequality, financial instability and environmental breakdown.' Josh Ryan-Collins, Head of Finance and Macroeconomics at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose and co-author of Where Does Money Come From? 'A brilliantly engaging exploration of the self-serving mythologies that sustain our economy in the face of its growing dysfunctions and inequalities. We can't afford not to read it.' Aeron Davis, author of Reckless opportunists: Elites at the end of the Establishment -- .