The Value Of Nothing - Hardcover

Patel, Raj

3.77

1,698 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1554686229 ISBN 13: 9781554686223

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2009

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As retirement funds shrink, savings disappear and houses are foreclosed on, now is a good time to ask a question for which every human civilization has had an answer: why do things cost what they do? The Value of Nothing tracks down the reasons through history, philosophy, neuroscience and sociology, showing why prices are always at odds with the true value of the things that matter most to us.
Damien Hirst’s diamond-encrusted skull sold for a record $100 million at auction. But if we account for the possibility that blood diamonds were used (as many suspect), the human cost is even greater. A Big Mac might seem like the best deal in these economic times, but after analyzing the energy to produce each burger, from field to Happy Meal, Patel argues the real price tag is a whopping $200. But it is easiest to see the gap between price and value by looking at things that are so-called free. Examining everything from Google to TV, from love to thoughts, The Value of Nothing reveals the hidden social consequences of our global culture of “freedom.”

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About the Author:

RAJ PATEL was educated at Oxford, the London School of E conomics and Cornell University. He is currently a fellow at the Institute for Food and Development Policy in Oakland, California, a visiting researcher at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and a visiting scholar at the Center for African Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. He has worked for the World Bank, interned at the WTO, consulted for the UN and been involved in international campaigns against his former employers. This is his first book. Visit Raj Patel at www.rajpatel.org.

Review:

“This is Raj Patel’s great gift: he makes even the most radical ideas seem not only reasonable, but inevitable. A brilliant book.” (Naomi Klein, author of No Logo, The Shock Doctrine, This Changes Everything, and No Is Not Enough)

With epic scope, The Value of Nothing poses a spirited exploration. . . . [A] challenging and important book.” (The Globe and Mail)

“Through a shrewd and absorbing discussion, Patel exposes the flaws in the model of the world in which people are . . . prepared to override their own better judgment in service of their selfish natures.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review))

“As we confront the crisis in the worldview of orthodox economics, Raj Patel offers us a whole new way to think about price and value. Bracingly written and full of surprises, The Value of Nothing is itself invaluable, showing us a path out of the darkness of the economic woods.” (Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food and The Omnivore’s Dilemma)

“Patel (Stuffed and Starved) aims to shake readers out of complacent acceptance of the free-market economy, which has recently gone awry, with devastating consequences.” (Kirkus)

“The Value of Nothing, is not high on either governments or 21st-century capitalism. He makes a compelling case that matters have gotten so out of whack that, rather than staying the economic course that landed us on the rocks, we need to closely reevaluate doing business as usual.” (Christian Science Monitor)

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