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The Zero-sum Society: Distribution & the Possibilities for Economic Change
Written during a period of acute economic stagnation in 1980, The Zero-Sum Society discusses the human implications of economic problem solving. Interpreting macroeconomics as a zero-sum game, Thurow proposes that the American economy will not solve its most trenchant problems-inflation, slow economic growth, the environment-until the political economy can support, in theory and in practice, the idea that certain members of society will have to bear the brunt of taxation and other government-sponsored economic actions. As relevant today as it was twenty years ago, The Zero-Sum Society offers a classic set of recommendations about the best way to balance government stewardship of the economy and the free-market aspirations of upwardly mobile Americans.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 28, 1966
About the author
Lester Carl Thurow
34 books8 followersLester Carl Thurow (born 1938) is a former dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management and author of numerous bestsellers on economic topics.
Thurow was born in Livingston, Montana. He received his B.A. in political economy from Williams College in 1960, where he was in Theta Delta Chi and Phi Beta Kappa as a junior, and a Tyng Scholar. Thurow was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, and went to Balliol College, Oxford to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics, graduating in 1962 with first class honors. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University in 1964.
Thurow is on the board of directors of Analog Devices, Grupo Casa Autrey, E-Trade, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.. Thurow was also one of the original founders of the Economic Policy Institute in 1986.
Thurow is currently an economics columnist for, among others, the Boston Globe and USA Today. He was previously an economics columnist for and on the editorial board of the New York Times, and was a contributing editor to Newsweek.
Thurow is a longtime advocate of a political and economic system of the Japanese and European type, in which governmental involvement in the direction of the economy is far more extensive than is presently the case in the United States – a model that has come to be known as "Third Way" philosophy.
His best selling book, Head to Head: The Coming Economic Battle Among Japan, Europe and America published in 1993, compares economic growth and living standards among Japan, Europe, and the USA.
His other books include:
Fortune Favors the Bold: What we must do to build a new and lasting global prosperity (2003).
The Future of Capitalism: how today's economic forces shape tomorrow's world (1996).
The Zero-sum Solution: building a world-class American economy (1985).
Dangerous Currents: the state of economics (1983).
The Zero-sum Society: distribution and the possibilities for economic change (1980).
[edit]
Thurow was born in Livingston, Montana. He received his B.A. in political economy from Williams College in 1960, where he was in Theta Delta Chi and Phi Beta Kappa as a junior, and a Tyng Scholar. Thurow was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, and went to Balliol College, Oxford to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics, graduating in 1962 with first class honors. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University in 1964.
Thurow is on the board of directors of Analog Devices, Grupo Casa Autrey, E-Trade, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.. Thurow was also one of the original founders of the Economic Policy Institute in 1986.
Thurow is currently an economics columnist for, among others, the Boston Globe and USA Today. He was previously an economics columnist for and on the editorial board of the New York Times, and was a contributing editor to Newsweek.
Thurow is a longtime advocate of a political and economic system of the Japanese and European type, in which governmental involvement in the direction of the economy is far more extensive than is presently the case in the United States – a model that has come to be known as "Third Way" philosophy.
His best selling book, Head to Head: The Coming Economic Battle Among Japan, Europe and America published in 1993, compares economic growth and living standards among Japan, Europe, and the USA.
His other books include:
Fortune Favors the Bold: What we must do to build a new and lasting global prosperity (2003).
The Future of Capitalism: how today's economic forces shape tomorrow's world (1996).
The Zero-sum Solution: building a world-class American economy (1985).
Dangerous Currents: the state of economics (1983).
The Zero-sum Society: distribution and the possibilities for economic change (1980).
[edit]
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 1, 2020
Argumentario vacío, un estatista empedernido. No aprendes nada más que hacer el estado más grande y la sociedad más pequeña. Desarrollo de la idea y análisis de cómo hemos llegado ha estar lo jodidos que estamos en l actualidad.
March 27, 2021
i read it just to flex and it’s not even a good flex
December 10, 2022
A must read for anyone interested in economics and politics. It's amazing how little progress has not been made in over 40 years.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews