Value(s): The must-read book on how to fix our politics, economics and values

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While discussing the role of various stakeholders, Carney makes the point that shareholders are not owners in the traditional sense. In its current form, I am not clear about the audience – academics, policy wonks, the general educated public, prospective clients, as a profile enhancer, or all the above?

Throughout history, value theories have been rooted in the socioeconomic circumstances and political economy of their day, adapting to reflect what the society of the time values. Part of the chapter discusses the previous Industrial Revolutions and then goes on to develop the effects of the 4IR (fourth industrial revolution).

If, in addition, it was suggested he would go on to argue that stakeholder capitalism, socially motivated investing and business putting purpose before profit were the best ways to put matters right, I would have considered it a fairy story. Embedding the values of sustainability, solidarity and responsibility into all decision-making is integral to his argument for how we can channel the dynamism of the market to turn intractable problems into enormous opportunities.

He knows you need an active state as well – but his recommendations on that score are less than full-blooded. Why is it that often the things we value the most - from frontline nurses to the natural environment to keeping children well fed and educated - seem of little importance to economic markets? This allowed for fun tendrils throughout linking the the different sections through unexpected and insightful connections.To avoid this weakness requires the involvement of central banks, which leads to the consideration of a third digital option, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC): "Ultimately, it is highly likely that only a publicly accountable institution could fulfil the governance, liquidity and operational requirements for a stable coin to work consistently through time. My example for this would be when the previous Ontario Liberal government implemented an apprenticeship program, many employers were reluctant to take them on as trainees and preferred to hire foreign trained employees. While acknowledging that shareholder primacy is deeply rooted in corporate law, he argues that enlightened shareholder value, which allows for the consideration of other stakeholders, is still a form of shareholder primacy.

The reason I brought this book was the author, the handful of books I have read on economics are largely written by academics and journalists, who are merely observers.

Part One of the book makes the case for the erosion of societal values and their replacement with market values. Does the narrowness of our vision, the poverty of our perspective, mean we undervalue what matters to our collective wellbeing? The book offered a useful array of lessons and takeaways that the Carney has gleaned through his unique and high level professional experiences from these past moments of seismic shift, highlighting the ways that we can use this knowledge to avoid the worsts of future crises. Even for Alan Greenspan, whose hands-off administration led The Great Moderation of supposedly endless stability to the great financial crisis of 2008 (which for some has still not ended), Carney has no critique. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.