Arguing with Zombies - SFBA Book Club

eBook, 464 pages

English language

Published January 2020 by W.W. Norton.

ISBN:: 978-1-324-00502-5
OCLC Number:: 1137653621
Goodreads:: 50191287

(1 review)

An accessible, compelling introduction to today’s major policy issues from the New York Times columnist, best-selling author, and Nobel prize–winning economist Paul Krugman, now with a new preface.

There is no better guide than Paul Krugman to basic economics, the ideas that animate much of our public policy. Likewise, there is no stronger foe of zombie economics, the misunderstandings that just won’t die. In Arguing with Zombies, Krugman tackles many of these misunderstandings, taking stock of where the United States has come from and where it’s headed in a series of concise, digestible chapters. Drawn mainly from his popular New York Times column, they cover a wide range of issues, organized thematically and framed in the context of a wider debate. Explaining the complexities of health care, housing bubbles, tax reform, Social Security, and so much more with unrivaled clarity and precision, Arguing with Zombies is Krugman at the height …

An accessible, compelling introduction to today’s major policy issues from the New York Times columnist, best-selling author, and Nobel prize–winning economist Paul Krugman, now with a new preface.

There is no better guide than Paul Krugman to basic economics, the ideas that animate much of our public policy. Likewise, there is no stronger foe of zombie economics, the misunderstandings that just won’t die. In Arguing with Zombies, Krugman tackles many of these misunderstandings, taking stock of where the United States has come from and where it’s headed in a series of concise, digestible chapters. Drawn mainly from his popular New York Times column, they cover a wide range of issues, organized thematically and framed in the context of a wider debate. Explaining the complexities of health care, housing bubbles, tax reform, Social Security, and so much more with unrivaled clarity and precision, Arguing with Zombies is Krugman at the height of his powers.

It is an indispensable guide to two decades’ worth of political and economic discourse in the United States and around the globe, and now includes a preface on "Zombies in the Age of COVID-19." With quick, vivid sketches, Krugman turns his readers into intelligent consumers of the daily news and hands them the keys to unlock the concepts behind the greatest economic policy issues of our time. In doing so, he delivers an instant classic that can serve as a reference point for this and future generations.

2 editions

robla reviewed Arguing with Zombies by Paul Krugman

Review of 'Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I loved Krugman's writing ever since I bought the softcover Peddling Prosperity when it was new, and I'm pretty sure I paid full retail price for it. I've subscribed to the New York Times in no small part because Krugman is a columnist there. Mind you, that wasn't the full price digital New York Times subscription. I have to decide if I want to renew once the bargain basement annual rate that I received expires.

But anyway, this "book" is worth an Audible credit if you liked Krugman's columns over the past couple of decades. The articles are not strictly chronological, but organized in sections leading up to the January 2020 publication. Not much about COVID-19 in this book, but Krugman uses what he said 15 years ago to point out that the present day was part of the predictable progression. He's not wrong, but hearing a figurative "see! …

I loved Krugman's writing ever since I bought the softcover Peddling Prosperity when it was new, and I'm pretty sure I paid full retail price for it. I've subscribed to the New York Times in no small part because Krugman is a columnist there. Mind you, that wasn't the full price digital New York Times subscription. I have to decide if I want to renew once the bargain basement annual rate that I received expires.

But anyway, this "book" is worth an Audible credit if you liked Krugman's columns over the past couple of decades. The articles are not strictly chronological, but organized in sections leading up to the January 2020 publication. Not much about COVID-19 in this book, but Krugman uses what he said 15 years ago to point out that the present day was part of the predictable progression. He's not wrong, but hearing a figurative "see! told you so!" from Krugman (via someone else's voice reading his columns on his behalf) just as we were heading into a global pandemic was weird listening.

I'm giving this 5 stars because Krugman is so much better at punditing than almost all of the other pundits out there (e.g. most of the other columnists at the NYTimes). For me, it wasn't the mind-blowing primer in Keynesian economics that I received in Peddling Prosperity, and Krugman does tend to repeat many of his lessons over multiple books. For example, this book has yet another retelling of the Washington DC babysitting co-op, and how that relates to the Keynesian theory of currency supply. But the babysitting co-op story is really powerful, and worthy of multiple retellings. I liked this book because it was a good reminder of why I like Krugman as a pundit.

Subjects

Economic history
Common fallacies
United states, economic conditions, 21st century
Economics
nyt:hardcover-nonfiction=2020-02-16
New York Times bestseller