Ever stop to think about all the costs of everything that you do? Consider that cup of coffee you got at the drive-through this morning. What did that coffee REALLY cost, from the cost of producing the dollar you spent on it to the cost of the gas you used to drive there to get it to the cost of the gas the WORKER used to drive there to get it to the electricity used to run the machine to make the coffee...
You get my point, right? That kind of thinking is the subject of "The Value Of Nothing," a thought-provoking great new book from Raj Patel.
Patel expands on Oscar Wilde's famous quote that "nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing," He takes that thought and runs with it, showing the hidden costs in everyday objects -- like how a hamburger ACTUALLY costs as much as $200. From there, Patel goes on to question why we have markets at all, and whether they serve the purpose we think they do. Patel makes a convincing case for the idea that the various crises we've endured are a result of the market and our no-longer-working democractic process.
Patel doesn't just criticize, but offers a way to rethink the economic model we're using by rethinking the political model, focusing on who gets to make the economic choices we face everyday.
The Value of Nothing" is already being called "A deeply though-provoking book about the dramatic changes we must make to save the planet from financial madness." (That's from Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine), and it promises to change the way you look at the world. And for a limited time, you can win a copy by clicking that link and entering the promotional sweepstakes -- they're giving away 50 free copies of the book.
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