If you tune out when you hear the finance report and you think that economics is technical and confusing, then it’s time to think again because you’re part of the economy and you need to understand it.
That’s the view of Jim Stanford, an economist with the Canadian Auto Workers Union and the author of “Economics for Everyone: A short guide to the economics of capitalism.”
Stanford has written a book to try and help everyday people understand the economy; a book for trade union members, activists, and mums and dads.
His idea is that if working people understand the capitalist economy then they will be more successful in changing it. Economics for Everyone is free of jargon and statistics and it’s easy to read, with short chapters, illustrations and cartoons.
It’s the kind of book that makes you re-examine your own life and your role within the economy.
Those who seek to benefit from the capitalist economy often tell us that “the market” is responsible for job losses and inequality. But Stanford picks apart this ideology, saying that unemployment and recessions are built into the capitalist system.
“Income distribution is determined by power more than the markets,” he writes.
One of Stanford’s key messages is that union membership gives individuals the political power to back up their demands for a fairer system.
“Workers and poor people only get as much from the economy as they are able to demand, fight for and win,” he writes. “There is no reason to believe that the success of capitalists will ever naturally “trickle-down” into improved living standards for the bulk of humanity.”
He says that if we don’t understand the economy, we will believe the lies of people and corporations that want to exercise power over us.
“Never trust an economist with your job,” he writes. “Learn about economics yourself. And make up your own mind about what might protect your job – and what might destroy it”.
Copies of Economics for Everyone are available from the AMWU at $20 for members and $30 for non-members.
Economics-for-Everyone-part1 by AMWUComms
Economics-for-Everyone-part2 by AMWUComms
Economics-for-Everyone-part3 by AMWUComms