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23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism, Ha-Joon Chang, Penguin, 2010, 304 pages, RRP £9.99, ISBN 978-0-141-04797-3
This book appears to be the 'new black'. In 2008 every student applying for an Economics-related undergraduate degree typed 'I have read the Undercover Economist' somewhere in their UCAS personal statement. I have found that now in 2013, the new 'must have' quotation is 'I have read 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism'. Many of my Oxbridge students this year, including prospective Economists, Land Economists and Economics and Management applicants, as well as the Geographers, are reading this text. I can see why it's the new economics buzz book. It provides some truly fascinating insights into the mistakes of free-market economies. Chang uses student-friendly language throughout, explaining how many of our current economic problems are, in one way or another, directly related to capitalist policies.
Ha-Joon Chang sets out 23 chapters, each one with an original title as a 'thing' worth considering. This is a clever style of writing, where the audience can pick and choose what and where they read according to their topic or subject-specific interests. This is of particular use to economics teachers who are trying to...