Content area
Full Text
1. Background
Jacques Attali is a French economist, a prolific author and top civil servant, who has written more than 50 books and novels. Former adviser to President François Mitterrand and first president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, he founded PlaNet Finance Group, a non-governmental organization whose mission is to enable the poor to access financial services worldwide, to improve their living standards, through microfinance loans. He presided over the Commission for the Liberation of French Economic Growth in 2007. The latter handed its report in January 2008, and made some recommendations aimed at transforming the French economy and society. Attali belongs to the top 100 public intellectuals in the world (Foreign Policy, 2008).
2. A prelude to the book: "Débrouillez-vous"
In a column published on his blog in March 2014 titled "Débrouillez-vous" that translates by "You're on your own", Attali foreshadows Devenir Soi by presenting a few key ideas. Attali exhorts his readers not to expect anything from political leaders by taking a Pascal-like gamble. If we take our destiny in our own hands, but political action fails (the most likely scenario), we will have lost nothing. If it does succeed, our personal success will have been nicely complemented by collective action (though unlikely). Rather than being unemployed and waiting for a hypothetical job offer, Attali advises us to set up our own business with available funds; rather than staying in a tedious job, let us invent new ways to do it in a more creative and agreeable way. If our boss annoys us, let us find one or several ways to circumvent his authority and neutralize him. If we are an entrepreneur, it is vain to expect a hypothetical tax break before investing into a new project. Let us see the world as it is, and go ahead. If that implies some kind of relocation strategy abroad, let us not hesitate. This leads Attali to redefine altruism as the propensity to help our loved ones and close friends, by helping them to be daring. This step may extend beyond close kinship. The weakest members of society, who cannot be self-reliant, must be targeted in priority. Local associations and community service, thus, emerge as paramount.
3. Book structure, objective and methodological...