The Cost of Capitalism: Understanding Market Mayhem and Stabilizing Our Economic Future

A humanities gal all my life, I knew little about economics nor did I fully comprehend the nature of the current economic crisis until I read Robert J. Barbera's The Cost of Capitalism. Not only a book that gains the understanding of "beginners" like myself, The Cost of Capitalism speaks to academics and finance experts alike. Mr. Barbera's analysis, in my opinion, is pragmatic, accounting for human nature and its consequences in the context of the financial system. Additionally, he introduces his readers to a Mr. Hyman Minsky and how his theories directly relate to what the world is experiencing now. The confluence of logic and formal knowledge and work experience in the industry is Mr. Barbera's greatest strength. He captures the attention and curiosity of people like myself and dares to question and hold accountable our current system and its players. Most of all, he plants the seeds for a new capitalist mentality that accounts for the optimist in all of us and the reality of the market. If you're interesting in a reader-friendly, funny book that gives you economics in a way you can understand and talk about over the dinner table, I absolutely recommend this book.

The Cost of Capitalism: Understanding Market Mayhem and Stabilizing our Economic FutureBob Barbera has created a must read for anyone who wants to put the current economic decline into a broader context. The book is an easy enjoyable read, but it is densely packed with facts and explanations that shed light on the current crisis. Fred Fraenkel

Loved this book! For an entertainment guy who knows more about the Rolling Stones and Scorsese than Keynes and Minsky, I weighed into this with trepidation. I shouldn't have - and that is the beauty of the book. It is interesting and relevant and irreverent even when dealing with classically reverent topics. I quoted the book several times in the last few weeks and recommended it as well. Explains in a simple and entertaining fashion the historic and current debates of our capitalist economy ups and downs. Well done and congrats!!

Wouldn't you love to read a concise, entertaining explanation of the recent financial melt-down? Robert J. Barbera has written just such a book, an economic seminar that everyone will "get." Finance usually comes across as Dull (that's dull with a capital D), but The Cost of Capitalism is not boring. For example, Barbera uses hypothetical home-buying twins, Hanna and Hal, to explain why the mortgage bubble burst after a relatively small drop in property values and how the resulting pop disabled the banking industry--the case of "a small set back delivering cataclysmic consequences." Barbera believes that capitalism is the best economic system (no surprise there, he makes his living analyzing capitalism). He is also a disciple of Hyman Minsky. If you don't know who Minsky is, that's fine, because the book does a masterful job of placing Minsky in today's context, which lays the groundwork for a major theme of The Cost of Capitalism: Central financial planners must admit that players in the free market (from Main Street to Wall Street) make decisions based more on human nature than rational theory. The resulting behavior leads to booms and busts. The busts require government intervention--the cost of capitalism. The book uses historical analysis to focus on cause-and-effect relationships that have somehow been missed by the Federal Reserve. Barbera writes, "From 1945 to 1985 there was no recession caused by the instability of investment prompted by financial speculation--and since 1985 there has been no recession that has not been caused by these factors." Yet, as Barbera shows, the Fed behaved as if inflation were the economy's only enemy. He argues persuasively that American capitalism needs "a new paradigm," one that recognizes the wisdom of Minsky and extracts our proverbial head from the sand. The Cost of Capitalism is full of instructive charts and graphs, which simplify complex ideas as well as providing welcome visual breaks between analytical prose. My only complaint (any reviewer worth his/her salt has to have at least one) is that the notes and abbreviations with the graphs could have been better defined. (R.O. Palmer is the author of three novels, including his newest release, "Darress Theatre.")

I'm a babe in the woods when it comes to economics, so I fall into the "inquiring reader" category. Barbera's conversational tone and amusing anecdotes make confusing concepts accessible. He reveals his foibles (some of them hilarious) which put me at ease and actually made the book entertaining. That being said, there is plenty in here for readers who consider themselves well versed on the topics discussed. Barbera presents unconventional ways of looking at and digging out of our present financial crisis. Clearly, the old models need to be reconsidered. After reading this book, I feel more confident discussing the number one topic of our time. Highly recommended!