Freedom From the Market
America’s Fight to Liberate Itself from the Grip of the Invisible Hand

Time to redefine freedom, again. Konczal offers a brief and concise little treatment of the history of US markets and how they've become the ridiculous behemoth today that is more reminiscent of a fiefdom with serfs than a free market thanks to the disastrous neoliberal zeitgeist and policies of the......more

This book is the best explainer I've seen in telling how neoliberal dogma gained a dominant foothold in American economic and social thinking; and in so doing it provides critical pointers for regaining lost ground in refuting that dogma and making people economically whole. If you've been looking f......more

WARNING: Reading this book will radicalize you in favor of social democracy. Konczal brilliantly makes the arguments I wish I could have over the years in conversations with my dad and other conservatives. There can be no better summation of how over-reliance on “market-based” solutions leaves so ma......more

While depth gets sacrificed for scope, this provides a good overview of how capital in different sectors has been funneled to the wealthy through political manipulation of markets. Particularly interesting commentary on the way that education became an individual responsibility (and therefore potent......more

Freedom from the Market by Mike Konczal is a clearly written but thorough examination of the ways in which capitalism is unable and unwilling to make life better and more equitable for all. Each chapter examines a particular area (land, health, education, etc) and shows how the country has tried from......more