There is a law that forms one of the most basic concepts in economics. It’s called “the law of diminishing marginal utility”. What it means is that the more you have of something, the less you enjoy getting more of it. Among other things, it explains why even in booming markets, many sellers struggle: no matter how popular the product, there comes a saturation point. There are only so many Vatican-conspiracy-themed mystery thrillers that we can read, and only so many pints of craft beer we can quaff.
And yet, there is one market which seems to consistently defy the law of diminishing marginal utility: the market for books moaning about the evils of neoliberalism and free markets. We are flooded with titles like How Politics Makes Us Sick: Neoliberal Epidemics, Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism's Stealth Revolution, Postcapitalism, Austerity, Breadline Britain, Why We Can't Afford the Rich, and Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain.
Blaming neoliberalism for all of society’s ills might shift copies and provide a neat straw man for left-wingers, but the line of thinking these books are capitalising on is pure nonsense. Thoughts?
And yet, there is one market which seems to consistently defy the law of diminishing marginal utility: the market for books moaning about the evils of neoliberalism and free markets. We are flooded with titles like How Politics Makes Us Sick: Neoliberal Epidemics, Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism's Stealth Revolution, Postcapitalism, Austerity, Breadline Britain, Why We Can't Afford the Rich, and Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain.
Blaming neoliberalism for all of society’s ills might shift copies and provide a neat straw man for left-wingers, but the line of thinking these books are capitalising on is pure nonsense. Thoughts?
