Author Archives: maggiemax15

 …since the Protestant reformation, a Puritan ethic has virtually sanctified hard work and savings, while deferring gratification and treating pleasure with suspicion. Now, in an age where consumer goods are available in abundance, the challenge may be to see these … Continue reading →

 Although we are infinitely more prosperous now than we were even fifty years ago let alone in Smith’s time are we happier? Economists, such as Tibor Scitovsky, began to express doubts over a quarter of a century ago. In his … Continue reading →

 In modern times the sense of citizenship has played an important role as a crucial backdrop for economics, including for the philosophy of Adam Smith and for the perspective of the founders of the American Republic. The ‘pursuit of happiness’ … Continue reading →

  The hope of Advent is described by the prophets as a dawning of a new age, marked by peace and plenty, by banqueting and feasting, by security and rest. Don’t let the “new age” handle upset you. It is … Continue reading →

  But the first set of obstacles may be not with our structures but with ourselves – our attachment to the ‘normal’, whether old or new. In other words we need to address the things within us that stifle hope … Continue reading →

One of the most basic features of the real economy is water. Water is, quite simply, a matter of life and death, whether it is a case of too little (drought) or too much (flooding). The very first words of … Continue reading →

 Thinking of investing in an ethical fund? If seeking even higher returns is what you are after perhaps we could interest you in a ‘sin portfolio’? A sin portfolio consists, typically, of shares in gambling, tobacco and alcohol, arms and … Continue reading →

When the Israelites returned from exile in Babylon, their Persian liberators and benefactors were seen as God’s agents. Cyrus and Darius had even provided subsidies for the rebuilding of the Temple and the practice of worship. Before long, however, the … Continue reading →

 Markets, governed by the impersonal laws of supply and demand, are the best rule for a sound economy – right? Well, not always. For one thing, it’s not a true reflection of reality. Economic activity also proceeds on the basis … Continue reading →

It has become commonplace to say: ‘A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.’ And in both cases the saying applies. Yet even so, as a McKinsey study has warned, changes taken in response to crises are less likely to … Continue reading →