The Failure of Free-Market Economics

Martin Feil (illus. John Spooner)

“…a fascinating look at the foibles of unfettered capitalism.”

Brisbane News

“There is something deliciously subversive about the prospect of reading a book by an insider who has become an apostate. The thrill factor is accentuated when the ideas traversed in the book are of national importance…Written in a lucid style that explains concepts cogently, Feil documents the damage inflicted in recent decades on the national fabric by an economic and social philosophy based on unfettered market forces…Many will find his critique of the present state of affairs unpalatable and eschew the panacea he offers. But none will doubt the importance of this book and boldness of his vision…The ideas discussed in this book are central to an understanding of Australian politics, and their importance will intensify in the years to come.”

Weekend Australian

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“Feil and Spooner are angry men, and rightly so. They have seen through the shibboleths of freemarket economics and the self-serving hypocrites who defend and promote it. This book is essential reading for everyone who cares about the future of Australia.”

The Age

The basic concept behind free-market economics is simple and seductive: the government should not attempt to pick winners by granting assistance to specific industries, and it should only intervene in the marketplace when there has been a substantial market failure. The only trouble with this theory — as the global economic disaster has shown — is that it is based on ideology, not evidence, and it can’t withstand contact with reality.

For decades, Australia has been an enthusiastic adopter of the free-market approach. The consequences — such as mass privatisations, tariff reforms, and flexible wages and conditions — have been lauded by the booming financial sector and the political class. Unnoticed in the hubbub, though, has been the annihilation of the manufacturing sector — which has resulted in 20 years of monthly current-account deficits and a foreign debt approaching $650 billion — and an economy dominated by footloose capital and tax-averse multinationals.

Despite propaganda to the contrary, employment in Australia is now increasingly characterised by low-paid and insecure jobs in service, logistics, and retail industries.

The Failure of Free-Market Economics explains how the triumph of a fundamentally flawed economic orthodoxy has weakened the Australian economy and now threatens our future. It also offers a range of practical reforms that the author argues are essential and urgent. This is a unique perspective from a highly qualified expert who started his career inside the free-market establishment and has ended up as a ‘true unbeliever’ in its ideas.

“…a fascinating look at the foibles of unfettered capitalism.”

Brisbane News

Weekend Australian

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Details

Format:Paperback

Size: 9.21in × 6.02in

Extent:288pp

ISBN (13):9781921215544

RRP:$17.95

Pub date:28 Mar 2010

High-res cover:Download Image

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AUTHOR

Martin Feil

Martin Feil was born in 1947 in Sydney. While attending university for 13 years (10 years part-time) on a scholarship, he got his first job in the Customs department, and then became the Tarriff Board’s youngest project director at the age of 26.He was eventually responsible for 11 major industry inquiries, before striking out on his own and working as an industry-policy consultant for the next 30 years. During that time he also owned trucks, warehouses, customs bonds-stores and container yards, and worked for the Australian Taxation Office as one of the few Australian independent experts on transfer pricing and profit repatriation by multinationals. He has been chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants’ customs committee, and the institute’s representative on the tax office’s transfer-pricing subcommittee.Feil has written many op-ed pieces over the years for The Age, accompanied by illustrations by John Spooner, warning of the dangers of free-trade ideology. He is also the author of The Failure of Free-Market Economics (Scribe, 2010).

ILLUSTRATOR

John Spooner

John Spooner is a multiple Walkley Award-winning artist, formerly at The Age and the Fairfax group. In 2002 he won the Graham Perkin award as the Australian Journalist of the Year. He currently works as a freelancer in Melbourne.