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Unjust Deserts: How the Rich Are Taking Our Common Inheritance and Why We Should Take It Back | 
 enlarge | Authors: Gar Alperovitz, Lew Daly
Publisher: New Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $12.45
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Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 54662
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 230
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 1
ISBN: 1595584021
Dewey Decimal Number: 339.220973
EAN: 9781595584021
ASIN: 1595584021
Publication Date: October 17, 2008
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Condition: 1. 1st Edition, NEW, UNOPENED, "PERFECT/MINT CONDITION" (e-shipment notification, free tracking with all orders, # available, 100% guarantee/return/refund, enjoy your book and thank you for your business.)(check our inventory on Amazon, combine orders and save on shipping)
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If you're a progressive, you need to read this book December 12, 2008
Mondragon (Cleveland, OH)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Why? Because "Unjust Deserts" is one of the few serious political works that is asking the truly deep, systemic questions about American capitalism. What is the source of our growing wealth inequality? And what is the political case for the redistribution of wealth in 21st century America? Alperovitz and Daly argue that up to 90% of private earnings derive not from the conservative mythos of individual ingenuity, effort and investment - but from the unjust appropriation of our collective inheritance: namely, the scientific and technological knowledge that has built up over millennia. Before you dismiss this as just too radical a thesis for this day and age, consider the words of Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest men in the world: "society is responsible for a very significant percentage of what I've earned." Really? Then doesn't society deserve a very significant share of what he has received? Or, as author Barbara Ehrenreich has put it: "Our celebrated entrepreneurs and moneymen are hoisting a cherry to the top of an already existing sundae - and then laying claim to the entire ice cream parlor." One can only hope that this extraordinary book lands on the desks of some of President Obama's financial advisors.
A major rethinking of economic justice December 10, 2008
firstlightlover
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I agree with the endorsement of William Galston that "you will see the world differently after you have read this book." Unjust Deserts turns the whole debate about growing inequality and "socialistic" taxation on its head by demonstrating that, in contrast to the highly individualistic way we think about and talk about economic differences, the creation of wealth in today's economy is highly socialized and only a small fraction of what we "earn" and "own," likely less than 15 percent, comes from conventional economic activities such as labor effort and employer investment. Most of it comes from productivity gains generated by accumulating knowledge, a collective asset. In a clear and logical way, they further explain what this means for how we think about distribution and inequality. Marshaling the Bible, Adam Smith, Thomas Paine, John Stuart Mill and even the young Winston Churchill to their intellectual cause, the authors argue that, in an advanced economy like ours, a much larger share of income and wealth, particularly at the top, is morally accessible to serve the needs of society--a startling turnaround of the rhetoric and reality of the last thirty years.
Cause and Resolution of the US Economic Grief December 8, 2008
William L. Fell (Atlanta)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Arrival timing of this super-illuminating expose of the US economic problems,and their solution, could not have been better. Wealth concentration increases, especially since Ronald Reagan's tax cuts for the wealthy, have brutally damaged the US. College tuitions have soared, middle class income has stagnated, jobs no longer exist, principles in financial dealings have been eliminated, the poor no longer hope,and injustice is the rule for these days.
Wealth disparity between the upper two percent and the remaining population has never been greater. A US nation of masters and serfs is at hand unless wealth concentration is drastically reduced. Outrageous amounts of monetary payments from executive compensation, capital gains, estate inheritance, and other sources to the already super rich have thrown any semblance of economic rationale out the window.
In this book Gar Alperovitz and Lew Daly clearly explain why monetary distribution is so lopsided and hubris rules. They explain the injustice of wealth distribution and how it can be eliminated to get the US back on an even keel so all citizens have a shot at a decent life. Surprises abound in this book and make for exciting reading. If you have always been bored by economics, that will not happen here. Every page contains a new revelation and is understandable.
This book is part of the spearhead for economic change in the US. It will not disappoint those who seek to renew this country and its promise.
If you weren't angry before... November 22, 2008
Decentralize (Tampa, FL)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
You will be angry after reading this book. Alperovitz and Daly create a convincing argument that is difficult to deny. Exhaustively researched and yet so readable, the premise is that, "all of this knowledge-the overwhelming source of all modern wealth-comes to us today through no effort of our own." So if most of what we have today is attributable to advances we inherit in common, why is this gift of our collective history not benefiting all members of society. The top 1% of US Households receives more income than the bottom 120 million. Do they deserve it? Does a CEO of a major corporation deserve compensation 431 times that of an average worker? This book could not be timelier given the current state of the economy. If you weren't already angry at the unjust income distribution in this country and the fact that such a small percentage of Americans basically wallow in wealth while the rest of cant make ends meet, you will be very angry after reading this book. This is a readable, not just for economists, guide to getting back what is rightfully ours. This book doesn't just lay out the cold hard facts but also gives solutions. I am more convinced than ever, that not only are we getting shafted, but we can also now fight back. I highly recommend Unjust Deserts to anyone who is sick and tired of economic injustice and is ready for solutions.
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