If the tectonic economic events of the last few months have shown us anything it’s that many of the core assumptions embedded in the prevailing neoclassical economic doctrine that drives much of Washington’s thinking on economic policy are no longer valid. Moreover, recent theoretical and empirical work has called into question the core tenents of the neo-classical doctrine that markets are stable, are driven by rational actors responding solely to price signals, and require little role for government in driving growth. In this article in The Democracy Journal Rob Atkinson reviews two new books that present important critiques to neo-classical economics: The Gridlock Economy: How Too Much Ownership Wreck Markets, Stops Innovation and Costs Lives by Michael Heller and The Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity and the Radical Remaking of Economics by Eric Beinhocker.
