share on social media
Fiscal Follies
A Little Fun with Economics (and Economists)
Release Date: 10/01/2024
Categories: Books, Business & Economics, Non-fiction
about Fiscal Follies
The High Priests of the Economics profession are a privileged and highly-compensated group. Their speeches are endlessly analyzed, their every public utterance transcribed and disseminated world-wide.
Yet they’re often wrong. How can this be? How can a profession that sends one of these high priests to Scandinavia each year to receive a Nobel Prize for achievements in “Economic Science” be so error-prone? The answer is quite simple: Economics, and the social and soft sciences more generally, are not science in the same sense that physics and chemistry and engineering are science.
In Fiscal Follies, author Daniel C. Munson pricks the bubble of scientific pretension that surrounds economics and finance and the social sciences generally in a humorous, light-hearted way, and points out precisely why these forms of “science” are so different.
Fiscal Follies details the problems inherent in attempting to study humanity using charts and graphs and math, offering instead the idea that movies, plays, novels, music lyrics, and the simple facts of economic history—without all the polarizing platitudes– can teach economics more effectively. The writing is neither academic nor filled with business jargon, yet it explores many thorny economic issues: social insurance, inflation vs. deflation, socialism, Wall Street pay, gold-backed currency, income tax fairness, energy policy, business school proliferation, etc.
The economic significance of many well-known people is explored in these articles and essays: Babe Ruth, Charles Dickens, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, California governor Jerry Brown, playwright George Bernard Shaw and literary figures Fran Lebowitz and Herman Melville, philosophers Jean Jacques Rousseau and Karl Marx, the Beatles, Mick Jagger, Swedish rock group ABBA, movie characters played by Greta Garbo, Edward G. Robinson, James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, etc.
Light-hearted criticism of economic planning is done to try to have some FUN with this sometimes-pompous subject. Fiscal Follies seeks to appeal to a reading public that may be a little fed up with the economic and political “know-it-alls” who, though often wrong, still dominate policy discussions.
The book concludes with a chance encounter that forces our author to examine a specific moment in American economic and Civil War history that puts some of his ideas to the test.
Editorial Reviews
★★★★★
Financial Book of the Year…This is an incredible series of essays spanning U.S. economic history, questioning the prestige of this “dismal science” and pointing out the flawed thinking that has gotten us to where we are…As an economist, I wasn’t insulted by the criticism—I know this profession is flawed—but it was nice to hear someone explain many of these things…without jargon. I can see this book offending many pretentious people… and I’m here for that.”
–Garrett Baldwin, Senior Editor, Marketwise
★★★★★
In this refreshingly irreverent and brilliantly accessible work, Daniel C. Munson has accomplished something remarkable: he’s made economics not just comprehensible but genuinely entertaining. “Fiscal Follies” stands as a delightful antidote to the often pompous and jargon-filled world of economic discourse, offering readers a cultural lens through which to view complex economic concepts.
What sets this book apart is Munson’s innovative approach to economic storytelling. Rather than drowning readers in graphs and equations, he illuminates economic principles through an eclectic array of cultural touchstones. His ability to draw economic insights from sources as diverse as Babe Ruth’s career and Greta Garbo’s filmography demonstrates both intellectual creativity and narrative skill. The result is an engaging exploration that makes complex economic concepts accessible without oversimplifying them.
Munson’s critique of economics’ scientific pretensions is particularly compelling. Through humor and well-chosen examples, he systematically unpacks why treating economics like physics or chemistry can lead to spectacular failures of prediction and policy. His argument that we might learn more about economics from Charles Dickens than from complex mathematical models is both provocative and persuasive.
The book’s examination of various economic issues—from social insurance to Wall Street compensation—benefits enormously from this cultural approach. By exploring these topics through the lens of literature, film, and music, Munson helps readers understand not just the mechanical aspects of economics but its human dimensions as well. His discussion of how ABBA and the Beatles relate to economic principles is both entertaining and surprisingly illuminating.
Perhaps the book’s greatest achievement is its ability to challenge conventional economic wisdom without descending into cynicism. Munson’s humor serves a serious purpose, helping readers think more critically about economic “expertise” while maintaining an open mind about alternative approaches to understanding economic phenomena.
This is essential reading for anyone who’s ever suspected that economic “science” might be more art than science, or who’s simply grown weary of pretentious economic pronouncements. Munson has created a work that manages to be both intellectually serious and genuinely fun—a rare combination in economic literature.
About This Author
Daniel C. Munson worked for many years as a chemical engineer and has written for national financial magazines such as "Barron's" and "Financial History" for over 20 years. He has also written for technical and regional history journals and is the author of a regional history book.
Other Books
That You'll Love
Related products
Release Date: 01/14/2025
Release Date: 05/26/2020
