The Predatory Society: Deception in the American Marketplace

Rating:
Summary: misguided, but informative
Review: "The Predatory Society" is quite entertaining. Blumberg clearly wants to get everyone mad about Capitalism, but he is so silly about doing it that he actually does the reverse. Most of the book centers on the diffuse nature of knowledge in society. Given extreme specialization and the costs of monitoring people that you trade with, there are always opportunities for people to cheat each other. Of course, Blumberg does not quite see things that way. To him, the profit motive makes people corrupt and under socialism people are nice to each other. Bumberg avoids the more dogmatic assertions that simple-minded Marxists make about overthrowing Capitalism, but he is still absurdly naïve about government. To him, advertising, ala Capitalism, has corrupted American Politics (as if American Politics was once pure as the wind-driven snow). Also, in Communist China Socialism breeds a wonderful sense of community- not the repression, mass murder and starvation that it is known for. All we need to do is to elect "progressive" politicians and trust them. Blumberg acknowledges that businesses have some incentive to be honest- to maintain their reputations. But he discounts this factor without providing any real statistical evidence to support this. Blumberg also acknowledges the productive nature of Capitalism, but he fails to acknowledge the extreme waste, fraud, and abuse in the public sector. Blumberg wants us all to patronize consumer cooperatives, but fails to recognize that the same problems with monitoring the operation of these concerns exist with these organizations as well. Workers at coops might not lie to customers as much, but they can slack of, steal, and cheat in other ways. The absence of a profit motive makes these problems worse than under for profit enterprise. Blumberg blames a lot on Capitalism. Recessions and the Depression are all the fault of Capitalism- the Federal Reserve is completely innocent in these matters despite its position in financial markets. Capitalism also alienates us from our true moral selves. The fact of the matter is that Capitalism is imperfect, but so is government. The same informational asymmetries that lead to fraud and waste in markets lead to (arguably greater) fraud and waste in government- at least I see the stores I shop at, who knows what those bureaucrats in DC do with my money. In short, Blumberg is an ideologue. He hates markets and loves government. He harps on market imperfections, some large, others small, a few imaginary, to try to justify the intrusive regulatory/welfare state that he worships. He trivializes government imperfections- that gave us disasters like Tuskegee, Vietnam, WWI, Japanese-American interment camps, Social Security (a Ponzi Scheme like no other) the Philippine-American War, Prohibition (Alcohol then, and MJ now), The Depression (courtesy of the Fed), and our vast array of Pork Barrel spending programs. But, to an ideologue like Blumberg there is no reason to bring up all the little problems with government that have come along through the years- what he needs to do is to demagogue issues of consumer fraud. Fortunately, Blumberg is so brazen in his biases that it is obvious that he is not a serious or thoughtful critic of markets. His book is an interesting and informative read- one that will make many consumers more alert to some of the tricks and gimmicks that await us all in markets. However, his desire for a more civil and communitarian society through big government is absurd. Read his book to hone your shopping skills, but for social theory and philosophy try reading F.A. Hayek, L. Mises, or Ayn Rand.

Rating:
Summary: misguided, but informative
Review: "The Predatory Society" is quite entertaining. Blumberg clearly wants to get everyone mad about Capitalism, but he is so silly about doing it that he actually does the reverse. Most of the book centers on the diffuse nature of knowledge in society. Given extreme specialization and the costs of monitoring people that you trade with, there are always opportunities for people to cheat each other. Of course, Blumberg does not quite see things that way. To him, the profit motive makes people corrupt and under socialism people are nice to each other. Bumberg avoids the more dogmatic assertions that simple-minded Marxists make about overthrowing Capitalism, but he is still absurdly naïve about government. To him, advertising, ala Capitalism, has corrupted American Politics (as if American Politics was once pure as the wind-driven snow). Also, in Communist China Socialism breeds a wonderful sense of community- not the repression, mass murder and starvation that it is known for. All we need to do is to elect "progressive" politicians and trust them. Blumberg acknowledges that businesses have some incentive to be honest- to maintain their reputations. But he discounts this factor without providing any real statistical evidence to support this. Blumberg also acknowledges the productive nature of Capitalism, but he fails to acknowledge the extreme waste, fraud, and abuse in the public sector. Blumberg wants us all to patronize consumer cooperatives, but fails to recognize that the same problems with monitoring the operation of these concerns exist with these organizations as well. Workers at coops might not lie to customers as much, but they can slack of, steal, and cheat in other ways. The absence of a profit motive makes these problems worse than under for profit enterprise. Blumberg blames a lot on Capitalism. Recessions and the Depression are all the fault of Capitalism- the Federal Reserve is completely innocent in these matters despite its position in financial markets. Capitalism also alienates us from our true moral selves. The fact of the matter is that Capitalism is imperfect, but so is government. The same informational asymmetries that lead to fraud and waste in markets lead to (arguably greater) fraud and waste in government- at least I see the stores I shop at, who knows what those bureaucrats in DC do with my money. In short, Blumberg is an ideologue. He hates markets and loves government. He harps on market imperfections, some large, others small, a few imaginary, to try to justify the intrusive regulatory/welfare state that he worships. He trivializes government imperfections- that gave us disasters like Tuskegee, Vietnam, WWI, Japanese-American interment camps, Social Security (a Ponzi Scheme like no other) the Philippine-American War, Prohibition (Alcohol then, and MJ now), The Depression (courtesy of the Fed), and our vast array of Pork Barrel spending programs. But, to an ideologue like Blumberg there is no reason to bring up all the little problems with government that have come along through the years- what he needs to do is to demagogue issues of consumer fraud. Fortunately, Blumberg is so brazen in his biases that it is obvious that he is not a serious or thoughtful critic of markets. His book is an interesting and informative read- one that will make many consumers more alert to some of the tricks and gimmicks that await us all in markets. However, his desire for a more civil and communitarian society through big government is absurd. Read his book to hone your shopping skills, but for social theory and philosophy try reading F.A. Hayek, L. Mises, or Ayn Rand.