Vladislav Tolstov, creator and chief author of the blog «Tolstov Reader», shared his reviews of books published by Gaidar Institute Press with “TOP Tver.” In his selection, he presented reviews of five new books that explore important contemporary challenges, from the discord between the state, the market, and society to the phenomenon of technological monopolies and hidden misogyny.
«This book, written by a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, won the 2010 award for best business book in the United States. Raghuram Rajan offers an unusual perspective on the social and economic processes taking place in the world today. He looks at a society that has three fundamental pillars: the state, markets (business), and society itself. In recent years, the balance between these “pillars” has been clearly disrupted. Economists are figuring out the relationship between the state and business, ignoring social problems and the public agenda. And this is extremely dangerous, Rajan argues. Because the economy in the modern world is more of a socio-economy, which must “tie” economic theories to everyday social practice. Political power and the economic community tend to neglect the needs and demands of the population, and the author cites numerous examples of this. As a result, we may arrive at a new balance, a new alignment of forces, in which the interests of the people will be subordinated to the considerations of state power and big business. Rajan proposes rethinking the relationship between the market and civil society and advocates a return to strengthening and expanding the rights and opportunities of local communities as an antidote to the growing sense of hopelessness.».
to the book«What is misogyny? The word is often used, but few understand its meaning. Misogyny is hatred of women. As a conscious feeling, it is not so common, but as an anomaly of the social norm, when a woman's status, her opinion, her position in society are ubiquitous. And Kate Mann, an American researcher, claims that her book is the first book on misogyny as a social phenomenon. In fact, misogyny is present in our lives in various forms. There are, for example, jokes about blondes. There are perceptions of women as less capable employees for high-level positions. There is sexism. There are philosophical works from different eras describing the “right place” for women in the home and in society. Kate Mann is a well-known American scholar and moral philosopher who studies issues of public morality. In her book, she says that misogyny should not be understood as overt aggression towards women. It is much more complicated than that. Misogyny is the desire to control, suppress, and punish women in everyday life, in the family, and in the workplace for certain “wrong” actions. Of course, it is not women themselves who determine which actions are considered wrong. Mann examines the problem of misogyny through descriptions of, for example, the trials of serial rapists. And even through the 2016 election, where candidate Hillary Clinton was heavily harassed—which was also a manifestation of collective misogyny. An insightful book, it was interesting to read.».
to the book«Every day, people use the products of one technological monopoly or another—when they turn on their computers, go online, call a taxi, or buy beer for dinner. We are talking specifically about large technological monopolies that have grown so influential that they are capable of affecting not only individuals, but also shaping their own scenarios for the development of society as a whole. American researcher and economist Herbert Hovenkamp has long studied the phenomenon of technological monopolies and how states and society oppose them. High-tech companies themselves are and will remain an important factor in our lives for a long time to come, the author argues. He offers a realistic view of the possibilities and limitations of antitrust law in technology markets, providing a comprehensive and understandable assessment. One of the principles often declared today is that antitrust policy should protect the competitive process. As a slogan, it sounds appealing and raises few objections. However, the problem is that the term “competitive process” has no clear meaning. In other words, in order to counter monopolists, it is necessary, among other things, to change economic theory, to spell out more clearly in legislation what competition actually is, and whether “tech giants” are capable of following its rules. This book will be useful for anyone who wants to understand how antitrust legislation works and whether it can help protect competition in an era dominated by tech giants.».
to the book«Another economic bestseller, which comes to us just four years after its first Western publication. Moreover, in the preface, the scientific editor writes that this is perhaps the book about the Chinese economy that many would like to read. Because there is a lot of talk about China and the successes of the Chinese economy, but how did it all happen? Lan Xiaohuan has written a very atypical Chinese book on economics. It contains very few references to party congress decisions and quotes from keynote speeches by senior leaders. The conceptual framework is not Marxism-Leninism and its official development in the form of socialism with Chinese characteristics, but macro- and microeconomic analysis based on a well-compiled collection of facts about Chinese state administration. This is classic non-fiction regional studies: the author's task is to explain the reasons for what is happening now, rather than to put forward new generalizing theories and concepts. The book contains a truly enormous amount of unique material – from the series “we would like the same”. For example, here is one fact: regional leaders in the PRC have the authority to help promising companies—not only through traditional means such as co-financing or bank guarantees, but also in the following way: "Imagine that a factory for the production of electric cars is being built in the region. This requires a special industry license. It is not easy to obtain one; it requires interaction with a number of central agencies, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, etc. Local authorities have the necessary “connections” in the central government and better understand bureaucratic processes, so they help investors and take on this part of the work." The book is full of such surprising discoveries. I recommend it.».
to the book«Christopher Tozzi, one of the leading experts on the history of digital technology and author of a book about Microsoft, argues that free and open-source software is as important an invention for humanity as fire, the wheel, or agriculture. This is because only open code makes it possible to escape the dominance of corporations (such as Microsoft) and freely develop software, which is a manifestation of one of the most important freedoms—the freedom to disseminate information. It is this freedom that has made our world as convenient as possible, because information, as Tozzi writes, is unconditional public property, an important asset that allows us to obtain knowledge for free and as accessible as possible. In his book, Tozzi talks not only about the phenomenon of the “new digital revolution,” which was the invention of open source code, but also about who is involved in these processes—cyber anarchists, hackers, lawyers, and users. When you turn on your computer or swipe your finger across your smartphone screen, you probably have no idea what complex public debates are raging around the technologies used in them.».
to the book