Author: George A. Akerlof File Type: pdf The global financial crisis has made it painfully clear that powerful psychological forces are imperiling the wealth of nations today. From blind faith in ever-rising housing prices to plummeting confidence in capital markets, animal spirits are driving financial events worldwide. In this book, acclaimed economists George Akerlof and Robert Shiller challenge the economic wisdom that got us into this mess, and put forward a bold new vision that will transform economics and restore prosperity. Akerlof and Shiller reassert the necessity of an active government role in economic policymaking by recovering the idea of animal spirits, a term John Maynard Keynes used to describe the gloom and despondence that led to the Great Depression and the changing psychology that accompanied recovery. Like Keynes, Akerlof and Shiller know that managing these animal spirits requires the steady hand of government--simply allowing markets to work wont do it. In rebuilding the case for a more robust, behaviorally informed Keynesianism, they detail the most pervasive effects of animal spirits in contemporary economic life--such as confidence, fear, bad faith, corruption, a concern for fairness, and the stories we tell ourselves about our economic fortunes--and show how Reaganomics, Thatcherism, and the rational expectations revolution failed to account for them. Animal Spirits offers a road map for reversing the financial misfortunes besetting us today. Read it and learn how leaders can channel animal spirits--the powerful forces of human psychology that are afoot in the world economy today. In a new preface, they describe why our economic troubles may linger for some time--unless we are prepared to take further, decisive action. **

Author: Greg Jobin-Leeds File Type: pdf Same-sex marriage, #BlackLivesMatter, the DREAM Act, the Peoples Climate March, End the New Jim Crow, Occupy Wall Street, the fight for a $15 minimum wagethese are just a few of the remarkable movements that have blossomed in the past decade, a most fertile and productive era of activism. Now, in a visually rich and deeply inspiring book, the leaders and activists of these and other movements distill their wisdom, sharing lessons of what makesand what hinderstransformative social change. Longtime social activist Greg Jobin-Leeds joins forces with AgitArte, a collective of artists and organizers, to capture the stories, philosophy, tactics, and art of todays leading social change movements. When We Fight, We Win! weaves together interviews with todays most successful activists and artists from across the country and beyondincluding Patrisse Cullors-Brignac, Bill McKibben, Clayton Thomas-Muller, Karen Lewis, Favianna Rodriguez, Rea Carey, and Gaby Pacheco, among otherswith narrative recountings of strategies and campaigns alongside full-color photos. It includes a foreword by Rinku Sen and an afterword by Antonia Darder. When We Fight, We Win! will give a whole generation of readers the chance to celebrate and benefit from a remarkable decade of activisma decade that shows just how ripe these times are for social transformation. **ReviewPraise for When We Fight, We Win! [A] remarkable new bookOne of the things that makes this book so unusual is the stunning artwork throughout. Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! Bernie Sanders admirable run for the white house isnt the only hope for real progressive change in Americaa fascinating new book. Thom Hartmann, The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann In When We Fight, We Win, activists and anyone new to the social movements of the early 21st century will find first-person insights and a primer on the history of these movements, from the 1960s to 2015...The text is clear and to the point, infused with the passionate and practical voices of many creative effective individuals working toward common goals. Shelf Awareness When We Fight, We Win! portrays vividly, and creatively, how alone we may seem small, but together we can become a powerful force to make a better world. A timely and impressive work. Noam Chomsky, MIT professor of linguistics, emeritus Greg Jobin-Leeds and AgitArte shine a sparkling, movement-savvy light on the thinkers and doers who should be on TV but (almost) never are. A guide to making change that will leave you smarter, inspired, and more ready than ever to fight and win. Bravo. Laura Flanders, GRITtv With words and graphics, this book not only captures the good spirits, inclusiveness, and smarts of contemporary movements but also taps the deep wisdom about the necessity of defiant struggle that the movements of today have inherited from the past. Read this book and take heart! Frances Fox Piven, distinguished professor of political science, CUNY Graduate Center As protests and demonstrations sprout across the land, young organizers and activists need to know why and how movements are sustained and how they grow. That resource has arrived. Its a slim volume, chock-full of artwork, entitled When We Fight, We Win!. . . . It discusses victories and losses, high points and depths, lessons learned, and missed opportunities. The core of its message is that social movements really matter, and when they are smart, adaptive, determined, and focused, they can win against tremendous odds. For such movements change minds, they transform consciousness, and they build social power that their opponents cannot resist. They echo, in action, the words of one of the greatest black leaders in American history, Frederick Douglass, who said, Without struggle, there is no progress. Mumia Abu-Jamal, author and activist When We Fight, We Win! is a love note to activists who are working hard to transform themselves and the world around them. Read for inspiration, direction, and celebration of the good work were advancing in hard times. Adrienne Maree Brown, co-editor of Octavias Brood Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements About the AuthorGreg Jobin-Leeds is co-chair of the Schott Foundation for Public Education. He has helped launch many high-impact social change organizations and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Deymirie Hernandez, Jose Jorge Diaz, and Jose Primo Hernandez are members of AgitArte, an artist and organizing collective that facilitates projects of cultural solidarity with workers and marginalized communities that is based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Boston, Massachusetts.