The 10th anniversary edition of the groundbreaking theory of political economy-updated, expanded, and revised. By historical accounts, there has never been a better time to be alive. More than 25% of all the wealth ever created was produced in the last ten years, extreme poverty was cut in half, and child mortality was reduced by a third among other staggering world statistics. Average Americans live better today than kings two hundred years ago could ever imagine.

But, if life is improving so significantly, why do we still see so much misery in the media? Why do we see incessant quibbling on social networks? Why is it that the average Americans who live better than kings feel like they are just getting by?

Juggernaut is a story about the Western economic tradition, how it was developed, and what brought about its catastrophic demise. Author Eric Robert Morse presents a clear-eyed and captivating journey from the dawn of Free-Market Capitalism during the Age of Exploration through the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution to the rise of Keynesianism and the dominance of the Welfare State.

Drawing from all corners of political, social, and economic study, including specialism and the division of labor, competition and Game Theory, and Statism and Public Choice Theory, Morse weaves together a groundbreaking economic theory, which promises to revolutionize the way you view economics and modern living altogether.

Prefaceix

Author's Notexi

Introduction1

I. Wealth

1. Mundus Novus15

2. The Origin of Wealth35

3. Laissez Faire, Morbleu!54

4. The Abstraction of Wealth75

5. Complexity93

II. Competition

1. The Close of the Economic System .119

2. Interdependency140

3. The Transformation of Wealth161

4. The Zero-Sum Problem179

5. Monopoly198

6. Exploitation224

III. Government

1. The Great Switch245

2. New Feudalism264

3. The Costs of TransferringWealth289

4. In Perpetuum318

5. The Moral Effect of the State336

IV. Autarchy

1. Reassessment367

2. Working Within the System380

3. Fixing the System402

4. Transcending the System425

Compendium457

Source notes469