Discover what sets a fair and just economy apart from the rest
In Un-Civilizing America – How Win-Win Deals Made Us Rich, bestselling author William Bonner delivers an incisive and engrossing account of the American economy, the four simple steps to earning money the honest way, and why many choose the dishonest way instead. He also discusses the shadow groups that influence America behind the scenes and how their power grew so large they lost the need to remain hidden, and what really drives the government’s phony wars―including the War on Drugs and the US-China trade war.
In the book, you’ll learn why the best kinds of economies run on “win-win” deals and how companies and individuals use market-set prices to maximize their utility. You’ll also discover:
- Why the “Sermon on the Mount” was the best economic and social advice ever given
- How civilization developed and the one thing that sets it apart from barbarity
- How “win-lose” deals inevitably force one side or the other to accept the terms of the “agreement”
- Why allowing only one side to profit in an arrangement is a recipe for disaster in the long run
- Why capitalism favors “win-win” deals while socialism prefers the “win-lose” variety
A can’t-miss resource for anyone interested in American or global economics and finance, Un-Civilizing America will also earn a place on the bookshelves of business leaders, entrepreneurs, policy and lawmakers, and regulators.
Author(s): William Bonner
Publisher: Wiley
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 417
City: Hoboken
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 In the Beginning
Arguing with God
Ignoble Savages
Morality Pays
An Introduction to Bad Guy Theory
Grave Misgivings
Chapter 2 On Cooperation and Win-Win
Rules of the Road
Win-Win . . . or Lose
The Winningest Win-Win
Chapter 3 What Civilization Is Not
Violence and Persuasion
The Greatest Killers of All Time
Disarm Governments
Can’t Make Civilization
An Invitation to Claptrap
Train Your Husband
Chapter 4 What Kind of Game Are We Playing?
Tit for Tat in the Trenches
Tax Peter . . . Pay Paul
Ancient Win-Lose
Is Defecting Wrong?
Force Is Not Persuasion
Chapter 5 Win-Win . . . or Lose
The Importance of the Vernacular
A Learning System
No Satisfaction
Eat and Produce
Trust
The Great Leveler
History of Inequality
Stability Leads to Instability
Four Horsemen of Leveling
Adding It Up
Chapter 6 Fake News
Facts and Myths
Private Myths
Large-Scale Myths
Make America Great Again
The Trouble with the Truth
Fake Myths
Mushy Facts
Collusion of the Press
“Well, It’s One, Two, Three . . . What Are We Fightin’ For?”
Fake Truth
Software Outlives Its Useful Life
Leaping to Absurdity
Local Heroes
Numbers Lie Too
Myths in Collision
Equal Pay for Equal Work
Why We Love Fat People
Chapter 7 Win-Lose Money
1971 and All That
Money and the Deep State
Money and Civilization
Fake Money. Real Money. What’s the Difference?
The “Bezzle”
Ex Nihilo Nilil Fit
The Future in the Past
Hayek Was Right
High Finance for Toddlers
Why Stimulus Doesn’t Work
Chapter 8 Government—The Ultimate Win-Loser
Give and Take
Ordered to Shoot
Sh*thole Theory
Back to Charm City
Why Government Doesn’t Work
Chapter 9 The Deep State
Hero of the Surge
The “Pimpocracy”
Bigger and Broader Than You Think
Ten Thousand Commandments
Follow the Money
Everybody’s a Target
Götterdämmerung for Democracy
Chapter 10 De-civilizing America
Professional Wrasslin’
End of History
Hell in a Cell
Folk Tales
Blond Messiah
Us Versus Them
Aftermath
Revolution
Bastille Day
Plague
Inflation
Decline and Fall
War
Hasn’t Anyone Ever Read de Caulincourt?
A Cold Day in Hell
The Mission Economy
Patterns and Cycles
Why Rome Fell
Win-Win Versus Win-Lose
An Afterthought
Notes
About the Author
Index
EULA
