23 Things they don't tell you about Capitalism

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2010

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Introduction Summary

Writing in 2010, Ha-Joon Chang describes the devastating, widespread effects of the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression. He attributes the crisis to the dominance of certain free-market ideologies from the 1980s onward in the US and elsewhere. Chang suggests that these policies slowed economic growth throughout the world while fostering inequality and instability. He explains that his purpose is to deconstruct some of the most common myths of free-market ideology while inviting “active economic citizenship” (xvi). Rather than focusing on the technical details of economic theories, Chang intends to invite others to think critically about received wisdom and longstanding assumptions about free-market policies while looking for a better way forward.

Introduction Analysis

In his Introduction, Chang specifies that he intends the book to address a general adult audience (as opposed to specialists) and outlines his rhetorical purpose, which is to encourage critical thinking about free-market ideologies. To that end, the author does not necessarily support or develop each of his points in the same level of detail that he might in preparing an academic paper. Instead, he simply aims to cast doubt on some of the central tenets of free-market economics.