#Social sciences, education, and ecology : Political and social sciences
#Socioeconomics and law

HOW ECONOMICS BECAME THE PROBLEM

An urgent call to legal actions

Koen Byttebier

Synopsis

The legal systems shaping capitalist societies worldwide contribute to a variety of fundamental societal problems, such as an ever-mounting public and private debt, environmental pollution, an increasing polarization between the rich and the poor, and an overall, globally unjust fiscal and financial order. These issues remain unaddressed by the capitalist system itself. However, the main legal building blocks of the capitalist socio-economic system are remarkably simple, the most important being money and the way it is created; the company form, and the (neo)liberal state organization aimed at making markets as free as possible in the sole interest of the entrepreneurial sector. In How economics became the problem: An urgent call to legal action expert in economic and financial law Koen Byttebier provides a critical analysis of capitalist society and gives insights in how to deploy legal tools differently, to the benefit of our societies and communities.

Table of contents

Specifications

Title

HOW ECONOMICS BECAME THE PROBLEM

Author(s)

Koen Byttebier

ISBN

9789461171276

Publication date

23-05-2021

Language

English

Socioeconomics and law

A new way of socio-economic thinking is much-needed. Societal organization based upon the prevailing global neoliberalist ideology, basically thrives on values such as egoism, selfishness, and greed. Among its most visible effects are poverty, racism and climate change. Fighting these symptoms based upon the logic of neoliberalism itself has to a large extent proven to be ineffective. What is needed is a democratic system that favours values such as altruism and solidarity. Socioeconomics & Law provides a forum for academic activism and invites scholars to take a critical stand towards the many injustices caused by the prevailing socio-economic system(s) and to look for alternatives and solutions.
#Socioeconomics and law

Koen Byttebier

Koen Byttebier is professor in economic and financial law (VUB) and the promotor of the VUB Fund for Research about the values of the socioeconomic order. He has authored numerous journal articles and books. His most recent publications focus on the underlying ethics of the socio-economic order, e.g. Towards a New International Monetary Order, The Unfree Market and the Law, and The Tools of Law that Shape Capitalism.

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