Bibliograph

Who cooked Adam Smith's dinner?, a story about women and economics, Katrine Marçal ; translated from the Swedish by Saskia Vogel

Type

Label

Who cooked Adam Smith's dinner?, a story about women and economics, Katrine Marçal ; translated from the Swedish by Saskia Vogel

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-227) and index

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Who cooked Adam Smith's dinner?

Nature of contents

bibliography

Responsibility statement

Katrine Marçal ; translated from the Swedish by Saskia Vogel

Sub title

a story about women and economics

Summary

"How do you get your dinner? That is the basic question of economics. It might seem easy, but it is actually very complicated. When Adam Smith proclaimed that all our actions were motivated by self-interest and the world turned because of financial gain he laid the foundations for 'economic man'. Selfish and cynical, 'economic man' has dominated our thinking ever since, the ugly rational heart of modern day capitalism. But every night Adam Smith's mother served him his dinner, not out of self-interest, but out of love. Even today, the unpaid work of mothering, caring, cleaning and cooking is not part of our economic models. All over the world, there are economists who believe that if women are paid less, then that's because their labour is worth less. In this engaging, popular look at the mess we're in, Katrine Kielos charts the myth of 'economic man', from its origins at Adam Smith's dinner table to its adaptation by the Chicago School and finally its disastrous role in the 2008 Global Financial Crisis"--Publisher's description

Target audience

adult

Contributor