The World's Best Book Summaries
How has American agriculture changed in the last century? What is the effect of industrial farming on U.S. farmers, and what does fast food have to do with it? American agriculture has changed drastically since the invention of fast food. The industry has exercised incredible influence on agriculture and agribusiness, mostly to the detriment of the country and to animals. Read more about American agriculture and the fast food industry below.
What was the 2009 auto bailout? Who benefited from it and why did it happen? The 2008 financial crisis his the auto industry particularly hard. Chrysler and General Motors were struggling and needed assistance, which became known as the 2009 auto bailout. Read more about the 2009 auto bailout and what the government did.
What’s a cap and trade system? How was a cap and trade system implemented during the Obama administration? The cap and trade system was implemented by the Obama administration in an effort to cut back on carbon emissions. If companies went over a certain amount of emissions (caps), they were taxed. If they were under, they earned credits. Read more about the cap and trade system for environmental protections.
What is the Dodd Frank law? What did President Obama have to do with the passage of the law? The Dodd Frank law is an act that promised consumer protections. It was one of the largest economic protection bills to become law during Obama’s term. Read more about the Dodd Frank law and what it did for the economy and politics.
Who came up with the “attention economy” term? Do you think human attention can be considered an economic resource? The term “attention economy” was coined by psychologist, economist, and Herbert A. Simon. The term is used to describe a business model in which advertisers pay publishers or platforms for access to people’s time and attention. Keep reading to learn about the rise of the attention economy and some strategies that can help you resist its pull.
What is Yuval Noah Harari’s take on religion? How is his definition different from the conventional understanding of religion? According to Yuval Noah Harari, religion doesn’t have to revolve around theology or the divine. Rather, religion is defined as an all-encompassing story that creates ethics and laws within a human structure. Keep reading to learn about religion, as conceptualized by Yuval Noah Harari.
What is Gross Domestic Happiness? How is it measured and what can be done to improve the GDH index? Gross Domestic Happiness is a measure of the overall well-being and life satisfaction of a population. The GDH is measured by collecting ratings of non-economic indicators of well-being (e.g. health, psychological well-being, living standards, etc). Keep reading to learn about Gross Domestic Happiness and how to improve it.
What is meant by an economic religion? Do you think capitalism can be considered a religion? According to Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli public intellectual and a historian, we are living in the era of the economic religion of free-market capitalism. Although we don’t explicitly call capitalism a religion, it informs many of our ethical judgments as much as (if not more than) traditional religions do. Keep reading to learn about the concept of economic religion.
Are there any negative effects of economic growth? Do you think the positives of economic growth outweigh the negatives? Economic growth is heralded as the solution to most problems, from national crises to personal issues, but it’s not without its perils. There are two negative effects of economic growth: resource depletion and ecological collapse. Keep reading to understand the negative effects of economic growth.
Is there such a thing as too many options? How does having too much choice hold us back? How can we learn to commit to one option? When you have too many options available to you, you become distracted and miss out on disappearing opportunities. There are three ways to stop wasting time on options and commit: narrow your options, consider your losses, and recognize your disappearing options. Continue reading for tips on how to choose when you have too many options.