The Canadian Novelist Robertson Davies once wrote that he refused to read any book that tried to explain how the economy worked. Having read in full or in part a number of works on economics, the origin of this sentiment is painfully obvious to me. Unfortunately we are living in a time when ignorance of how the economy works seems likely to have tremendous and highly unpleasant consequences for humanity and for the complex terrestrial biosphere to which were are inextricably joined. In the broadest possible sense economics could be defined as the art of living well, and as such no reason exists for it to be viewed as a ‘dismal science’. Only when the dismal aspect of economics comes to an end will there be a hope that humanity might live intelligently on this earth as an integrated part of the biosphere.

This book represents my attempt think about how the economy works and to propose structural alternatives that will allow it to work in a less destructive manner than it does at present. I do not claim to have discovered a magic formula which will bring about salvation and an earthly paradise, but I hope to contribute to the creation of a new language of economics which will allow a more intelligent discussion of the difficult problems which lie before us.