cover image The Economics of Chaos

The Economics of Chaos

Eliot Janeway. Dutton Books, $22.5 (402pp) ISBN 978-0-525-24711-1

In this blueprint for reform, economist and financial newsletter pundit Janeway calls on Americans to mobilize the country's hidden assets, arriving at his diverse reform strategies by way of an erudite reconsideration of U.S. economic historyfrom Hamilton to Reagonomics. Some of his remedies may not be politically feasible, such as his proposal to swap U.S. food exports for oil imports, or his demand for reciprocity, whereby importers who penetrate more than 25% of a U.S. domestic market would be required to invest in productive American assets or buy our products. Likewise, his call for an injection of top-rated common stocks into Social Security trust funds may raise howls of protest. Janeway also offers maverick suggestions designed to halt the flight of workers and cash into our ``underground economy,'' a three-ring circus consisting of domestic moonlighting, the bustling Eurodollar market and illegal drug traffic. (Feb.)