Recognizing my ignorance regarding the ins and outs of the economics woes our country has been in, I recently read Naill Ferguson's book, The Ascent of Money (see sidebar), which is a most helpful history of the evolution of our financial system. Early innovations in financial matters (currency, banks, insurance) are quite clearly good for society. The most recent ones, like hedge funds, seem to have dubious value. The most recent innovations seem to be too risky, too reliant on complicated formulas--and strikes me as ways of manipulating the system to generate wealth without actual work.
Yesterday, I just finished Deep Economy by Bill McKibbon. His thesis is that our unthinking commitment to economic expansion has long ceased to serve us well and bring us happiness. We work longer at jobs we like less. We have bigger houses, more toys . . . and more depression. His book is full of great cultural analysis and gives a clear call to live more simply--for our own sake and for the sake of the larger world.