RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK Economic thinking - about globalisation climate change immigration
austerity automation and much more - in its most digestible form For decades a single free
market philosophy has dominated global economics. But this is bland and unhealthy - like
British food in the 1980s when bestselling author and economist Ha-Joon Chang first arrived in
the UK from South Korea. Just as eating a wide range of cuisines contributes to a more
interesting and balanced diet so too is it essential we listen to a variety of economic
perspectives. In Edible Economics Chang makes challenging economic ideas more palatable by
plating them alongside stories about food from around the world. He uses histories behind
familiar food items - where they come from how they are cooked and consumed what they mean to
different cultures - to explore economic theory. For Chang chocolate is a life-long addiction
but more exciting are the insights it offers into post-industrial knowledge economies and
while okra makes Southern gumbo heart-meltingly smooth it also speaks of capitalism's
entangled relationship with freedom and unfreedom. Explaining everything from the hidden cost
of care work to the misleading language of the free market as he cooks dishes like anchovy and
egg toast Gambas al Ajillo and Korean dotori mook Ha-Joon Chang serves up an easy-to-digest
feast of bold ideas. Myth-busting witty and thought-provoking Edible Economics shows that
getting to grips with the economy is like learning a recipe: if we understand it we can change
it - and with it the world.
