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The Nature of Economies, by Jane Jacobs
Get Free Ebook The Nature of Economies, by Jane Jacobs
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Review
"Provocative…engaging…. [Jacobs] is the archetypal iconoclast."–The Boston Book Review
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From the revered author of the classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities comes a new book that will revolutionize the way we think about the economy. Starting from the premise that human beings "exist wholly within nature as part of natural order in every respect," Jane Jacobs has focused her singular eye on the natural world in order to discover the fundamental models for a vibrant economy. The lessons she discloses come from fields as diverse as ecology, evolution, and cell biology. Written in the form of a Platonic dialogue among five fictional characters, "The Nature of Economies is as astonishingly accessible and clear as it is irrepressibly brilliant and wise-a groundbreaking yet humane study destined to become another world-altering classic.
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Product details
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (March 13, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375702431
ISBN-13: 978-0375702433
Product Dimensions:
5.2 x 0.4 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
3.8 out of 5 stars
20 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#469,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
It is no accident that Toronto is often rated as one of the most livable cities in North America -- Jane Jacobs lives there, and she takes an active role in helping shape her adopted city. She also does something original; she actively examines the topics she writes about, instead of relying upon the mere observations of others. When you use a chunk of granite, a bar of steel or the speed of light, it's worth knowing that inanimate objects don't change much. But, Jacobs and all other social scientists deal with people; and people are continually changing. One of her central themes is that since Adam Smith in 1776, economists have tended to ignore the real world. "Smith himself was partly responsible for that blind spot," Jacobs writes. "He led himself and others astray by declaring that economic specialization of regions and nations was more efficient than economic diversification. "The theorists after Smith retreated into their own heads instead of engaging ever more deeply with the real world," Jacobs writes. "Plenty of observable, germane facts were lying around in plain sight, ready and waiting to lead Smith's insights, straight as directional arrows, into the subjects of development and bifurcations." Adam Smith overturned centuries of thinking when he wrote, "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard for their own interest." Until then, there was a general feeling that God, or Nature, or other supernatural force provided our sustenance; Smith said personal interest is the key to economic life. Smith takes that idea the next step: Yes, natural products exist, but we can wipe them out by overuse. Every system in nature is harmed by over-indulgence; nothing can be exploited without some collateral cost. Excess carries the seeds of its own destruction; humans are a part of nature, and thus subject to similar limitations. Thus, the book's title -- "The Nature of Economies." Every society is a part of nature; people are always subject to the inevitable laws of nature. This isn't tree-hugging ecology or a `Save a Whale for Jesus' fad; it's the fundamental rules by which nature, and thus our communities, live on a day-to-day basis. Consider a real example: Phoenix literally "paves the desert." Twenty years ago, climatologists knew this raised night temperatures, because asphalt soaks up heat during the day and radiates at night. Night temperatures have risen by almost 10 degrees -- which adds immensely to air conditioning bills, and greatly reduces livability. Yet, city officials steadfastly ignore this feedback to pursue a policy of unlimited growth. Is this unusual? Think of Los Angeles traffic, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, El Paso, and Tucson -- each with its own growing problems. Jacobs argues the "nature of economies" means being aware of feedback, and facing issues before they become a crisis. Despite her living in Toronto, do Canadians do it? No, Canadians ignored overfishing of the Grand Banks -- once the richest fishing area in the world -- until the area was fished out which caused the economy of Newfoundland to collapse. In brief, that's her lesson. Ignore feedback, ignore the evidence in front of our eyes, and we'll have economic and social collapse. Nature never offers "Get out of Jail Free" cards. Unlike many ecologists, Jacobs doesn't offer simplistic "get rid of the automobile" solutions. She says problems will arise whatever we do; the solution is in recognizing the feedback, then responding to the problem. In other words, "Look around." Then ask, "What can we do different?" She doesn't offer solutions; she offers thought processes to enable intelligent people to find solutions. Does she have a valid point? Well, Toronto officials listen to her, and have one of the best cities in North America. It's time her audience was expanded.
She was not an economist, developer, architect, city planner, or politician, but she was skillful in combining all of this drawing conclusions in this book.
This is the second work I have read by Jane Jacobs (the first being her widely and well-known Death and Life of Great American Cities) and it reinforces my notion that during her life she authored a sparkling well of common sense from which every individual should draw deeply.
Jane Jacobs is a bit like Agatha Christie. A no nonsense view of economics and the city as an economic engine. I do sometimes wish she would look a little deeper into the policies she references.
Although I have the deepest admiration for Jane Jacobs, a national treasure (of two countries!) and the author of an all-time classic book -- "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" -- I have to say that I found "The Nature of Economies" to be a real mixed bag...actually kind of a letdown.First, I have to agree with other reviewers who found the "dialogue" in this book to be almost laughably bad. I mean, obviously no human being would possibly speak this way ("in sum," "to repeat," "to be sure") with friends -- or anyone else, I would hope! Second, the whole Socratic dialogue, pedantic monologue format here can get very tiresome at times. In fact, it's so bad that even its own characters keep nodding off! Third, most of these ideas, although interesting, are nothing original (as Jacobs' extensive endnotes prove), although obviously Jacobs has done a great deal of reading, and has synthesized or at least summarized other peoples' ideas fairly well, and that is nothing to sneeze at. Fourth, and more problematic in my opinion, is the high degree of abstraction, and apparent lack of practical utility, with much of Jacobs' ideas. I mean, it's fascinating and all that human economies are part of nature, but what are the real-life policy implications here? OK, so central planning is bad, but does that mean that Jacobs is in favor of an extreme laissez-faire capitalist approach by government? (I doubt it) Is Jacobs so optimistic to believe that if we just let things run their natural course, that everything will just all work out for the best? If she does believe this, is it naiveté or brilliance? Or is this just a bunch of Panglossian nonsense? After reading this book, I have to say that in many ways I have no idea exactly WHAT Jacobs is getting at here. Worst of all, "The Nature of Economies" begs the most important question, namely, WHAT ARE ECONOMIES FOR (Jacobs' unsatisfying answer - economies are for everything and everybody...huh?!?)?Having said all of this, I still think the book is worth reading, mainly because it is filled with interesting, thought-provoking ideas - whoever came up with them - two of the biggest ones being that humans (and their economies) are part of nature, and that the more they "biomimic" (imitate nature) the better off we will all be. Of course, the counterargument to mimicking nature is that nature isn't just a bed of roses, so to speak! As the curmudgeon character Armbruster puts it, all this happy talk of "cooperation, symbiosis, interdependence" seems to ignore the fact that nature is very much "red in tooth and claw." Instead, it ends up sounding "like a barn raising," not the nasty survival of the fittest ("and the devil take the hindmost" in Armbrusters' words) that is part and parcel of nature, as much as we try to romanticize or ignore it. I DO very much like Jacob's emphasis on the benefits of a complex web of interrelationships, and also on the importance of working ALONG with natural principles, not against them. In general, Jacobs' view that life at its best is a hustling beehive (or tropical rainforest) of activity and diversity, as in the crooked streets and serendipitous mixings of a thriving city, is strong and positive. I also agree with her that non-serendipitous, sterile suburbia, with its de facto separation of different kinds of people - rich/ poor, white/black/hispanic, gay/straight, etc. (see the 2000 US Census for proof of this), its often de jure separation of commercial (and cultural) activities from residential areas, and its monocultures of identical houses in subdivisions surround by wide, fast, straight roads (which serve to reduce pedestrian traffic, force utter dependence on automobiles, and prevent healthy development of community), is not good at all, and simply maintained by massive government subsidies (of roads, gasoline, utilities, etc.).So, the bottom line is that - even in her 80s -- Jane Jacobs still has a lot to say and contribute, even though she said it far better 40 years ago. So, sure, read "The Nature of Economies," but even better, go back and read (or reread) the Jacobs' classic work - "The Death and Life of Great American Cities!"
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