Category: Posts | Free Content

Compelling historical critique of the neoliberal project of free(er) markets that has dominated contemporary thinking and practice.

Reflective book on travels in South America that strengthened structuralist thinking. The idea that there are underlying universal structures in the human condition.

Text that provides a history of urban planning in addition to some of the social and economic problems that underpin its theory and practice.

Popularising early thought on human behaviour in the neoclassical economics paradigm – diagrams, maths, marginal utilities, and elasticities being embedded as principles.

Book that energised the garden city movement as a utopian desire to live in harmony with nature

Book that attracted new attention post global financial crisis, in that accumulation of non-government debt creates a condition for instability in the economy.

Initial founding writings on the idea of positivism, where observations in science are seen as the most effective approach.

How globalisation of capital has created new governance of the state beyond the nation

Exploring and supporting the movement for more walkable cities given the modern historical influence of the car.

Work post WW2 that promotes the idea of limited government involvement, to enable universal market efficiency, and thus liberalism in the sense of individual freedoms.

A touchstone for political theory of distributive justice, looking normatively to rebalance equality of opportunity and helping the more disadvantaged in society.

A political economy look at owner-occupation at the turn of the 21st century

Recent accessible and interesting overview on why cities are enriching places for people

Origins of spatial economics where the price willing to rent land is spatially and locationally determined

A focus on realism in methods that helped popularise more rigorous empirical and theoretical research

Moving forward philosophies on the nature of reality by developing thought on both rationalism and empiricism, and in doing so synthesising separations of reason and

Read MoreInfluential books #50 Critique of pure reason by Immanuel Kant

One of the first to crystallise thinking of city economies working as hierarchies in a global system

How a Eurocentric romantic view of the ‘east’ has served to perpetuate dominance and power

A book that exerts post-modern urban planning as one that includes diversity, community and environment.

Classical economic thinking that brought to prominence the benefits of free trade via comparative advantage, and an articulation of how population growth increases economic rent

WW2 reminder that excessive central planning can risk losing individual freedoms.

17th Century writing on social contract, where power is handed to an absolute sovereign in return for some form of protection.

Marxist geography analysis of why spatial inequalities persist via the production process

A focus on UK Housing directions to encourage a long look at wealth and inequality, rather than simply building more homes

The central text of Marxian economics, a critique of capitalism from a perspective of the production process. Marx was a self proclaimed non-Marxist.

Inspirational biography on his snooker career and how he came back to win the masters

The main architect behind one of the most influential modern philosophies of our time, in interview this gives a good primer into understanding its emergence,

Read MoreInfluential books #39 The Formation of Critical Realism by Roy Bhaskar

Proponent of sociology as a positivist science, encouraging a school of structural-functionalism thinking, whilst encouraging thought on a collective rather than individual basis – e.g.

Read MoreInfluential books #38 The rules of sociological method by Emile Durkheim

Modern America needed to be measured to become wealthy. Interesting alternative focus on how this big land sale happened.

Bringing economic theory closer to the reality of societies biggest concerns, and setting the benchmark for scholarly work over the next two centuries.

Intensely detailed outline of the history and evolution of housing policy that has shaped US housing sector.

Readable and robust account of the cause and effect of debt tied up in housing

Laying the foundations in thinking that costs external to the market can be dealt with by better defined property rights

Often converted into books as translated excerpts, the work generated 20th century thinking on cultural hegemony, where cultural formed ideology such as capitalism (and communism)

Read MoreInfluential books #32 Prison Notebooks by Antonio Gramsci

Sociological and economic realisation that promotion of hard work and discipline in Protestantism coincided with capitalistic conditions.

Thoughtful and practical take on the supply of commercial buildings, that house those managing money to perpetuate wealth.

Almost personalising gentrification in cities as some form of revenge by capital on (non-capital owning) people

Arguing for normative social justice based approaches rather than growth strategies to deal with city problems of inequity, democracy and diversity.

A look into the past and some insightful futurist thinking as to what types of jobs will be left once the digital revolution fully takes

Read MoreInfluential books #27 The Future of The Professions by Richard and Daniel Susskind

Insightful writing on the global history of land ownership, questioning where we are heading, as well as providing alternatives to an ever increasing individualised private

Read MoreInfluential books #26 Owning the Earth by Andro Linklater

Contemporary take on what cities contribute to the economy and economics

A contribution to urban theory from the late 1960s on the major determinants of urban growth in the economy.

Late 18th century text that brought to light the relationship between natural resources and human demography.

Bridging philosophy of mind and material, enabling an intellectual and practical take on how space is produced.

Classic investment guide that shows the most sensible path is playing the long game.

It is difficult to ignore this writing at the birth of the industrial revolution. This revolutionised economics as a discipline covering topics such as division

Read MoreInfluential books #20 The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

The modern touchstone of trends in capital accumulation and inequality of income and wealth. Demonstrating that structures remain but with room for change.

Some new and not so new (but relevant) solutions to the ‘crisis’ of housing and land supply.

A gathering of examples in a popular format that contributed to the now mainstream field of behavioural economics.

Exploring evolutions in human language as nature and nurture with a popular science edge.

Useful thinking in to how progress is not necessary a linear path. As new ways will create and destroy rather than revolutionise.

Critical study of late 20th century postmodernism in that materialism must have greater attention. The reality of poverty is argued as more material consequence than

Read MoreInfluential books #14 The Condition of Postmodernity by David Harvey

Time is an illusion of the mind-ego. Being present and conscious takes us out of the mind and into blissful awareness. Everyone should read this.

Work challenging the notion that common property will fail due to monopolistic tendencies. Examples in the political economy demonstrate that in some circumstances the crowd

Read MoreInfluential books #12 Governing the Commons by Elinor Ostrom

Part of his wider work on America’s involvement with global politics as invasion. Focussed on a narrative questioning whether this involvement is to purposefully maintain

Read MoreInfluential Books #11 Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky

Opening up economics to better engage with those subjects external to the market such and public goods and the environment. Internalising external costs of climate

Read MoreInfluential books #10 The Economics of Welfare by Arthur Pigou

Wonderful concise explanation of geopolitics being shaped and constrained by geography. Great to step back and see a bigger picture in a time where people

Read MoreInfluential books #9 Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall

Bestseller that takes economics into psychology territory, largely by distinguishing between instinct and thought in making economic decisions

Helpful way to make practical what psychologists made complex. Managing your chimp, human, and computer is all you need to be the best you can

Read MoreInfluential books #7 The Chimp Paradox by Steve Peters

Very convincing account of How and why the financial industry does little for the real economy

A classic that explores why poverty exists against vast wealth. There are also some very simple fiscal solutions that many are still uncomfortable with today

The origin and spread of nationalism could not be any more relevant today – Is it possible have no national identity?

A reminder that economic development needs to be set in relation to freedom and access of opportunity

Such a realisation that the inner voice in your mind isn’t you, and so opens a portal to the unmanifested. You are free.

Useful guide to how we arrived in our current political economy, and possibly how we can fix a broken economic system