The Vampire State

And Other Myths and Fallacies About the U.S. Economy

Fred L. Block

paperback

$16.95

An engaging look at how popular metaphors distort our economic understanding.
Block exposes the economic twaddle that mimics well-reasoned policy, and he illuminates economic concepts without resorting to jargon. 
-- The Nation
The Vampire State is a popular and provocative look at the muddled way we talk about economics in America. In engaging prose, Fred L. Block argues that many familiar metaphors, such as the image of the government as a vampire sucking the lifeblood from our economy, are patently false and based on bad economics. He explains why balancing the federal budget will not solve our economic problems, shows the flaws in the arguments for a global free trade regime, and uses a series of counter-metaphors to suggest reforms we desperately need. 

Fred L. Block is a professor of sociology at the University of California at Davis.  He is the author of a number of books, including Postindustrial Possibilities, and coauthor, with Barbara Ehrenreich, Richard Cloward, and Frances Fox Piven, of The Mean Season.
Political Science / Economics
Fall 1997
paperback
5 1/2 x 8 1/2, 320 pages
978-1-56584-194-9

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