"From a Nobel Prize-winning pioneer in environmental economics, an innovative account of how and why "green thinking" could cure many of the world's most serious problems-from global warming to pandemics Solving the world's biggest problems-from climate catastrophe and pandemics to wildfires and corporate malfeasance-requires, more than anything else, coming up with new ways to manage the powerful interactions that surround us. For carbon emissions and other environmental damage, this means ensuring that those responsible pay their full costs rather than continuing to pass them along to others, including future generations. In The Spirit of Green, Nobel Prize-winning economist William Nordhaus describes a new way of green thinking that would help us overcome our biggest challenges without sacrificing economic prosperity, in large part by accounting for the spillover costs of economic collisions. In a discussion that ranges from the history of the environmental movement to the Green New Deal, Nordhaus explains how the spirit of green thinking provides a compelling and hopeful new perspective on modern life. At the heart of green thinking is a recognition that the globalized world is shaped not by isolated individuals but rather by innumerable interactions inside and outside the economy. He shows how rethinking economic efficiency, sustainability, politics, profits, taxes, individual ethics, corporate social responsibility, finance, and more would improve the effectiveness and equity of our society. And he offers specific solutions-on how to price carbon, how to pursue low-carbon technologies, how to design an efficient tax system, and how to foster international cooperation through climate clubs. The result is a groundbreaking new vision of how we can have our environment and our economy too"--

The true cost of the Iraq War is $3 trillion rather than the $50 billion projected by the White House. Apart from its tragic human toll, the Iraq War will be staggeringly expensive in financial terms. This sobering study by Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard professor Linda J. Bilmes casts a spotlight on expense items that have been hidden from the U.S. taxpayer, including not only big-ticket items like replacing military equipment (being used up at six times the peacetime rate) but also the cost of caring for thousands of wounded veterans for the rest of their lives. Shifting to a global focus, the authors investigate the cost in lives and economic damage within Iraq and the region. Finally, with the chilling precision of an actuary, the authors measure what the U.S. taxpayer's money would have produced if instead it had been invested in the further growth of the U.S. economy. Written in language as simple as the details are disturbing, this book will forever change the way we think about the war.

We are a nation born from the conviction that people must be free. But since the middle of the last century, that idea has been co-opted. Forces on the political Right have justified exploitation by cloaking it in the rhetoric of freedom, leading to pharmaceutical companies freely overcharging for medication, a Big Tech free from oversight, politicians free to incite rebellion, corporations free to pollute, and more. How did we get here? Whose freedom are we--and should we--be thinking about? In The Road to Freedom, Nobel prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz dissects America's current economic system and the political ideology that created it, laying bare their twinned failure. "Free" and unfettered markets have only succeeded in delivering a series of crises: the financial crisis, the opioid crisis, and the crisis of inequality. While a small portion of the population has amassed considerable wealth, wages for most people have stagnated. Free and unfettered markets have exploited consumers, workers, and the environment alike. Such failures have fed populist movements that believe being free means abandoning any obligations citizens have to one another. As they grow in strength, these movements now pose a real threat to true economic and political freedom. As an economic advisor to presidents and as chief economist at the World Bank, Stiglitz has witnessed these profound changes firsthand. As he argues, the failures follow from the elites' unshakeable dedication to "the neoliberal experiment." Explicitly taking on giants such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, Stiglitz exposes accepted ideas about our political and economic life for what they are: twisted visions that tear at the social fabric while they enrich the very few. The Road to Freedom breaks new ground, showing how economics--including recent advances in which Stiglitz has played such an important role--reframes how to think about freedom and the role of the state in a twenty-first century society. Drawing on the work of contemporary philosophers, Stiglitz explains a deeper, more humane way to assess freedoms--one that considers with care what to do when one person's freedom conflicts with another's. We must reimagine our existing economic and legal systems and embrace forms of collective action, including regulation and investment, if we are to create an innovative society in which everyone can flourish. The task could not be more urgent, and Stiglitz's latest book is essential reading for those committed to the American ideal of an economic and political system that delivers well-being, opportunity, and meaningful freedoms for all.

Henri Bergson’s Laughter, An Essay on the Meaning of the Comicis an essential read for scholars, academics, and students of philosophy. Through an examination of the psychological and physiological effects of laughter, Bergson argues that the comic arises from the perception of incongruity and mechanical inelasticity in the human world. Drawing on a range of sources, including philosophy, science, and literature, Bergson’s work offers a comprehensive and compelling exploration of the nature of comedy. Laughter, An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic is an invaluable resource for those interested in the philosophical, psychological, and sociological implications of humor. This edition is based on the 1911 translations by Cloudesley Brereton (1863-1937) and Fred Rothwell (1869-1934). Henri Bergson (18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopher who was one of the most influential thinkers of the early 20th century. His work focused on the nature of time and memory and how they influence the human experience. He developed a unique philosophical approach, combining elements of philosophical idealism, realism, and pragmatism. Although his ideas were initially met with skepticism, they gained wide acceptance throughout the philosophical community. Bergson is best known for his two major works, Matter and Memory (1896) and Creative Evolution (1907). He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1927 for his contributions to philosophy. Bergson was born in Paris, France, to an affluent Jewish family. He was educated at the Lycee Condorcet and the Ecole Normale Superieure. After graduating, he began teaching philosophy at the University of Paris, where he quickly developed a reputation as an innovative and influential thinker. He argued that time and memory could not be understood through the traditional methods of scientific analysis and proposed a new approach to understanding the human experience. Bergson's philosophy was based on the concept of durée, or "duration," which argued that time and memory are inseparable, and that time is experienced differently by each individual. He also argued that memory is a creative force, allowing individuals to make choices based on their past experiences. His theories have had a lasting impact on the fields of psychology and philosophy, particularly in the areas of phenomenology and existentialism. Bergson's work has been the subject of numerous books and essays, and his influence has been felt across a variety of disciplines, including literature, film, and anthropology.