The End of Progress: How Modern Economics Has Failed Us

As Graeme Maxton’s important and entertaining book demonstrates, modern economic theory contains fundamental errors that any intelligent child could spot. This is not just an academic problem; we’ve left economists to run the world—and the planet is careening toward disaster as a result. Graeme Maxton is one of the first observers to note that world economic growth has reached hard limits. We ignore this shattering news at our peril. But if we can rid modern economic theory of a few fundamental and obvious errors, then a transition to a sustainable and satisfactory new economy is entirely feasible. The End of Progress is a vitally important and highly readable book-read it and have your eyes opened!

Richard Heinberg
Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute
Author, Peak Everything

Graeme Maxton’s panoramic view of economic history reaches back to Adam Smith and the moral and social philosophy that underpinned the Scotsman’s belief in free markets. That inspires Maxton’s timely and trenchant critique of modern capitalism and the drug of consumption, financed with debt, which led western countries to the financial crisis of 2008. Only by learning the true lessons, Maxton suggests, will they set themselves on a sustainable economic path.

John Gapper
Financial Times columnist

The End of Progress accuses economic thinking about markets of a failure that is leading us towards a dark future. Maxton says the financial meltdown and its aftermath, extremes of income inequality, and the looming crisis over resource availability, consumerism and climate change beckon solutions, for which we are ill-equipped. Maxton should be knocking on open doors in calling for change.

George Magnus
Author of Uprising
Senior Economic Adviser, UBS

Graeme Maxton has produced an important and timely book. It’s impossible to argue with his conclusion that the world has taken a wrong turning, and that much is set to change in the near future. The End of Progress should be read by as wide an audience as possible, most of whom will find themselves nodding in agreement as they read his analysis of what has gone wrong, and his suggestions for putting things right.

Giles Chance
Author, China and the Credit Crisis: The Emergence of a New World Order
Visiting Professor, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University