The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society

Despite its manifest failures, the narrative ofneoliberalism retains its grip on the public mind and the policies ofgovernments all over the world. By this narrative, less regulation and moreanimal spirits capitalism produces not only greater prosperity, but morefreedom for individuals in society – and is therefore morally better.

But, inThe Road toFreedomStiglitz asks, whosefreedom are we should we be thinking about? What happens when one personsfreedom comes at the expense of anothers? Should the freedoms of corporationsbe allowed to impinge upon those of individuals in the ways they now do?
Taking on giants of neoliberalism such as Hayek and Friedman and examining howpublic opinion is formed, Stiglitz reclaims the language of freedom from theright to show that far from free unregulated markets promoting growth andenterprise, they in fact reduce it, lessening economic opportunities formajorities and siphoning wealth from the many to the few both individuals andcountries. He shows how neoliberal economics and its implied moral system haveimpacted our legal and social freedoms in surprising ways, from property andintellectual rights, to education and social media.

Stiglitzs eye, as always, is on how we might create the true human flourishingwhich should be the great aim of our economic and social system, and offers analternative to that prevailing today.The Road to Freedomoffersa powerful re-evaluation of democracy, economics and what constitutes a goodsocietyand provides a roadmap of how we might achieve it.