Books in brief
A call for regulation to protect the common good The Profit Paradox: How thriving firms threaten the future of work by Jan Eeckhout (Princeton University Press, 2021, 336 pp, $27.95 US) How does Erin, a young lady with three college degrees, end up earning $12 an hour at a tech help desk in Arizona? In The Profit Paradox, economist Jan Eeckhout uses his chance encounter with Erin as a springboard to help connect the dots of market power and its massive ramifications for work and society as a whole. Based on statistics from the last 70 years, the book explains what is different about the last 40. Wages for low-skilled workers have stagnated or even decreased in real terms, and profits from steadily increasing productivity go to a few. While acknowledging that we live better, healthier, and longer than our ancestors of three or four generations ago, the author makes a passionate call for “the protection of competition, not competitors or businesses.” This includes putting “trust” back into antitrust regulations. He observes that Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has acquired an average of one firm a month for the last 18 years. Frequent references to the natural tendency of dominant businesses to build larger and deeper moats around their castles help keep the theme in focus. The author is clear that something needs to be done, but he admits it won’t be easy and political will is key. Can democracy survive in a The Marketplace March April 2022
society where wealth is concentrated in a few hands? Where lobbying is used very effectively to create and perpetuate market power? The book is generally wellwritten, engaging, and balanced. Perhaps the biggest challenge is found in the George Orwell quote on the first page: The trouble with competitions is that someone wins them.
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Henry Friesen is a chartered accountant who lives near Winnipeg
What means normal in an abnormal world? Not Quite Fine: Mental health, faith and showing up for one another by Carlene Hill Byron (Herald Press, 2021 223 pp., $16.99 US) This book is an important reflection on the growing mental health crisis in the Western world, one that has seemingly accelerated since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Author Carlene Hill Byron is well-versed in the subject, having 22
struggled with depression and bipolar disorder throughout her adult life. She notes the skyrocketing number of people who have been treated for mental health problems since the introduction of mass market psychiatric drugs. And yet these chemical interventions have been inadequate at best. Suicide rates in the US increased by 35 percent between 1999 and 2018. Shifts in societal values have contributed to the problem, Byron suggests. Before the 20th century, grief was viewed as a long, painful experience. Now, deep sadness following a loss for more than a short time is not socially acceptable. Loneliness, anxiety, and depression are American epidemics. A study of mental health in 26 countries found generalized anxiety disorder is three times as common in high-income nations as in lowincome ones. Not Quite Fine examines questions of meaning, purpose and belonging. It explores the importance of listening and helping people feel included, issues of people not feeling qualified to help, and the appropriate role for the church. A 2017 European study found that engagement in communities of faith are the most effective depression preventive measures. Byron concurs, writing: “Congregations are social enterprises that are intended to nurture hope.”
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