The second part of the book demonstrates how the need for higher profits and endless growth has intensified environmental destruction, resource depletion, instability, social and political inequality, and even global warming. These problems have become systemic and solutions therefore require long-term systemic change.

Joel Magnuson's Mindful Economics... provides an enormous service by explaining, step-by-step, the basics of capitalism and the specifics of its American incarnation.... A principal accomplishment of this book is simply allowing readers to make sense of the maze of institutions governing our political-economic system. But Magnuson does much more than this; he also provides a well-informed critique of how the system works.... Magnuson is also effective and accurate in describing the nature of America's contemporary economic problems... The book was published before the financial crisis hit this fall, so it's noteworthy that Magnuson explicitly predicted that the real estate bubble would soon burst and that a federal bailout would be required to deal with the aftermath of the collapse.
Thad Williamson, University of Richmond; published in Tikkun, March/April 2009

"Joel C. Magnuson has written a lovely and provocative introduction to American capitalism that I wish every American would read. There is a wealth of information put in rich historical and social context and made accessible even to those with an aversion to the dismal science. One need not agree with all of Magnuson's points in this thoughtful presentation to understand that he is making an important contribution to our understanding of the central issues before our nation and our species."

Magnuson gives us all the tools we need to understand why the U.S. economy is so destructive to the world and to our society. He provides us the foundation to participate intelligently in debates about how best to rebuild an American and global economic system. His analysis shows why there is an unsolvable conflict between our environmental needs and the logic of capitalist economic growth. All this he presents in a style easily accessible to those who fear that this topic is above their heads or "too boring for comfort." And his insistence that a "mindful economy is based on respect for all life and natural processes" provides a ground for reconciliation between the spiritual and the economic needs that we face as an immediate challenge.
Tikkun, Nov./Dec., 2008

Economists are, in some respects, no different to the rest of us. For while they can tell us how we got into this mess and what needs to be done (though naturally the answers vary according to the economist), they can no more answer than the politicians—or the man in the pub—how bad it's going to get and how long a recovery is going to take. Joel Magnuson is refreshingly frank about this frustration. But while you wait for happy days to come around the corner again, you will be hard pushed to find a better explanation of what has brought on the current crisis. With lucid explanations and faultless logic, Professor Magnuson surveys 200 years of capitalism—its successes as well as failures. Rightly, he identifies speculation as core to its operations and acknowledges that with speculation comes something that economists can't prevent: greed.
Diplomat
February, 2009
UK

"[Former] U.S. presidential candidate John McCain acknowledged that he knew little about economics and said he would buy an economics text book.  How lucky for us if he and other politicians happen to pick up "Mindful Economics" by Joel Magnuson.  Magnuson lays out the basic concepts of Econ 101 so clearly that McCain is sure to ace the course. But Magnuson notes an irreconcilable conflict between capitalist financial growth and environmental sustainability. He finds hope, however, in a kind of evolutionary socialism that he calls Mindful Economics.  If McCain and his fellow politicians can master that half of the book, they'll not only pass the course, they may even help us save the planet."
Barbara Garson is the Author of the play MacBird and Money Makes the World Go Around.

Magnuson presents an intriguing perspective on the U.S. economy by describing the American capitalist system and its key institutions and economic issues, covering the most important consequences of the system and, finally, offering alternatives. His overview of the history and background of the U.S. economic system is thorough, including the development of capitalism, the U.S. financial system and Federal Reserve banks, the stock market, the structure of corporations, and international economic relations. The problems with the system Magnuson discusses include poverty, financial market instability, environmental destruction, and economic downturns. In the final section, he presents a notable study of a mindful economy, writing, "In a mindful economy, we seek to avoid debilitating crises and set out to follow a thoughtful and careful path toward change." He examines ways of achieving a mindful economy of values-based principles: the mindful economy is intrinsically democratic, equitable, just, based on respect for all life and natural processes, and stable. This book should be read by faculty and students studying economics and can be appreciated by those just learning about how the economy works. Highly recommended to academic library collections.
Library Journal, October 15th

"Joel Magnuson has written an excellent guide to one of the most deliberately mystified fields of human endeavor. If you ever wondered what all those words and concepts mean, this is the book to turn to. And though I don't agree with all his prescriptions for making things better, they're great spurs to both talk and action."
Doug Henwood, author of Wall Street

"MINDFUL ECONOMICS is the most important new book in economics to be published in the last decade... This is a magnificent book that will confer enormous benefits on anyone who reads it.... I give this book my strongest possible endorsement and recommend it very, very highly to all of my colleagues in the academic economics profession."
E K Hunt
Professor of Economics and author of Property and Prophets
The University of Utah

To purchase a new and updated edition of Mindful Economics contact: 

Seven Stories Press
 140 Watts Street
New York, NY 10013

Of course there is always Amazon:

Amazon.com

 Seven Stories Press
140 Watts Street
New York, NY 10013

Association for Evolutionary Economics: orgs.bucknell.edu/afee/index.htm

Citizens for Tax Justice: ctj.org/

Post-Autistic Economics Network: paecon.net

The E.F. Schumacher Society: smallisbeautiful.org/

International Co-operative Alliance: ica.coop/coop/index.html

Conservation Economy: conservationeconomy.net/