The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It: Reich, Robert B.: 9780525659044: Amazon.com: Books (original) (raw)
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Customers find the book highly readable, gripping, and well-written. They appreciate the author's articulate writing and say it's fun to read. Readers also mention the book is satisfying for their understanding of our current economic system.
"...It was really a fun one to read. In fact, after writing this review, I think I’ll read the book again. It went pretty fast the first time." Read more
"...Overcoming Oligarchy.Positives:1. Engaging and well-written book that is accessible to the masses.2...." Read more
"...Mr. Reich offers a concise and very readable understanding of the root cause to so many of our woes, even beyond our economic well-being...." Read more
"No nonsense breakdown of the current state of America. Well written and organized. Easy to read and comprehend. A must read." Read more
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Customers find the book insightful, informative, and educational. They say it's erudite and dispassionate. Readers also mention the book helps explain why Bernie Sanders is so angry. They appreciate the clarity of thought and valid arguments.
"...I’ve read many of them and this book is truly the most impactful I’ve found to date. It was really a fun one to read...." Read more
"...This one is no different, with clarity of thought and provocation Reich provides compelling arguments on how oligarchs rig the system to their favor..." Read more
"...In my opinion author makes very logical and valid arguments on how in the past 4 decades our laws and political system have shifted away from..." Read more
"Excellent analysis by one of my favorite public figures. Robert Reich pulls no punches examining the toxicity of money in politics...." Read more
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Customers find the book eye-opening, interesting, and detailed. They say it sheds light on how we got here and the shifting dynamics between parties.
"...Although somewhat repetitive, he paints a detailed vivid picture...." Read more
"Very interesting behind the curtains view of American economics...." Read more
"...It sheds light on how we got here, the shifting dynamics between parties, and provides solutions in what we can do to fix it." Read more
"Very eye opening. His thesis was well put. I just wish that he spoke more of solutions (are there any?) and our own role in this...." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2020
Robert Reich has written a brilliant new book in The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It. His premise is the United States system over the last 40 years has been highjacked by the ultra-wealthy who he calls the oligarchy (rule of the few). He convincingly asserts the oligarchs (the wealthiest 10% of the US population) have turned the wheels of government, finance, and economy totally to their full advantage. On the other hand the lower 90% of the population have seen almost no economic advantage in the last 40 years while the oligarchs wealth has exploded to astronomical proportions.
Throughout the book I was reminded of other fantastic books that have similar conclusions. Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson stunningly insightful book, Why Nations Fail, comes to mind with their thesis that countries fail because of extractive leadership that exploit a nation’s economy to the advantage of a few oligarchs. A Warning by Anonymous shows how the current US presidency is both incompetent, inept, and the definition of oligarchical. Janesville: Am American Story shows the plight of those regular Americans left behind in the economy meltdown of the Great Recession. Jessica Bruder’s Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty First Century shows how many Americans are one step away from homelessness searching for itinerant seasonal jobs while living in their vehicles. Even Democracy, Inc. by the Washington Post shows how Congress has created a plethora of laws to benefit the members of Congress through what is in essence legalized corruption. All these authors, Reich included as the most famous of them, all show how an oligarchic America has dramatically failed every day people in stubbornly blocking their opportunities to get ahead in a economy rigged at all levels for the nearly exclusive benefit of the wealthy few.
Reich believes that it’s an active and well-informed electorate can check the power and greed of the oligarch class. I agree. We have seen that power in the 2018 mid-term elections, but if that carries forward to the 2020 election remains to be seen. He also sees this struggle as not just being a Republican vs. Democratic struggle but instead being one of the haves vs. have nots. Reich’s last book, The Common Good, shows how important it is for us as a people to work toward improving society for the good of all, another example of being active in bettering society. Reich is one of the great political thinkers of our times, and this book clearly shows why. This is a provocative read well worth reading.
37 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2020
Like many other folks I’ve been trying to figure out how our country, America, came to be in the pickle it’s in. There are many books out there that provide discussions and explanations about the decline of the middle class due to the active dismantlement of the social safety net since about 1980. This book has pulled all the pieces together, laid them out in a readable sequence and finally points toward a path that citizens can take to do something about the inequalities we all face. It’s the discussion of political power that distinguishes this book from others of the genre. I’ve read many of them and this book is truly the most impactful I’ve found to date. It was really a fun one to read. In fact, after writing this review, I think I’ll read the book again. It went pretty fast the first time.
8 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2024
Very straight talk about our economy & the way it functions! He especially knows the department of labor & how our government & businesses work & what solutions are needed.
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2023
The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It by Robert B. Reich
“The System” is a critique of our current political/economic system and what we can do about it. Robert B. Reich is currently Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of seventeen books. In his latest book, Reich examines what is wrong with our current system in a clear and direct manner. This provocative 225-page book is broken out into three major parts: PART I. Democracy vs. Oligarchy, PART II. The Road to Oligarchy, and PART III. Overcoming Oligarchy.
Positives:
1. Engaging and well-written book that is accessible to the masses.
2. Thought-provoking and critical look at our political and economic system.
3. Reich sets the tone in the Introduction. “First, forget politics as you’ve come to see it as electoral contests between Democrats and Republicans. Think power. The underlying contest is between a small minority who have gained power over the system and the vast majority who have little or none.”
4. Defines important topics with clarity. “The word “oligarchy” comes from the Greek word oligarkhes, meaning “few to rule or command.” It refers to a government of and by a few exceedingly rich people or families who control the major institutions of society and therefore have power over other people’s lives.”
5. Defines the reality of our times. “The “free market” has been taken over by crony capitalism, corporate bailouts, and corporate welfare.”
6. A lot of this book revolves around Reich engaging with Jamie Dimon the head of JP Morgan Chase. “I’m sure Dimon and the other members of the Business Roundtable consider themselves patriots. But they are not patriots first. They are CEOs first. And as the system is now organized, their goal must be to make as much money as possible.”
7. Provocative ideas how socialism works for the rich. “But America does practice one form of socialism—socialism for the rich. Exhibit A is the bailout of Wall Street in 2008. Dimon was at the helm when JPMorgan received $25 billion from the federal government to help stem the financial crisis, which had been brought on largely by the careless and fraudulent lending practices of JPMorgan and other big banks.”
8. How corporations corrupt the system. “The reason the American oil industry gets 2.5billionayearfromthegovernmentinspecialbenefits,includingtherightstodrillforoilonpubliclandsandtakeprivatelandsforoilpipelines,hasnothingtodowiththepublic’sinterestinobtainingmoreoil.ItisbecauseBigOilspendssome2.5 billion a year from the government in special benefits, including the rights to drill for oil on public lands and take private lands for oil pipelines, has nothing to do with the public’s interest in obtaining more oil. It is because Big Oil spends some 2.5billionayearfromthegovernmentinspecialbenefits,includingtherightstodrillforoilonpubliclandsandtakeprivatelandsforoilpipelines,hasnothingtodowiththepublic’sinterestinobtainingmoreoil.ItisbecauseBigOilspendssome150 million a year backing pliant politicians. That $2.5 billion worth of government benefits is a remarkably good return on investment.”
9. The silence of the rich says volumes with regards to Trump. “Another explanation can be found by following the money. Trump’s tax cuts and frenzy of deregulation have caused corporate profits to soar.”
10. How the oligarchy impact a typical American’s life. “Governments elsewhere impose higher taxes on the wealthy and redistribute more of it to middle- and lower-income households. Most of the citizens of other advanced nations receive free or nearly free health care, and most get free or nearly free college tuition. Americans receive neither.”
11. The threat to our democracy. “If democracy were working as it should, government officials would make the rules roughly according to what most citizens want them to be. They would also take into account the interests of the poor and of minorities, and give them a fair chance to make it as well. The system would be working for all of us.”
12. How a Trump appointee harmed Americans. “Once installed in the White House, Trump named Icahn his “special adviser” on regulatory issues. Icahn was assured he didn’t have to divest any of his financial holdings, and he had no qualms about telling Trump to take actions that benefited his own companies—like rolling back environmental regulations affecting CVR Energy, an independent oil refinery in which Icahn held an 82 percent stake. In early May 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency granted Icahn’s refinery a so-called financial hardship waiver, allowing it to avoid clean air laws and potentially saving Icahn millions of dollars. Icahn is not exactly a hardship case.”
13. Examines the move from stakeholder to shareholder capitalism. “A second systemic change followed from the first. The move from stakeholder to shareholder capitalism altered the balance of power between corporations and workers. Shareholder capitalism demanded higher profits and higher share prices, and the easiest way to obtain them was to increase the bargaining power of corporations and reduce the bargaining power of workers.”
14. How the oligarchs triumphed. “The oligarchy has triumphed not because Carl Icahn, Jack Welch, Warren Buffett, Sandy Weill, Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, Jamie Dimon, or anyone else conspired to make it happen. I doubt any of them thought about the system as a whole. They triumphed because no one paid attention to the system as a whole—to the consequences of the shifts from stakeholder to shareholder capitalism, from large unions to giant corporations, and from regulated to unfettered finance.”
15. How billionaires make their billions and keep it. “One way to make a billion is to exploit a monopoly. Jeff Bezos is worth $110 billion. You might say he deserves it because he founded and built Amazon. But, as I have pointed out, Amazon is a monopoly with nearly 50 percent of all e-commerce retail sales in America (and e-commerce is gaining the lion’s share of all retail sales).”
16. How Trump succeeded. “What gave Trump’s racism—as well as his hateful xenophobia, misogyny, and jingoism—particular virulence was his capacity to channel the intensifying anger of the white working class into it.”
17. Reich clearly defines the main force in American politics. “Forget left versus right. It’s democracy or oligarchy. The most powerful force in American politics today is anti-establishment fury at a rigged system. There are no longer moderates. There’s no longer a center. There’s either authoritarian populism (Trump) or democratic populism (represented in 2016 by Bernie’s “political revolution”).”
18. Find out the three most common ways oligarchies hold on to power. “How oligarchies retain power. “(1) systems of belief—religions, dogmas, and ideologies—intended to convince most people of the righteousness of the oligarchy’s claim to power.”
19. Provides optimism on how democracy will prevail. “American democracy cannot be maintained if the voices of the vast majority continue to be ignored. Democracy will prevail, if we fight for it.”
20. List sources.
Negatives:
1. Lack of visual material like charts and illustrations.
2. The eBook doesn’t take advantage of the power of links.
3. Does a better job of describing the disease than providing the cure.
In summary, it’s always a treat to read a Reich book. This one is no different, with clarity of thought and provocation Reich provides compelling arguments on how oligarchs rig the system to their favor at the expense of the common good. He ends the book with a number of suggestions and on a positive note. I recommend this book.
Further suggestions: “Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future” by Robert B. Reich, “Winner-Take All Politics” by Jacob S. Hacker, “Screwed the Undeclared War Against the Middle Class” by Thom Hartmann, “The Monster: How a Gang of Predatory Lenders and Wall Street Bankers Fleeced America…” by Michael W. Hudson, “Perfectly Legal…” by David Cay Johnston, “The Looting of America” by Les Leopold and “The Great American Stickup” by Robert Scheer.
18 people found this helpful
Top reviews from other countries
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book. Working class people need to read this.
Reviewed in Canada on February 11, 2022
Those who are working class and see something wrong with the world must read this. Reich unveils a pattern of behaviour from the American elites and how they have bent the American political system to their will and have done the same around the world.
They say the right words about injustice and inequality, but deny that any government (including one's for everyday people) can fix things. Reich provides a strong case for why we should care about politics and why we ought to be participating now more than ever.
5.0 out of 5 stars An eye opener
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 27, 2023
Robert B Reich shows how rich corporations have a stranglehold on politics and ordinary people. Also, he shows how Trump plays his cards to enable the stranglehold to continue, to the detriment of the people who vote for him.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book to know the reality of system which we are living
Reviewed in India on December 1, 2021
Recommended for everybody to know the truth about rigged system made by capitalist class and ceo to make profits from by making system rigged and dyfunctional
5.0 out of 5 stars Très bonne description du système US
Reviewed in France on May 21, 2021
Bonjour excellente description du système social US.
5.0 out of 5 stars Must-read for active citizenry
Reviewed in Germany on January 7, 2021
Concise diagnosis of America's political and economic dysfunctions and the direction of their remedies. I would recommend reading this book.