23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism audiobook cover - Why capitalism is not what you think it is.

23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism

Why capitalism is not what you think it is.

Ha-Joon Chang

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Economics

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23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism
The Nature of Economics+
Human Behavior+
Wages and Inequality+
Industry and Growth+
Government Intervention+
Social Welfare+
The Financial Crisis+
Developing Countries+
Reforming Capitalism+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 10
According to the text, how should the study of economics be accurately classified?
  • A. As an objective natural science similar to physics.
  • B. As a highly complex mathematical discipline comprehensible only to experts.
  • C. As a social science where 95 percent of the subject is simple common sense.
  • D. As a purely normative theory that cannot be applied to real-world scenarios.
Question 2 of 10
What does the concept of 'bounded rationality' suggest about human economic decisions?
  • A. People always make completely irrational choices due to emotional interference.
  • B. People try to be rational but lack the intellectual capacity to process every piece of information.
  • C. People only act rationally when guided by hidden rewards and sanctions.
  • D. People are perfectly rational as long as the government stays out of the marketplace.
Question 3 of 10
How do free market economists explain why people pay their taxi fares instead of running away?
  • A. Because human beings are naturally altruistic and value honesty and honor.
  • B. Because strict government regulations force them to act against their own self-interest.
  • C. Because people are afraid of an immediate physical confrontation with the driver.
  • D. Because people want to avoid the hidden long-term sanction of ruining their reputation.
Question 4 of 10
According to the book, why do workers in developed countries earn significantly more than workers doing the same job in poorer countries?
  • A. Workers in developed countries are inherently more skilled and productive.
  • B. Governments in developed countries protect their workers from global competition through strict immigration controls.
  • C. Free market forces naturally distribute wealth to areas with higher costs of living.
  • D. Executives in developed countries share a larger percentage of their profits with bottom-tier workers.
Question 5 of 10
What is a major problem the author identifies with relying too heavily on a service-based economy?
  • A. Service jobs are too easily outsourced to developing nations.
  • B. The service sector experiences rapid productivity growth, leading to massive unemployment.
  • C. Increasing productivity in services often results in a lower quality end product.
  • D. Service economies require a level of technological infrastructure that is too expensive to maintain.
Question 6 of 10
How does the author explain the primary cause of the 2008 financial crisis?
  • A. Heavy government regulation stifled the natural balancing mechanisms of the free market.
  • B. Developing nations defaulted on their international loans, causing a global chain reaction.
  • C. Social welfare programs drained national reserves, leaving banks without government support.
  • D. The deliberate creation of complex financial derivatives built up unsustainable levels of hidden risk.
Question 7 of 10
Why did government economic planning succeed in countries like South Korea and the US, but fail in the Soviet Bloc?
  • A. South Korea and the US only set broad strategic goals, while the Soviet Bloc tried to control every aspect of the economy.
  • B. The Soviet Bloc lacked the advanced technological infrastructure present in capitalist nations.
  • C. South Korea and the US completely eliminated the profit motive to focus on social welfare.
  • D. The Soviet Bloc relied too heavily on international trade, making it vulnerable to global market fluctuations.
Question 8 of 10
According to the text, what is the actual economic effect of robust social welfare programs?
  • A. They drain national wealth by rewarding people for avoiding work.
  • B. They encourage economic growth by providing a safety net that allows people to take entrepreneurial risks.
  • C. They slow down economic growth by increasing taxes on the wealthy, preventing the 'trickle-down' effect.
  • D. They force citizens to gravitate toward safe, stable professions like healthcare and law.
Question 9 of 10
What does the author identify as a primary reason for the economic struggles of developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa starting in the 1980s?
  • A. Structural geographic disadvantages, such as being landlocked or having difficult terrain.
  • B. A profound lack of entrepreneurial spirit among the local workforce.
  • C. Western governments forcing them to open their markets to outside competition.
  • D. An over-reliance on the internet and the knowledge economy before they were ready.
Question 10 of 10
What is the author's ultimate conclusion about capitalism itself?
  • A. Capitalism is fundamentally flawed and must be replaced by a fully state-controlled economy.
  • B. Capitalism is an effective system for coordination and innovation, but it requires proper regulation to be safe.
  • C. Capitalism functions best when the government completely removes itself from the marketplace.
  • D. Capitalism is only suitable for developed nations and should not be implemented in the developing world.

23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism — Full Chapter Overview

23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism Summary & Overview

In 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism Ha-Joon Chang destroys the biggest myths of our current economic approach. He explains how, despite what most economists believe, there are many things wrong with free market capitalism. As well as explaining the problems, Chang also offers possible solutions which could help us build a better, fairer world.

Who Should Listen to 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism?

  • Students of economics who are fed up with mainstream teaching
  • Anyone who takes an interest in the financial crisis and why nobody saw it coming
  • Anyone wondering why levels of inequality are so high

About the Author: Ha-Joon Chang

Ha-Joon Chang is one of the leading critics of free-market economics. He’s a professor at Cambridge University specializing in institutional and development economics and has published many widely discussed books about economic development such as Bad Samaritans and Kicking Away the Ladder.

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