RSA Book of the Year (4)
Time for books seven and eight in the RSA Books of the year list. Tomorrow will see the unveiling of the last two and my choice of the overall winner.
Polly Toynbee and David Walker – Unjust rewards
I am choosing this book for three reasons: First, because Polly and David were ahead of the curve in their attack on the super-rich and those who pander to them; second, because the book contains a series of thoughtful policy recommendations (more on one of these below); and third because some of the comment on the book from old-school right wing columnists and bloggers (who have apparently never forgiven her for being ungracious about Auberon Waugh after his death) was so abusive and gratuitous it continues to need balancing.
One of the recommendations in Unjust Rewards was to insist on the publication of tax returns so companies and individuals who are abusing tax loopholes can be exposed. I was told the other day that HMRC are, in one area at least, exploring a similar approach. Sadly I didn’t know enough about the tax system to fully understand, so I stand ready to be corrected if I’ve got it wrong. As I heard it companies and individuals wanting to test out new ways of exploiting tax loopholes can take their case to HMRC Special Commissioners. After hearing the case the Commissioners’ ruling is published.
But because companies generally don’t want the public to know how they are trying to evade tax they often withdraw their appeal just before it goes to the Special Commission. The idea being explored (implemented?) is to put appeals into the public domain earlier in the process. Thus, a company seeking to evade the spirit of tax law by exploiting the letter of tax law would have to defend its actions in public.
If I’ve got this right, it is an interesting example of the kind of ‘nudging’ advocated by Thaler and Sunstein, in this case using public opprobrium, rather than more conventional tools of law and regulation, to achieve public policy goals. Not only is this good for the taxpayer but it is ultimately better for the system. If we all obeyed the spirit of taxation rules we would need a much less complex system. As Polly Toynbee said in her lecture here, rich people and companies complain about the complexity of the tax system when that complexity is primarily a result of their own sophisticated attempts to open and exploit loopholes in the system.
Richard Sennett – The Craftsman
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the event with Richard to launch his book – very disappointing, as I count him as a good friend and an earlier book of his, The Fall of Public Man, influenced me greatly. In The Craftsman, Richard opens up a fascinating debate about the importance of craft in the functioning of society and provides us with an alternative way of thinking about the value of work in our lives – in contrast to the devalued corporate culture he critiques in ‘The Corrosion of Character’.
And all the books mentioned here are available at the RSA Bookshop!
RSA Book of the Year (1)
Commenting on my blog last week, ‘Michael’ suggested I compile a list of RSA books of the year. What a great idea. So, this week I will be featuring every day two books we have helped to launch here at the RSA in 2009. Then on Friday afternoon – partly depending on the feedback I get – I will reveal the RSA’s Book of the Year.
So, here are my first two nominations:
Adam Zeman – Portrait of the Brain
This is a wonderful book exploring the way the brain works through the prism of the case notes of a consultant neurologist. It is authoritative without being too heavy going, fascinating without being either sensationalist or voyeuristic about the individual cases Dr Zeman discusses. It has a great structure starting with the smallest particles in the brain and building to the whole question of human consciousness. I can’t think of a better introduction to the science of the brain.
Richard Thaler/Cass Sunstein – Nudge
Arguably the most discussed social policy book of the year – David Cameron put Nudge on his shadow cabinet summer reading list, and politicians of all parties claimed to be developing policies based on the Nudge principles of small interventions to encourage people to do the right thing. The book doesn’t contain anything particularly new to those well versed in behavioural economics and social psychology; its strength lies in connecting research on human behaviour, examples of successful ‘nudging’ and credible proposals for future policy. Indeed, no policy wonk would go to a 2008 Xmas party and be heard admitting they hadn’t read Nudge.
You can buy both from the RSA Bookshop!
RSA Animate
RSA Mobile
RSA Comment- RSA Projects Blogs
- Twitter @RSAMatthew
RSA Bookshop
The RSA Bookshop, in partnership with Blackwell's the UK's leading academic bookseller, offers Fellows and friends an opportunity to purchase books and to explore our speakers’ ideas in greater detail. Visit the RSA Bookshop.