Book description
The real world is messy, circular and aggressive. It's full of
'wicked problems' that are not easy to solve in the neat, theoretical
ways that game theory or chess challenges suggest - take overfishing,
for example. • This groundbreaking book sets out a powerful new
approach, beyond economics alone and enriched with numerous
illustrations, to understand the way the world really works in order
to help us make better, long-term decisions. The authors call it 'real
commerce', as opposed to the transactional commerce of buying and
selling which is only a small part of commerce in the real sense of
the world. • Michael Mainelli and Ian Harris looks at the complex way
in which people, organizations and societies communicate and deal with
each other every day since real commerce drives society, politics, the
economy and our future. The Price of Fish takes the reader on a
journey through areas of knowledge, including choice architecture,
systems and evolution, that need to be understood to explain how the
world really works.
We have all discovered, painfully, that there are some areas,
important to our existence, where price signals have worked badly or not
at all. Financial markets are one. Deep sea fishing - part of the
tragedy of the commons - is another. This book is a challenging
contribution to understanding these failures. Vince Cable, Secretary of
State for Business, Innovation and Skills "I defy anyone not to
enjoy this presentation of global issues explained in an innovative way
with amusing anecdotes and analogies." Sir David Lewis, former Lord
Mayor of London, former Chairman and Senior Partner, Norton Rose.
"It's clear that virtually every global system, from finance to
mass media and ecosystems to commodity markets, is creaking. Worse than
that, the current structures on which our planetary, social and
financial health are based have all proved to be expensive, damaging and
perverse failures. In a planetary economy crying out for fresh thinking,
smart analysis and, crucially, pragmatic optimism, anything Michael
Mainelli and Ian Harris have to offer is not only worth a look but
arguably a must-read. I recommend this book to anyone who thinks there
must be cleverer ways in which civilisation can manage its future."
Brendan May - environmentalist - founder, Robertsbridge Group, UK
Chairman, Rainforest Alliance, and former CEO, Marine Stewardship
Council. "For someone who is not a professional economist, Michael
Mainelli thinks more cleverly about economics than anyone else I've met
or read. I have never had a discussion with Michael without feeling that
I've learned something new. 'The Price of Fish' will provoke, enrage and
intrigue people. But above all it will enlighten." Douglas
McWilliams, Chief Executive, Centre for Economics and Business Research
"In this thought-provoking and enlightening book, Mainelli and
Harris highlight a point that economists too often forget: that
economics is, at its heart, the study of human behaviour, and that both
commerce and its wicked sister, finance, mean nothing unless they are
connected to people and society." Bill Emmott, Editor of The
Economist 1993-2006, author, and conceptual fisherman. "Your mother
used to tell you that fish is good for the brain. Reading this
terrifying analysis will prove her right." Stephen McDowell,
Editor-in-chief, Interactive Investor Group. "This book shows how
unpicking something as innocent as the price of fish reveals an
interconnected world of "wicked problems", unravelling which
will be vital to squaring the demands of a rising population with
climate change and resource depletion." Gerard Wynn, Environmental
Markets Correspondent, Reuters News. "From their background of
economics, law, accountancy and leading edge work for defence, academic
and research institutions, Michael and Ian have proved adept in
presenting to commercial enterprises and interested laymen the
complicated interactions in the real world of those theories and
disciplines with human foibles, accelerating technological change,
general noise and interference from misguided politicians with agendas
and incompetent bureaucrats, causing unintended consequences and
manifest disasters in the global financial and commercial affairs of
society. Refreshingly they tell it as it is and we are all the better
for it." Jack Wigglesworth, founder and former chairman, LIFFE (now
NYSE Euronext Liffe). "Academics tend to be locked into their own
disciplines, unable to apply different ways of thought or ask different
questions. The Price of Fish is a lucid and provocative challenge to
many ways of thinking about our world; it will be read by, and will
benefit, anyone who realises that apparently simple questions conceal,
and require, complex answers which draw on wider knowledge than most of
us possess." Professor Sir Roderick Floud, Provost, Gresham
College. "Crazy but worth your attention." Sir Willie Purves,
former Chairman, HSBC. "Mainelli and Harris offer in the 'Price of
Fish' an original and insightful look at the big and important long-term
issues facing society today, the 'wicked' problems. Better yet, they
provide a framework to analyze these issues: choice, economics, systems,
and evolution. Policy makers need to read this book." Donald J
Smith, Boston University, author of "Bond Math: The Theory Behind
the Formulas". "As one of the world's largest fish buyers I
lived on a daily basis with this 'Wicked Problem'. Michael's and Ian's
contribution is a welcome insight to complex commercial decision
making." Mike Parker, former Deputy CEO, Findus Group, Europe's
largest seafood processor. "The Price of Fish recognises the
importance of competition within a complex world of consumer choice and
evolving markets. Mainelli and Harris give policy-makers a richer
framework for decision-making, one that applies from finance to scarce
resource management and beyond." Charlie McCreevy, former EU
Commisioner and former Irish Minister for Finance. "Mainelli and
Harris are very bright fellows. It shows in this elegant and witty
approach to resource economics which tackles all those dangerous issues
which arise when Mother Earth and the market collide." Richard D
North, fellow, Social Affairs Unit and media affairs fellow, Institute
of Economic Affairs "Michael Mainelli and Ian Harris are among the
most interesting lateral thinkers on key economic issues of the day.
They succeed brilliantly in making their provocative ideas
comprehensible to mere mortals." John Plender, Columnist, Financial
Times "Politicians cling on to today's economic orthodoxies like
grim death - unwittingly hastening the collapse of the global economy in
the process. The ironic and illusion-busting insights of Mainelli and
Harris could be just the ticket in wrenching those politicians back to
reality." Jonathon Porritt, Founder Director, Forum for the Future
"This book is - in the best sense of the word - 'wicked'.
Elliptical, provocative, discursive, infuriating, good for a Notting
Hill dinner party - not unlike the authors." Andrew Hilton,
Director, CSFI.
Educated at Harvard, Michael Mainelli is Commerce
Professor Emeritus and Fellow at Gresham College (founding home of the
Royal Society and former home to Christopher Wren). He is also
Visiting Professor at LSE and was responsible for creating the London
Accord the world's leading research cooperative into environmental,
social and governance investment. He is the co-founder of Z/Yen, the
City of London's leading commercial think-tank established in 1994 to
promote societal advance through better finance and technology. Over
the course of his career, he has worked in economics, political
science, seismology, cartography, energy information, research and
development, in defence and at the highest level of accountancy.
Ian Harris is a co-founder of Z/Yen, having previously conceived
and launched the award-winning joint venture Charity Share and guided
the Marine Stewardship Council towards a Best Practice award for its
strategic planning and governance, as well as working to solve other
problems of long-term thinking in charities and other non-governmental organizations.
