Something New

 We feature each fortnight Nicholas Reid's reviews and comments on new and recent books.  

“WHY WE’RE GETTING POORER – A realist’s guide to the economy and how we can fix it” by Cahal Moran (published by William Collins; distributed in New Zealand by Harper-Collins, $NZ39.99); “NESTING” by Roisin O’Donnell (published by Scribner; also distributed in New Zealand by Harper-Collins, $NZ39.99)

 

            Cahal Moran is an economist, gained his PhD at the University of Manchester and now lectures at the London School of Economics. In his introduction he says he rebelled from the traditional economics that was taught him at university in a style that emphasised mathematics rather than considering real human situations.

Moran’s style is a breezy one. To jolly readers along, he often interposes in his theses quotations from funny comments in TV sit-coms and cartoons - but of course his intention is very serious. He wants to tell us why, despite all the improvements that have been created in the world, we are still on the back-foot, and even in developed and advanced countries there is much real poverty.  He explains his book’s title thus: “What exactly do I mean by ‘getting poorer’? The answer is that across the global economy, people are much poorer than they could be and that they reasonably should be….across the global economy most people remain in poverty and we have not done enough to address this. All the problems with the uneven economy can be tackled by reining in the rich and powerful while boosting the poor and disadvantaged, though there is room for reasonable disagreement about how exactly to do this.” (pp.12-13). So at once he plants his flag on the side of general monetary reform and the Left.

While Moran does deal with global economics, readers should be aware that his perspective is mainly a British one, and many of the ‘cases’ he gives are set in England. He emphasises that if a working-class is in good health, there will then be a working-class happier working and more productive – and therefore there should be a much improved National Health system than the one Britain has. [It is now in distress – a bit like New Zealand’s health system.] Also please note that even if he is on the Left, Cahal Moran is not blind to other people’s views and he sometimes gives credit to entrepreneurs and capitalist companies that have really tried to relieve poverty.

In his first chapter “The Uneven Economy” he begins with a brief and general survey of economies in former ages – slavery, feudalism, the evolution of the market etc. It is always understood that production is a mass thing – that is, many are involved. This being the case he says that employees should therefore have a say in the running of businesses and corporations because they are essential workers. Both Adam Smith and Karl Marx also said this in their own ways. [By the way, Adam Smith is often quoted by the Right as the founder of Capitalism – so you may be surprised to find Moran often quotes Adam Smith with approval.]  But the fact is that the mass of workers are not always treated as partners by their employers and not given the same freedoms. Also those who employ and are wealthier have privileges – as in free time off etc. To  give an example of inequality, he points out that during the Covid lock-downs [in England], employed clerks, employed accountants and others could work on “at home”, while employed working-class had to either stay at home or [if their work was out out-doors], they could get on with it. He says   “Surely, at some point virtually everybody has to get back to work – but it is strange that we can easily recognise those whose labour we literally cannot live without, then continue to pay them poorly and treat them badly” (p.51) So he uses this to assert that the economy is uneven in the sense that not all have the same opportunities to thrive.

Turning to Chapter Two he asks “Why are there so many billionaires?” and he says it is easier now for the very wealthy to buy out rival companies, put together conglomerates, and continue the process until they are on the “Forbes’ Rich List”. Why? Because laws against monopolies have, in the last few decades, been eased to the point where laws no longer matter. In detail Moran gives accounts of billionaires who exploit their employees; endlessly claim patents that they’ve often filches; make even more money by underpaying employees on site; grossly paying themselves (i.e. billions) for things they have not earned; obsession with buying out other companies etc. Says Moran: “Tech companies could be accused of providing a glossy coat over the far darker reality of how their products are produced. Terms like ‘the cloud’ provoke lofty images of ideas floating around the sky when in fact internet servers are huge blocks of complex circuitry located in warehouses across the world which must be perpetually cooled, an extremely energy-intensive process.” (p.82) Certainly there are some millionaires who have financed beneficial things, but as benefactors they are usually a sham, their main purpose being to boost their prestige and be admired.

But what of those who say that anyone could become rich if they only try and work hard? Moran deals with the fallacy, in Chapter 3 “Who Climbs the Ladder?”, on “the myths of meritocracy” . In every country in the world there are social classes, be they tribal, caste [as in India], or aristocracy – and of course in the differences between upper, middle and lower class. In Britain, most of Europe, America and their off-springs, the wealthy are born into the higher classes. Yes, there is the occasional lower-class person who becomes very wealthy, but that is a rare exception. On the whole, poorer people have to deal with immediate problems, such as how much money is coming in and how to pay the rent. It is therefore harder for them to accrue much money than it is for those who are set up by all-ready wealthy parents . [In passing Moran also deals with how it is often, for women and people of certain ethnicities, to be turned away by potential employers.] On the whole, too, poorer people are less likely to have a thorough education that might have allowed them to become doctors, lawyers, academics, engineers etc. Naturally Moran, and very reasonably, takes a crack at Britain’s upper-class filthy rich who are able to go to elite schools (Eton, Harrow etc.), many of whom end up as Members of Parliament or very rich entrepreneurs. Middle-class people may choose and find solid state schools… but the pupils of the working-class tend to be in poorer areas where the schools are not as helpful with teachers who are less likely to lead pupils into the professions. The simple fact is that, all over the world, real education is not available to everyone.

It is only in Chapter 4 “Is Poverty Getting Better?’ that Moran turns his focus away from Britain and considers the world at large. Optimistic writers [especially American ones] keep telling us that nowadays millions are being “brought out of poverty” every day. But in reality, this means that the “precariat” [those living in precarious situations] are getting a tiny-little-more than they used to have and they are still on the edge of starvation. Optimistic statistics tend to ignore this fact. Yes, here are some impoverished countries that have gained a little by the WHO [World Health Organisation], but Moran notes:  “The USA has effective veto power at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is responsible for lending to poor countries and often imposes conditions on the types of policies they can enact. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) determines the terms and conditions of trade between countries. Even though the WHO is more democratic than the IMF or WB [the World Bank], many poor counties simply lack the resources to engage meaningfully in trade negotiations.” (p.172)

But does all this answer Moran’s title “Why We are Getting Poorer”? In his last two chapters, he is much more discursive, rambling somewhat. He asks about why it is now so difficult in England for people – even middle-class people – to secure a mortgage and a house. Locations – especially in desirable locations in cities – are almost impossible for the middle-class to get. Why? Because banks deal not only with mortgages but also with trading companies who snap up locations to build their offices, apartment-blocks etc. so…  “We have seen the financial sector get more and more into property, with the result being serious instability. It was not until the late twentieth-century wave of financial deregulations – which, contrary popular belief, came in the early 1970s before [Margaret] Thatcher – that ‘regular’ banks could now get into the mortgage business more freely…. These days, banks do the majority of their lending for commercial real estate…” [pp.199-200] He compares this with the more generous public housing that is provided in some European countries.

He then launches into the matter of what money is anyway, telling us the obvious that money is made by banks, that loans and bonds are the same thing, how currencies are made or printed, and all transactions are loans. When he deals with inflation, he says this often occurs because when workers get a rise in their wages, prices go up because companies and shopkeepers raise prices to put a bit more money in their pockets. And “To put it bluntly, central bankers are too obsessed with wages, specifically when they go up, which is often assumed prima facie to be a bad thing. This is a political choice that we do not talk about nearly enough…” (p.270) In his very last chapter “Why did the Global Economy Break?” he does not really give a coherent answer.

Coming to the end of this book, I concluded that Moran tells many truths, is enlightening in places, is not a fanatic in any way, but somehow hasn’t persuaded me that he has answered the ultimate question he has asked - “Why Are We Getting Poorer”? Maybe we are, but in more ways than he has explained. But worth reading.

Sarcastic Footnote: For the benefit of those who see themselves as virtuous because they use electric cars rather than petrol driven, please note “… it is unclear that efforts such as Musk’s are the kind of environmental change that is needed to stop feeding either local pollution or climate change. An obvious problem with a company like Testa is that if most electricity is produced with fossil fuels, then the impact of electric cars is nullified. It’s little good swapping your oil-fuelled car for electricity that is produced by oil fuel… public transport almost always results in lover emissions than cars, whether they’re petrol or electric.” (pp.93-94)

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            In Dublin in Ireland, Ciara is married to Ryan Fay. They have two daughters, 4-year old Sophie and 2-year-old Ella. Ryan is a civil servant. Ciara wants to work too and get out and about. She’s been to university, has degrees, is capable of being a teacher and she wants to be more than a house-bound housewife. But Ryan won’t let her. He does not beat her or otherwise physically hurt her. There are no bruises on her. But he does constantly intimidate her, belittle her, shout at her and demand that he alone is the master of the family. It’s a sort of psychological torture. So one day Ciara packs her bags when Ryan is at work, takes their two little girls, and flees, looking for shelter somewhere in the city where Ryan can’t find her.

            Ciara hasn’t told Ryan that she is pregnant. Roisin O’Donnell sets her story in 2018-2019, the years when abortion became legal in Ireland, and she gives some references to this. At first we might think that Ciara is looking for an abortion; but that turns out not to be the case. She gives birth to a little boy. When Ryan finds out about this he becomes even more possessive then before, saying their son belongs to him. Much of the novel concerns his ruses, tricks and sheer nastiness in trying to find her and drag her back to him. He gets a solicitor. She is able to get a solicitor only because there is free help for the poor.  In court, the magistrate, despite being a crusty old man, rules that Ryan can have access to the children only at limited times and the children will stay with Ciara. But this is just the beginning to what Ryan can do.

            Obviously this is a story of misogyny and an account of obsession. Ryan’s parents think Ciara is shaming their son and she is a thoughtless mother. Ciara’s family (who live in England – Sheffield to be precise) have different attitudes.

            But while this is the backbone of the story, the novel is as much concerned with the fate of those who cannot find shelter or a home in the city. Ciara first hides with her children in a hotel (where there are other people in distress). Then she tries to buy or rent an apartment, as often as not being turned away or not having enough to pay the rent, even though she has found work. Of course there are people who help her on the way – mainly women -  but frankly, Roisin O’Donnell is indicting city councils for not providing accommodation for those who are not wealthy.

            Nesting often reads as very good journalism and O’Donnell’s prose is clear and  readable. But I do have some gripes. I am sure there are men who mistreat their wives or partners, even the ones who do not use direct violence. But Ryan is so devious and clever in his ways that he almost becomes a super-criminal. Or am I being naïve about this? Anyway, it’s almost “hiss the villain” territory, and we do not really understand how he became a monster in the first place. I also find the denouement [the last three or four pages] improbably melodramatic, while Ciara’s friendship with a nice Brazilian man becomes a little too neatly lovey-dovey. And my goodness it is long – 383 pages long to be precise.

            Still, this is just me being grumpy. For what it’s worth, Nesting has already been lauded in Irish, English and American reviews, so what am I to be a little out of step? A huge readership is likely.