Everyman

“A new book tells the story of the economics discipline and its original purpose with a degree of verve and imaginativeness that puts dreary mainstream economists to shame. In the process, it gets at fundamental truths that major schools within the discipline have managed to obscure.” –Project Syndicate
“A wholly unique book: a novelistic retelling of 250 years of economics through magical realism, literary fiction, economic theory, and history. By assigning myth-like characters to economic history’s biggest players-archetypes and elements, Haldar traces the arc of global capitalism drawing on everything from moral psychology to evolutionary biology.” –Forbes
“A brilliant, kaleidoscopic drama where economic history unfolds like a theatrical masterpiece… . What makes Everyman so easy to connect with is Haldar’s insistent focus on emotion, empathy, and collective well-being … . It is a body of work that is intellectually sharp without ever losing its soul or its grounding in real life… . Ultimately, Everyman is more than just a history of economic thought; it is an important call to reclaim our shared future… . It is a transformative, essential read for anyone looking to understand where our money and markets came from, and how we can help shape a fairer world for tomorrow.” –Eastern Eye
“Economist Haldar debuts with a unique and enchanting treatise styled in the form of a novel. Harkening back to the allegorical economic treatises of the early modern period, Haldar sets out to ‘illuminat[e] the distortions’ and ‘reengage [the] moral imagination’ of her field… . In chapters themed around allusions to canonical stories and storytellers, from Macbeth to Hemingway, Haldar weaves her allegorical figures together with long passages of historical and theoretical context, so that, in a typical passage, the reader gets a discourse on the Eurozone and Davos, peppered with references to Thomas Mann’s Magic Mountain and the music of ABBA. The result is charming, often funny, and wonderfully overstuffed with ideas.” –Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A fun, funny, and brilliant romp through the history of modern economics. Everyman reads like a novel but its core is about a battle of ideas, and whether economics truly helps people or merely grows capital. Haldar’s masterful book is a timely and urgent parable on the global fight against inequality.” –Ravi Agrawal, editor-in-chief, Foreign Policy
“Imagine if Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance had been about economics and if Salman Rushdie had pondered the ghoulish progeny of Adam Smith’s invisible hand. Imagine no more. Antara Haldar has done it for you: a delightful cartwheel through the dismal science and a plea for us to become masters of our economy and not the other way around.” –David Pilling, Financial Times Africa editor and author of The Growth Delusion
“A novel–and novelistic–approach to recounting the emergence of modern economics… . [Haldar’s] real subject is the rise of capitalism and ideas that all too often seem to be fixed laws of the universe rather than socially agreed upon arrangements… . A lively short course in economic history, and a subtle critique of its eternal verities.” –Kirkus Reviews
“Everyman is not a book. It is an exorcism. For 250 years, economics has armed the bloodied hand that clenches our throat. Antara Haldar’s new book is a psychological drama unveiling an oppressive pseudoscience, a tragedy that refuses its own curtain. Read it and you will no longer ask who economics is for.” –Yanis Varoufakis, former finance minister of Greece, author of Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism
“Wonderful and witty: A powerful satire and a critique of the profession. This is the best critical fiction/nonfiction take on economics and finance that I have ever read. You will surely find Everyman enlightening and, I dare say, entertaining.” –Roman Frydman, Professor of Economics, New York University, and Founding Editor, Project Syndicate
“Everyman is a fable of breathtaking sweep and sharp insight, a book that belongs on economics syllabi and bedside tables alike. Haldar also brilliantly pulls together the sparks of a revolution that is almost here.” –Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO, New America

Antara Haldar is a globetrotting economist, philosopher, and lawyer. She is a professor at the University of Cambridge and visiting faculty at Harvard University. Her internationally syndicated column for Project Syndicate has been published in 150 countries, and her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Times Literary Supplement (London), WIRED, The Independent, and more. She has been a consultant to the United Nations and the World Justice Project, and her award-winning research has been cited by the World Bank, the White House, and other organizations. She lives between London and New York.

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