Makers and Takers: How Wealth and Progress Are Made and How They Are Taken Away or Prevented
Contoski is identified as a former director of planning at a multinational environmental consulting firm and a lecturer on international monetary affairs. Here he issues an impassioned manifesto that is a paean to individualism and libertarian ideals. With dozens of examples to bolster his cause, Contoski rails against government interference in private life and corporate affairs. He contends that government power to tax, regulate, and control the money supply smothers creativity and impedes progress. Nearly a fourth of Contoski's book is devoted to rebutting arguments that industrial growth depletes resources and harms the environment, and he also challenges the reality of an overpopulation problem. Librarians might consider Contoski's book as a counterpoint to recent titles such as Paul Erdman'sThe Stork and the Plow(1995) and Tom Athanasiou'sDivided Planet(1996).David Rouse