‘Wealth’ Book Gains Steam: Plutonomics Theory Finds Followers in Economics, Business and Finance

May 31, 2007August 7, 2016 ~ admin

Summary: Plutonomics: A Unified Theory of Wealth gains a small but enthusiastic readership in business and academia. Addressing not only economic and financial wealth but also such unquantifiable factors as health and quality of life, Plutonomics represents a significant departure from conventional wealth theory.

(Original date: May 31, 2007 (ePoet))

Los Angeles-based publisher ePoet(R) LLC confirmed today that S. E. Harrison’s Plutonomics has gained a small but enthusiastic readership in both business and academia. Recognized as the first modern theory to accommodate not only economic and financial wealth but also such unquantifiable factors as health and quality-of-life, Plutonomics: A Unified Theory of Wealth may be particularly attractive to those book buyers who are disillusioned with conventional economic thinking, especially its negative environmental and social effects.
“The response has really exceeded our expectations,” commented an ePoet spokesperson. “New ideas can be slow to catch on, but plutonomics has gained some converts, somewhat to our surprise.”

One quality that readers embrace appears to be that of simplicity, the publisher reported. Unlike conventional economic and finance theories, which grow in complexity year after year, Plutonomics gets straight to the fundamentals of wealth—and then stays there.
“Readability and accessibility were goals for this project from the get-go,” the representative continued. “We tried to make the format of the book itself—the short chapters, the easy illustrations, the quotations from other thinkers—powerfully serve this goal of approachability.”

A number of reader comments visible at the Plutonomics web site (plutonomics.com) indicate a warm reception. Ranging from founders and management of publicly traded companies to accountants, lawyers, students, and workers in nonprofit organizations, some commenters express a preference for the practical applications of Plutonomics while others prefer its poetic style.

“Fine wine”, comments one reader.

“I am shocked and awed”, comments another.

“It struck me that every single word … used in the book is essential for its meaning … just like every word in a poem has an important function …. As a result, Plutonomics is as concise and enjoyable as it could get”, adds a recent economics graduate.

ePoet LLC (ePoet) is a California limited liability company based in Los Angeles, California. For more information on Plutonomics, visit http://www.plutonomics.com.

Plutonomics | A Unified Theory of Wealth by S. E. Harrison

“Plutonomics” Review in UVA Lawyer Magazine

May 25, 2007August 8, 2016 ~ admin

UVA Lawyer has run a review of Plutonomics: A Unified Theory of Wealth. The author of Plutonomics is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.

Corporations | Have Your Cake—and Let Someone Else Pay for It

April 20, 2007August 7, 2016 ~ admin

(Original publication date: April 2007 (ePoet))

Most modern business transactions involve at least one corporation, limited liability company or similar entity. When originally invented, the corporation was permitted only in very special circumstances, because its inherent and enormous dangers were regarded with awe and trepidation. Now, the corporation is omnipresent in our society, but its dangers—still fully present—have been forgotten.

Both the intent and the effect of a corporation is, above all else, to allow participants in an activity to enjoy the fruits of the activity without having to bear the full costs associated with it, specifically, liabilities incurred in the process of conducting the activity. But the costs don’t just disappear. Somebody does bear those costs: everyone else. The people around the corporation—contractors, tort victims, etc.—bear the burdens that would otherwise fall on those who are protected by the corporate shield.

It’s hard to name other instances in our society in which we allow people to have their cake and eat it too, or, phrased more accurately, to have their cake while someone else pays for it. But this is exactly the purpose and result of transacting business through a corporation. It’s equally hard to articulate why we would want a system in which one person gains what others purchase.

Nonetheless, the corporation actually institutionalizes the very externality and free-rider problems that economists teach us to avoid, the same “moral hazards” that legal scholars urge us to minimize.

From both an economic perspective and a moral perspective, the rise of the corporation will go down as one of the most destructive legal developments in recent centuries. Our descendants will reflect upon the many laudable legal advances of the late second and early third millennia, such as the abolition of slavery and universal suffrage, and they will wonder how, amidst such progress, the corporation pandemic was allowed to run unchecked for more than a century while the earth and its inhabitants were abused, contaminated, depleted and destroyed with the impunity afforded by a profoundly bad idea.

Apologists for the corporation will point out that the modern corporation has some desirable qualities, such as shared ownership and unlimited longevity. But these virtues are completely severable from and can be accomplished without limiting liability and are therefore no justification for such limitation.

Others will argue that limitation of liability encourages people to pursue activities they would otherwise not pursue. To which argument the rebuttal is simply, “Exactly!”

Wealth 2.0: ePoet Publishes an Economic—Make that “Plutonomic”—Theory of Wealth for the Information Age

November 23, 2006August 7, 2016 ~ admin

Summary: California-based publisher ePoet announced today the publication of Plutonomics: A Unified Theory of Wealth. The new book may represent the first modern theory to capture all manner of wealth phenomena in a single conceptual structure, making it useful as both a theoretical framework and a practical, self-help tool.

(Original article date: November 23, 2006 (ePoet))

California-based publisher ePoet(R) announced today the publication of Plutonomics: A Unified Theory of Wealth, a new non-fiction book by S. E. Harrison. As the title suggests, Plutonomics may be the first modern theory to capture all manner of wealth phenomena—from money and property to citizenship and reputation—in a single conceptual structure.

“We are very excited about bringing the Plutonomics project to fruition,” commented marketing director Rebecca Nelson. “Both defenders and detractors should find it an enjoyable literary journey.”

Embracing an unusual format by California layout artist Mike Ng, Plutonomics consists of 77 chapters, with each chapter appearing on a single right-side page. The left-side pages provide illustrations, definitions and “quotes for comparison”—ranging from Shakespeare to Marx, Pavlov to Aristotle—that offer an intellectual context for the right-side text. This format, in catering to the sound-bite generation, has garnered favorable comments from reviewers:

“Innovatively designed… [for] the busy reader,” noted Ari L. Noonan of The Front Page. “Definitely worth your investment,” he continued.

In keeping with its modern tone, Plutonomics also provides an index, glossary and bibliography via the World Wide Web rather than including them in print. The electronic supplementary materials appear on a Plutonomics blog site hosted by Word Press, where users can also explore the origins of the term “plutonomics” and follow hyperlinks to works of economics, finance, psychology and philosophy cited in the book.

“I guess Plutonomics is really a ‘hybrid’ book: it’s part e-book and part regular print book,” Nelson continued. “We thought this approach remained consonant with the message while also giving readers the best of both a ‘sit-down’ book and a blog.”

Featuring a foil-embossed cover of gold on purple by Los Angeles designer Christopher Tjalsma, “Plutonomics” cuts a figure as striking as its content. And for easy readability, New York-based illustrator Jonathan Klemstine has turned sophisticated content into simple, easy-to-follow diagrams. Meanwhile, back cover comments from businesspeople nationwide convey some of the excitement surrounding the new release.

Plutonomics: A Unified Theory of Wealth is available through Amazon.com (ISBN: 0-9776420-0-3) as well as through plutonomics.com.

ePoet(R), the Bard of Business(TM), is a California limited liability company providing writing services to the business and technology developer communities.