Betterment is not a real bank. The reason they can say up to 4mil is FDIC insured is because they split your money across multiple banks in the background. If those banks go under, you lose your money, because Betterment themselves is not a bank. Perfect Union has released explainers on this, I recommend checking out their YouTube. People have lost a lot of money keeping their funds in not-banks that claim FDIC insurance; but it’s actually a tangled web of not-banks to invisible banks that can fold at any time.
As a former professor in ethics and public policy, I'm familiar with several of the writers and traditions on your list. A few thoughts:
-Schor's earlier work, _The Overworked American_, is a better book than her _Overspent American_. Similarly easy (for the lay reader), quite original during its time, and I think it would align with your interests.
-I second Sharon's recommendation of Piketty. But rather than beginning with his recent work, I would start with his celebrated 2013 masterpiece, _Capital in the Twenty-First Century_. It sounds dry and boring, but is anything but. He weaves in history and literature to trace and explain the evolution of capital's (and capitalism's) role in contemporary society. I'm guessing you would find yourself thinking about it long after you finish it.
-Giridharadas is a fine young thinker. If you haven't seen his recent NYT Oped on "the Epstein Class", it's well worth a read.
-GA Cohen is a brilliant philosopher. I used his work extensively during my own graduate work in the 1990s. If you're interested in other more philosophical treatments of this issues, would be happy to discuss with you.
Thanks again for sharing this. I'm a big fan of all you do, and am looking forward to see how your career evolves!
“So far the most salient point I’ve taken away is that “luck” (typically considered no different than random chance) in financial outcomes—e.g., this person is lucky to be talented in a way that often generates high compensation in our society, like being particularly adept at, say, trading derivatives for a hedge fund—ignores both the structures that make those talents the ones worthy of high compensation as well as the backgrounds that tend to allow someone to develop and exploit such a talent in the first place.”
Luck is one of those words that puts me into one of those philosophy thought spirals. Couldn’t having those particular talents and backgrounds also be construed as “luck”? Lucky circumstances to be living in a world that rewards a certain skin color, immigration status, mathematical ability, tolerance for filling out forms, etc.? Couldn’t it be luck all the way down?
I’m glad someone mentioned Sapolsky…the mammalian drive to group up and form alliances to defend against ‘outsider’ groups is such a big part of any conversation around resource distribution.
Katie -- not sure if this is outside the purview of your project, but I literally can't help but suggest another area of study for you. Something that might be worth exploring based on both your interest in the morality of money vis a vis Christian theology and "Pound Foolish," would be to read in and around the tradition of virtue ethics. To Olen's point/observation (and yours) that "learning about money often doesn’t directly translate to doing better," virtue ethicists would argue that this is because virtue isn't formed by knowledge but by practice. The virtue here would be more two dimensional than the vague invocation to "be good with money," but something like charity, prudence, or generosity. According to virtue ethics, one doesn't simply wake up one morning and is suddenly more charitable, prudential, or generous. But one can become all of those things through the choices one makes, often in community with others.
Take for example (anecdotally, of course) all the people that say they'll start to give away money once they have more of it, or "have enough." Virtue ethicists would ask, "Are you giving away money now?" And if the answer is no, then they would say that more than likely you *won't* give it away once you have a lot of it. Why? Because you're not in the habit of giving money away, and it's much, much harder to give away a lot of money than it is to give away a little. If you haven't run so much as a mile in your life, it's a bad idea to sign up for a marathon and run it without doing any training. It's the same with virtue.
My recs for books that take this intersection seriously would be "Being Consumed" by William Cavanaugh, "The Economy of Desire" by Daniel Bell, and then obviously the heavy hitter in "Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity" by MacIntyre
Hi, Katie! This is exciting, and I’m looking forward to your next book. I’m curious of how you’re going to weave the philosophical and theological components. I’m a clergy woman (Presbyterian Church U.S.A.; M.Div. from Princeton) who used to work in congregations (and focused on service, justice, and community organizing type of work) and interfaith chaplaincy for a decade in my first part of my career. Now, I mainly get my pay check from a “normal corporate MBA job.” (That is a story for another day.)
If you’ve got questions on liberation theology and its influence beyond the original writings (Romero, Gutierrez, etc.) or people of faith’s relationships with money, please reach out—I can tell you things from on the ground from my pastoral work. With some other seminary friends, we were lucky to get a picture with Gutierrez when he was visiting Princeton Theological Seminary back in 2010 for a lecture/award which he received.
Thanks for sharing this list! I am digging into women and econ, and was meaning to check out your work too. I just started Shortchanged which I’m sure is outdated by now, but learning about the women’s wealth gap has just been…astounding to me? Also loved Poverty By America. There Is No Place for Us is also fantastic on the housing and beautiful writing front.
Thank you for this post -- some interesting titles here to pursue.
One comment: Marx may have lived for a time in tony Primrose Hill but that was with the help of his wealthy patron and supporter Friedrich Engels, along with any coming-out balls for his daughters -- and it got him and his family out of the seedy environs of Soho. Marx was very hard up for most of his life, one time commenting something along the lines of "Has any man ever written so much about money while having so little?" Francis Wheen's well-regarded biography is surprisingly fun, if you need a break from, well, your tall stack of books here. : )
Great picks and a fantastic project. If you'd be open to reading some books from an alternative perspective, the perspective of exploring the benefits of free markets and free enterprise, here are a few I'd strongly recommend:
The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto
Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
That Which is Seen and That Which is Not Seen by Frédéric Bastiat
So much content here, i want to read Uneasy Street: The Anxieties of Affluence . Im drafting an article about changes in the way the wealthy consume is changing, so this will be helpful.
Oh wow this is spectacular - immediately added to my reading list. I don’t want to suggest something as du jour as a book club, but something shy of a book club?
Katie!!! I never comment but commenting to share this. If you are interested in economics plus liberation theology, and you also maybe want a contrast to #Abundance… may I recommend Enough Is Enough, by Matt Bernico and Dean Detloff?
“Enough Is Enough argues that the economic and theological directions offered by liberation theology give us a unique paradigm for Christians to question the hegemony of growth.”
I’ve never stepped away from something you’ve written without learning something that shifts my world view a bit. Thank you for your words, keep writing them.
Betterment is not a real bank. The reason they can say up to 4mil is FDIC insured is because they split your money across multiple banks in the background. If those banks go under, you lose your money, because Betterment themselves is not a bank. Perfect Union has released explainers on this, I recommend checking out their YouTube. People have lost a lot of money keeping their funds in not-banks that claim FDIC insurance; but it’s actually a tangled web of not-banks to invisible banks that can fold at any time.
Thank you for sharing this with us, Katie.
As a former professor in ethics and public policy, I'm familiar with several of the writers and traditions on your list. A few thoughts:
-Schor's earlier work, _The Overworked American_, is a better book than her _Overspent American_. Similarly easy (for the lay reader), quite original during its time, and I think it would align with your interests.
-I second Sharon's recommendation of Piketty. But rather than beginning with his recent work, I would start with his celebrated 2013 masterpiece, _Capital in the Twenty-First Century_. It sounds dry and boring, but is anything but. He weaves in history and literature to trace and explain the evolution of capital's (and capitalism's) role in contemporary society. I'm guessing you would find yourself thinking about it long after you finish it.
-Giridharadas is a fine young thinker. If you haven't seen his recent NYT Oped on "the Epstein Class", it's well worth a read.
-GA Cohen is a brilliant philosopher. I used his work extensively during my own graduate work in the 1990s. If you're interested in other more philosophical treatments of this issues, would be happy to discuss with you.
Thanks again for sharing this. I'm a big fan of all you do, and am looking forward to see how your career evolves!
“So far the most salient point I’ve taken away is that “luck” (typically considered no different than random chance) in financial outcomes—e.g., this person is lucky to be talented in a way that often generates high compensation in our society, like being particularly adept at, say, trading derivatives for a hedge fund—ignores both the structures that make those talents the ones worthy of high compensation as well as the backgrounds that tend to allow someone to develop and exploit such a talent in the first place.”
Luck is one of those words that puts me into one of those philosophy thought spirals. Couldn’t having those particular talents and backgrounds also be construed as “luck”? Lucky circumstances to be living in a world that rewards a certain skin color, immigration status, mathematical ability, tolerance for filling out forms, etc.? Couldn’t it be luck all the way down?
If, like me, you don’t believe in free will, then yes, for many measures of “success” or “happiness” luck plays an uncomfortably large role.
turtles all the way down! the book "Determined" by Robert Sapolsky explores this topic nicely
I’m glad someone mentioned Sapolsky…the mammalian drive to group up and form alliances to defend against ‘outsider’ groups is such a big part of any conversation around resource distribution.
Katie -- not sure if this is outside the purview of your project, but I literally can't help but suggest another area of study for you. Something that might be worth exploring based on both your interest in the morality of money vis a vis Christian theology and "Pound Foolish," would be to read in and around the tradition of virtue ethics. To Olen's point/observation (and yours) that "learning about money often doesn’t directly translate to doing better," virtue ethicists would argue that this is because virtue isn't formed by knowledge but by practice. The virtue here would be more two dimensional than the vague invocation to "be good with money," but something like charity, prudence, or generosity. According to virtue ethics, one doesn't simply wake up one morning and is suddenly more charitable, prudential, or generous. But one can become all of those things through the choices one makes, often in community with others.
Take for example (anecdotally, of course) all the people that say they'll start to give away money once they have more of it, or "have enough." Virtue ethicists would ask, "Are you giving away money now?" And if the answer is no, then they would say that more than likely you *won't* give it away once you have a lot of it. Why? Because you're not in the habit of giving money away, and it's much, much harder to give away a lot of money than it is to give away a little. If you haven't run so much as a mile in your life, it's a bad idea to sign up for a marathon and run it without doing any training. It's the same with virtue.
My recs for books that take this intersection seriously would be "Being Consumed" by William Cavanaugh, "The Economy of Desire" by Daniel Bell, and then obviously the heavy hitter in "Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity" by MacIntyre
Hi, Katie! This is exciting, and I’m looking forward to your next book. I’m curious of how you’re going to weave the philosophical and theological components. I’m a clergy woman (Presbyterian Church U.S.A.; M.Div. from Princeton) who used to work in congregations (and focused on service, justice, and community organizing type of work) and interfaith chaplaincy for a decade in my first part of my career. Now, I mainly get my pay check from a “normal corporate MBA job.” (That is a story for another day.)
If you’ve got questions on liberation theology and its influence beyond the original writings (Romero, Gutierrez, etc.) or people of faith’s relationships with money, please reach out—I can tell you things from on the ground from my pastoral work. With some other seminary friends, we were lucky to get a picture with Gutierrez when he was visiting Princeton Theological Seminary back in 2010 for a lecture/award which he received.
Thanks, Katie.
Sharing a few more intersectional perspectives …
Ain't I a Woman?: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks
Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center" by bell hooks (1984)
https://bookshop.org/p/books/feminist-theory-from-margin-to-center-bell-hooks/a876788eab5db070?ean=9781138821668&next=t&affiliate=13132
https://bookshop.org/p/books/ain-t-i-a-woman-black-women-and-feminism-bell-hooks/a3a4fddf06d1bddb
Women, Race, & Class by Angela Davis
https://bookshop.org/p/books/women-race-class-angela-y-davis/80c38e6999eb533e
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
https://bookshop.org/p/books/sister-outsider-essays-and-speeches-audre-lorde/c9c57b4b9ea63630?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=dsa_nonbrand&utm_content=%7Badgroupname%7D&utm_term=dsa-19959388920&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=12440232635&gclid=Cj0KCQjw39zSBhDhARIsANammDuGnk2zfsz6xUMwLI-ubtk5dHAo4laDafwwhCJT9nm5WoEVRIPhf04aAiUdEALw_wcB
Thanks for sharing this list! I am digging into women and econ, and was meaning to check out your work too. I just started Shortchanged which I’m sure is outdated by now, but learning about the women’s wealth gap has just been…astounding to me? Also loved Poverty By America. There Is No Place for Us is also fantastic on the housing and beautiful writing front.
You might also want to check out "Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich.
That’s on my list!! Excited to read it, know it’s a classic.
Thank you for this post -- some interesting titles here to pursue.
One comment: Marx may have lived for a time in tony Primrose Hill but that was with the help of his wealthy patron and supporter Friedrich Engels, along with any coming-out balls for his daughters -- and it got him and his family out of the seedy environs of Soho. Marx was very hard up for most of his life, one time commenting something along the lines of "Has any man ever written so much about money while having so little?" Francis Wheen's well-regarded biography is surprisingly fun, if you need a break from, well, your tall stack of books here. : )
“Poverty, By America” (and “Evicted”) are excellent foundational texts in how fucked up our economy is.
Great picks and a fantastic project. If you'd be open to reading some books from an alternative perspective, the perspective of exploring the benefits of free markets and free enterprise, here are a few I'd strongly recommend:
The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto
Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
That Which is Seen and That Which is Not Seen by Frédéric Bastiat
The Birth of Plenty by William J. Bernstein
Rooting for you and your soggy-beach-towel brain!
So much content here, i want to read Uneasy Street: The Anxieties of Affluence . Im drafting an article about changes in the way the wealthy consume is changing, so this will be helpful.
Oh wow this is spectacular - immediately added to my reading list. I don’t want to suggest something as du jour as a book club, but something shy of a book club?
Katie!!! I never comment but commenting to share this. If you are interested in economics plus liberation theology, and you also maybe want a contrast to #Abundance… may I recommend Enough Is Enough, by Matt Bernico and Dean Detloff?
“Enough Is Enough argues that the economic and theological directions offered by liberation theology give us a unique paradigm for Christians to question the hegemony of growth.”
https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9798889830795/Enough-Is-Enough
Another recommendation for you: Status and Culture by W. David Marx (no relation to Karl, I believe). Good luck!
I’ve never stepped away from something you’ve written without learning something that shifts my world view a bit. Thank you for your words, keep writing them.