Value(s): The must-read book on how to fix our politics, economics and values

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Mark was previously Governor of the Bank of England (2013 to 2020), and Governor of the Bank of Canada (2008 to 2013). That’s probably wise as it might have pushed him off the moral pulpit into the vacuous abyss of real existing zombie Macro.

There are two chapters on COVID19 as well the financial crisis, and two on climate change as well as the gold standard. And the same process is being extended deep into our social marrow – even to health and the value placed on lives.The three lies of finance are summarized as 1) this time it is different; 2) Markets are always clear; and 3) Markets are moral. The three sections, which easily could have each comprised their own book, woven together through the central theme of value. Fundamentally, he wants to use the financial system to help revalue investments to mitigate climate change.

Like Sandel, Carney wants “moral sentiments” to reassert themselves over the invisible hand which seems to have strayed off conducting commerce into primarily pleasuring punters. We get a history of money, central banks, and the Bank of England, the value of humility, what true leadership is, and many of the lessons Carney learned operating at a very high level in the world financial system. It was almost as if the author decided near the end of the book's editing process that he wanted to connect the book a little more to his home and native land, so he arbitrarily chose that chapter in particular to park some Canadian references in. Despite knowing and working with the who’s who of finance, Carney is not about to criticize anyone else.Carney loves citing the wisdom of others, and many of the numerous quotes throughout the book are worth highlighting. There are some passing references to Canadian society present as well as a couple Canadian social policies used as examples to tie into the concepts being discussed, but those are few and far between. We use Google Analytics to see what pages are most visited, and where in the world visitors are visiting from. Some time is spent in a discussion of a technical analysis of how we value life and a discussion of how when faced with a crisis, most governments and citizens made decisions based on core values and not financial optimization. I will not bore the reader with everything but will give you a flavor of the book and encourage you to read it for yourself.