Book Review

Abstract

This article reviews C. Aspalter’s latest book Super Inequality. The book consists of a collection of Aspalter’s essays in (i) public choice theory, (ii) a theory of social efficiency, and (iii) a theory of super inequality. Not only had it provided us with a timely and systematic explanation regarding the causes of super inequality, but also a myriad of other social issues such as persistent social divide, inflation, a lack of education, and Medicare for many people. The book starts from a foundation of behavioral economics, which attempts to explain why humans make inferior choices when better options are available, with an emphasis on the context of public choices. Aspalter further elaborates on a General Theory of Z-Efficiency. Mainstream economists often focus merely on economic and allocative inefficiency, while ignoring other forms of social inefficiency arising from non-economic factors such as environmental, managerial, and personal and social barriers. The realization of higher general efficiency requires sound social policy design beyond the conventional laissez-faire, neoliberal economic approach. The book continues to build a general theory of super inequality from the lens of the Z-inefficiency measure. In our current world of fast-changing technological progress, thanks to the development of AI, big data, and blockchain technology, it is never a better time to contemplate the ramifications of a technological paradigm shift and how it will affect social efficiency overall. To this end, Aspalter’s General Theory of Z-Efficiency and Super Inequality laid a promising path for future research in this direction.