Keyu Jin, Mariana Mazzucato, and Rosie Collington for PS Read More

The Hell of Good Intentions, by Stephen M. Walt; Everything and More, by David Foster Wallace; and more. The PS Say More Newsletter [PS Read More]( In this week's edition of PS Read More, we share recommendations from Keyu Jin, Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. We also highlight a recent work by Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London and Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, and Rosie Collington of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Keyu Jin Recommends... [The Hell of Good Intentions: America’s Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of US Primacy]( By Stephen M. Walt "Walt offers a convincing explanation of why US foreign policy, designed to spread liberal democracy, has been flawed and costly. The book’s argument is straightforward: since the end of the Cold War, US leaders have consistently exaggerated threats from global adversaries, and policies aimed at advancing a grand vision of American exceptionalism have repeatedly failed. As a result, the US has incurred large economic and reputational costs – far larger than most Americans seem to realize." [Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity]( By David Foster Wallace "Wallace provides a fascinating look at the history, meaning, and paradoxical nature of infinity. Fortunately for lay readers, the book is written not by a mathematician, but by a novelist, who weaves a story that is both intriguing and accessible." [Reappraisals: Reflections on the Forgotten Twentieth Century]( By Tony Judt "In this remarkably prescient book, published in 2009, Judt (who died the following year) delves into the most urgent issues of our times: globalization, inequality, the role of the state, and more. By highlighting important differences in the experiences, memories, and perspectives of European countries and the US, Judt crafts a compelling reinterpretation of the socioeconomic policies and conditions that have shaped the world as we know it." Don't miss Jin's recent Say More interview, in which she laments the loss of private-sector confidence in China, shows why the country could take the lead in cutting-edge technologies, addresses misconceptions about its economic model, and more. [Read now](. By a PS Contributor [The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies]( By Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington Mazzucato says: "There is an entrenched – and deeply damaging – relationship between the consulting industry and both business and government. This relationship, which my co-author Rosie Collington and I call 'the big con,' arose in the wake of reforms by the neoliberal right and Third Way progressives in the 1980s and 1990s, and thrives on the ills of modern capitalism, from financialization and privatization to the climate crisis. Today, economies’ reliance on consulting companies – such as McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, and EY – is stunting innovation, obfuscating corporate and political accountability, and impeding progress on our collective mission of halting climate breakdown. But this isn’t inescapable. In The Big Con, we show how governments can change the role that consultancies play, thereby helping to transform our economies for the common good." In "Consultants and the Crisis of Capitalism," Mazzucato and Collington provide a glimpse into how the consulting industry’s global growth is harming economies and weakening governments. [Read now](. [PS. Subscribe to PS Premium now to claim your copy of PS Quarterly: At Arms.]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( Project Syndicate publishes and provides, on a not-for-profit basis, original commentary by the world's leading thinkers to more than 500 media outlets in over 150 countries. This newsletter does not entitle the recipient to re-publish any of the content it contains. This newsletter is a service of [Project Syndicate](. [Change your newsletter preferences](. Follow us on [Facebook]( [Twitter]( and [YouTube](. © Project Syndicate, all rights reserved. [Unsubscribe from all newsletters](.