Monoculture: How One Story is Changing Everything apparently won a few awards, but to me it seemed like a mediocre sophomore college paper. I had two basic problems with it:
- It argues that we live in a monoculture that views all of life through the lens of the "economic story," reducing all of life to markets and rational self-interested actors. While I agree that economic thinking has increased in the past couple of decades, I don't believe that it is the only "story" we use to understand our lives. For example, the "scientific story" remains strong, as does the "spiritual story" for many people. So: no monoculture.
- The author's presentation of the "economic story" is jargon-y and not particularly insightful. Even if we were living in a monoculture, this book doesn't make a compelling case for how it shapes our world view.
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