People need to read: What's behind the boom

The most fundamental power of growth is traced to the inner energy of man, which is unique and hidden in all mortal beings, and the development of this energy is the key to growth.

"Young people should show their talents to the world, young people are wasting their time in government," said a Nobel laureate in September 2013, when he spoke of China's talent problem. In mid-October, the annual National Civil Service examination enrollment started, it is said that Zhejiang province every 4 candidates have 1 want to enter the state Tax bureau. Edmund (Edmund Phelps), who criticized the lack of innovation in the Chinese talent, was the winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Economics.

In 2013, he published "Great Prosperity: how mass innovation brings prosperity to the nation", trying to analyze Adam Smith's old question more than 200 years ago: How is the country rich and powerful? This book presents a different solution to the problem. Although Schumpeter once put forward the importance of innovation for national development in the theory of economic development, but Phelps has revived the definition of prosperity as "the prosperity of life, the investment in the cause, the challenge, the self-realization and the personal growth", thus proposing that modern capitalism can "make the best use, make use of, cargoes, To achieve a better life, in line with fairness and justice. The key to achieving this prosperity is the innovative spirit of the public.

1933, Professor Phelps was born in the United States Illinois State Evanston, has won a Bachelor of Arts, PhD in economics, division from Nobel laureate Tobin Professor, whose research direction is mainly macroeconomics, employment and growth theory. His academic fame stems mainly from his challenge to the Phillips curve, which is so easily confused with his name, which is largely due to his ability to connect individual choices with the theory of public choice.

He had written a very innovative microeconomics textbook "An Introduction to Political economy", the famous economic thought historian Mark Braug in the "Keynes after the 100 famous economist" to this textbook appreciation, and that this textbook is not popular, the main reason is too novelty.

Phelps has been concerned about and participated in discussions on China's economic growth in recent years. Prior to winning the Nobel Prize in Economics, he spoke at Renmin University in 2004 about content related to China's economic development. In 2010, Phelps began the Ninewa of business school, creating the first pioneering and innovative MBA program approved by the Ministry of Education, which inspired Chinese students to innovate in an experiential way. In 2013, he criticized the large-scale participation of Chinese students in the National Civil Service examination at the Nobel Prize winners ' Beijing Forum. It can be seen that Phelps's practice in China is the practice of the main logic and research conclusions of the book "Great Prosperity".

Phelps's final conclusion, began to ask the meaning of life where? Why do people want to live and why should they die? The so-called good life problem. This has begun to return to the concerns of Rawls and Amartya.

From the logic of the writing of the Great prosperity, the book should be seen as a masterpiece of empirical research, without much value judgment. But Phelps mentions his argument with Stigler and Becker about altruism, which is hardly conclusive. In addition, he mentions the anecdotes of his work as a colleague (1969-1970 years), the burning of his office and the escape of his manuscript. Based on this evidence, we can infer that Phelps's ideology is in the middle and is a staunch supporter of modern capitalist systems.

His moderate nature determined that his conclusions would be different from those of Schumpeter. In the first moment of his conclusion, Phelps returned to the basic concept of prosperity, and he found that the Greek word "eudaimonia" could be interpreted as "happiness" (happiness), but that the more precise translation was "flourishing" (prosperity). As the author quoted Virgil's motto, "Know what it is, happiness comes naturally". Then the author further cites Voltaire's "Candide", stressing that "business is in itself meaningful, and can bring huge rewards."

The author also made a very playful reference to the interview of Lady Gaga's "inborn perfection", emphasizing the importance of discovering "her inner identity and constant rebirth". So Phelps's conclusion is entirely different from Schumpeter's, because he has traced the most fundamental growth force to the inner energy of man, which is unique, hidden in all mortal beings, and the development of this energy is the key to growth.

As Keynes said, "People learn economics not because of the special value of the conclusions of standard theory, but because it helps us to raise questions in economic practice." I think Fairfax would prefer us to read this book.

(left Root Yong, health management and Policy Research Center, Shandong University, Ph. D. in management)

"Great Prosperity"

Most innovations are not brought by Henry A. Ford's lone Dreamer, but by millions of ordinary people who have the freedom to conceive, develop and promote new products and processes, or to improve the status quo. It is this innovation of popular participation that brings about the prosperity of the people--the improvement of material conditions and the broad "good life".