Tomas Sedlacek has shaken the study of economics as few ever have. Named one of the “young guns” and “five hot minds in economics” by the Yale Economic Review, he serves on the National Economic Council in Prague, where his provocative writing has achieved bestseller status. How has he done it? By arguing a simple, almost heretical proposition: Economics is ultimately about good and evil.
TOMAS SEDLACEK WAS AWARDED THE 2012 GERMAN ECONOMIC BOOK PRICE (DEUTSCHER WIRTSCHAFTSBUCHPREIS)
The German Business Book Award this year goes to the Czech economist Tomas Sedlacek for "The Economics of Good and Evil". The jury said that the book pickup to "new economic thinking". You can read more about it here.
Sedlacek’s debut became the No.1 non-fiction title in The Czech Republic in 2009. The book was translated and published in English by Oxford University Press in 2011 (click for US or UK catalogue here). Within few months, it has received many positive reviews both by US/UK press and by globally recognized academics. German and Polish version are out, other translations will follow (see here).
No. 1 in Switzerland, No. 12 in Germany (see bestsellers ranking here)
Tomas Sedlacek (35) has excelled in various fields during his short, yet rich and multi-track career, with impressive achievements in the areas of public policy, finance, academics and arts. As a writer, he has touched off a wildfire of debate in his home country about what is really driving economic behavior, not just now, but since the beginning of the human race. See what Tomas did in Davos 2012.
Canadian mathematician and philosopher David Orrell joined Sedlacek in his attempt to seek the roots of the current economic crises beneath a common level of debate. Their three-hour conversation is just being released in a form of a compact book, titled as The Twilight of Homo economicus, published by Sedlacek’s Czech publishing house 65. pole.
The Economics of Good and Evil was turned into a witty drama, which has been selling out The National Theater in Prague after over 80 repeats across Czechoslovakia. An international tour in English is about to start in September in Bucurest. See a five-minute video-trailer here.
„Right from the start, Tomas Sedlacek’s book attracted our particular attention and we decided to make it our lead title in spring 2012. As it happened, this soon turned out to be the right decision: we have sold roundabout 30,000 copies within five weeks, with no end in sight. Tomas‘ appearance in the media was and still is outstanding. We like to think that the book’s success hinges on two things: a) the broad scope of the book, and its unusual topic, together with its timeliness in view of the current crisis b) the author’s strong personality,“ Martin Janik from German publisher Hanser says. Click here for a list of translations.
Samuel Brittan, Financial Times: It would be a great pity if potential readers of this book were put off by the word “economics” in the title. Many people regard the subject either as dry and technical or, worse, as an abject failure because of the inability of its practitioners to anticipate the recent financial tsunami and prescribe effectively for its aftermath. But Tomas Sedlacek’s Economics of Good and Evil, an unlikely bestseller when it was published in Czech in 2009, is none of these things.... unlike most books with large pretensions, this one is beautifully written and at least for the first two-thirds I could not put it down or turn my mind to anything else.... a compulsive read.
Deirdre McCloskey, Distinguished Professor of Economics, University of Illinois: Tomas Sedlacek proposes no less than a “humanomics”, a view of our fate in this world of scarcity that takes account of human stories and philosophies. Economists have crippled themselves by their lack of scholarly breadth, and their “scientific” disdain for human words. Sedlacek cannot be accused of that. What is most impressive, though, is his depth, drilling down into the soul of economics
Vaclav Havel, Czech ex-president: In my presidential office, Tomas Sedlacek belonged to the generation of young colleagues who promised a new view on the problems of the contemporary world, one unburdened by four decades of the totalitarian Communist regime. I have the feeling that my expectations were fulfilled, and I believe you, too, will appreciate his book.
This site is run by Czech publishing house 65. POLE, which produces Tomas Sedlacek’s books
in Czech and owns the global rights on Economics of Good and Evil.
