One part Economics, one part Politics, three parts Ego

At first glance, this book appears to be the antithesis of a favorite of mine, “The Wisdom of Crowds” by James Surowiecki– the authors Bonner and Rajiva criticize the efficacy of mob rule and the intelligence of the group. Further in the read, however, it is clear that “Mobs, Messiahs, and Markets ” is not the antithesis of “Crowds”, and actually agrees with one of the central principles of Surowiecki’s book, but has just a fraction of the scope, despite the great read that it is.

After bashing group-think, as a true Socratic would, in a methodical and convincing manner, the authors turn their focus on another popular American pastime of late–Bush bashing, then go on to describe the impending collapse of the entire world economy. It’s evident that mobs are irrational and tend to do some regretful things (like killing a famous Athenian philosopher) and Bonner and Rajiva have no quarrel here, but to say that the negatives of group-think refutes “The Wisdom of the Crowds” is like saying Socrates wasn’t wise because he asked more questions than gave answers. As Surowiecki explains, crowds are only more intelligent than their constituent parts if they are made up of independent thinkers, not mobs. Bonner and Rajiva would surely agree to that and do to an extent in their book.After a bit of Bush bashing and anti-Iraq-war sentiment, the authors deflate the Che Guevera revolution succinctly. But George and Che are the minions of a larger-picture chess match, in which there is a larger antagonist–Alan Greenspan. The authors make the case against Greenspan’s lowering of interest rates to try to stave off a recession as the creation of the “Mother of the Mother of All Bubbles”. Among persistent insinuations of associations between Greenspan and Enron, charts revealing the current financial situation, and a great history of the last twenty years of world economics, Bonner and Rajiva make the case that the world economy is an enormous bubble about to burst. Unfortunately, they don’t show how to capitalize on the current economic system.

“Mobs” is an entertaining read but the constant ridiculing can get fairly uncomfortable (the authors calls Friedman’s “The World Is Flat” “suitable only for children…to sit on or club each other over the head with”). Though “Mobs” usually follows a harsh critique with great points, the authors should hope their critics aren’t nearly as unjust as they.

It is an insightful, intriguing, and entertaining book, despite the flaws. Without the motif of antagonism, it would be a great book. As it is, however, “Mobs” is a great complement to the above mentioned books, but one would suffer if this was the only book he read.