Why We’re Getting Poorer: A Realist’s Guide to the Economy and How We Can Fix It

An insider's guide to our broken economy and how it fails to serve us.

‘A fascinating examination of the failures of modern economics, and how these failures are harming us all' Grace Blakeley, author of Vulture Capitalism

‘Easily one of the most compelling economics communicators of our generation.' Yuan Yang, FT columnist and MP for Earley and Woodley

Did you know that while we think of money as notes issued by the government, the truth is that the overwhelming majority of money today is credit created by private banks?

Did you know that the reason housing keeps getting less accessible is because we haven’t found a way to separate houses from land in our policies?

And did you know that far from globalisation being a mystical force, certain countries and currencies have dominated the way it has played out – to their own advantage?

Whilst economics is at the heart of the society we live in, governing so many functions from our taxes to where we live to the price of our shopping, few of us have a strong grasp on the subject. This book is here to help.

Why We're Getting Poorer delves into the key topics in economics – money, globalisation, inequality, climate change and growth – showing that what we think we know about these things is wrong, and teaching us what we really need to know. Deciphering the jargon and complexity of economic thinking, with examples ranging from the Simpsons to the German football league to The Inbetweeners, Cahal Moran shows us why our economy set us up to fail, and offers suggestions for how we can make positive changes.

Written by an award-winning economist and the YouTuber responsible for ‘Unlearning Economics’, Why We're Getting Poorer is a thrilling, iconoclastic guide to how the world really works.

© 2025 William Collins (Audiobook): 9780008637989

Release date

Audiobook: 13 March 2025