Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism is a great book by an economist, Cambridge  Professor Ha-Joon Chang, who can actually write well…meaning that he combines substantive discussions of economic principles with comprehensible prose that, while not electrifying, is clear and to the point.

Why is the book great? Because he exposes myths about capitalist free market systems which are so ingrained (at least in the United States), that they aren’t even questioned.  He does this in a relatively objective and dispassionate way.  For instance, he discusses the myth that businesses which are run as private enterprises are inherently better than those which are State-Owned Enterprises.  I don’t know how many so-called "Free-market capitalists" will say, reflexively, that government is incapable of running anything effectively.  Chang makes a solid case as to why some types of businesses should only be run by the State.

Also, he discusses what actually happened in history with respect to ‘free trade’ vs. what we’re now told happened. For instance, in his discussion of ‘gunboat diplomacy’, he discusses how British businesses used to deal heroin to China, even though it was illegal in China and this was known to the British.  When the Chinese seized heroin shipments in protest, the British navy came in and made war with China, at the request of the affected British businesses.  In the resulting settlement, as reparation, China gave Britain Hong Kong. 

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