"This illuminating book debunks myths about what financial markets and central banks really do. A must-read for anyone ready to move beyond preconceptions and abstractions, and focus on how money and finance shape today's societies." -- Eric Monnet, Professor of Economic History, Paris School of Economics and EHESS. "For a generation, central banks have been treated as the only financial institutions capable of steering the economy. The results are in: stagnant productive investment, inflated asset prices and a financial sector that dwarfs the real economy it is meant to serve. In The Gods that Failed , Josh Ryan-Collins traces this failure to its source - five myths, from the natural rate of interest to the efficiency of financial markets, that hardened into axioms and were never seriously tested. He does not stop at critique. He shows how monetary, fiscal and credit policy can be coordinated to steer finance towards productive investment and the green transition.

A vital book for anyone who understands that finance must be shaped, not merely regulated." -- Mariana Mazzucato, Professor at University College London and author of The Common Good Economy: a new compass "If you want to understand what makes central banks tick, look no further. In clear and accessible language, Josh Ryan-Collins explores five myths that frame monetary policy and how they shape the economy today - with alternatives. Essential reading!" -- Dirk Bezemer, Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen "A patient, thorough and impressive attack on the neoclassical and 'New Keynesian' doctrines that have dominated central bank thought for decades, with results ranging from disappointment to disaster." -- James K. Galbraith, author of The Power to Destroy: How Bad Economics Drove America's "This book is an essential and illuminating read for all students and professors of economics; for mainstream and heterodox economists alike. Ryan Collins writes with the clarity of one both steeped in, and at ease with the full spectrum of economic thinking." -- Ann Pettifor, Director of Policy Research in Macroeconomics.