This book revisits a distinction introduced in 1921 by economists Frank Knight and John Maynard Keynes: that between statistically predictable future events ('risks') and statistically unpredictable, uncertain events ('uncertainties'). Governments have generally ignored the latter, perceiving phenomena such as pandemics, natural disasters and climate change as uncontrollable Acts of God. As a result, there has been little if any preparation for future catastrophes. Our modern society is more interconnected and more globalized than ever. Dealing with uncertain future events requires a stronger and more globally coordinated government response. This book suggests a larger, more global government role in dealing with these disasters and keeping economic inequalities low. Major institutional changes, such as regulating the private sector for the common good and dealing with special harms, risks and crises, especially those concerning climate change and pandemics, are necessary in order to achieve any semblance of future progress for humankind.

Acknowledgments PART Ⅰ. Uncertain Future Events and Reactions to them 1. Introduction 2. Risky Versus Uncertain events 3. Taxonomy of disasters 4. Democracy, Capitalism, and Random events PART Ⅱ. Pandemics and Other Disaters 5. Pandemics, Plagues, and Epidemics 6. Famines 7. Natural disaters 8. Atomic disaters 9. Industrial disaters 10. Guiding economic principles for disaters PART Ⅲ. Climate Change and Global Warming 11. When the earth beacame man's private property 12. Early concerns about the environment 13. From environmental concerns to climate change 14. From climate change to global warming PART Ⅳ. Back to some Theoretical Issues 15. Human nees and economic theory 16. Concluding Thoughts References Index