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Tomáš Sedláček in discussion on the Economics of Good and Evil

(This article expired 23.06.2015.)

The Czech Embassy hosted a discussion with a young Czech economist Tomáš Sedláček to launch an English version of his book.

The Ambassador Michael Žantovský and Mr Jan Fischer, EBRD Vice-President and former Czech PM, discussed the economic, political, historical and philosophical issues with Tomáš Sedláček, a young Czech economist. His book Economics of Good and Evil is undertitled The Quest for Economic Meaning from Gilgamesh to Wall Street. The foreword was written by Václav Havel.

The vivid and thorough discussion was attended mostly by younger audience and was a part of Sedláček´s UK talks in Oxford, Cambridge, Royal Society of Arts, House of Commons, etc. The event was organised in cooperation with the Czech Center and the Czech-British Chamber of Commerce.

The book was published by Oxford University Press.

Tomáš Sedláček *1977

Member of the National Economic Council in Prague, Chief Macroeconomist Strategist of CSOB Bank. He worked as an economic advisor of Vaclav Havel, the first Czech president after the fall of communism.

Specialist on fiscal policy, euro and European affairs in the leading Czech bank CSOB, a unit of multinational financial group KBC. Regular weekly columnist of the top Czech business newspaper Hospodarske noviny since 2006, frequent commentator of public affairs and frequent pannelist with over two hundred speaches since 2009.

2004-2006 a non-political advisor to the Minister of Finance, responsible for macroeconomic issues, fiscal consolidation, European affairs and communication with The World Bank

Member of Yale University World Fellowship, selected as one of “The Five Hot Minds in Economics” by Yale Economic Journal in December 2006. Co-author of various case studies for Harvard and Georgetown. Lecturer and PhDr. graduate at  Charles University in Prague, one of the oldest universities in Europe.¨

In Prague the original Czech version of his book was a national bestseller and was also adapted as a popular theater-piece.

Reviews

"Tomas Sedlacek proposes no less than a 'humanomics,' a view of our fate in this world of scarcity that takes account of human stories and philosophies. Economists have crippled themselves by their lack of scholarly breadth, and their 'scientific' disdain for human words. Sedlacek, who ranges from the epic of Gilgamesh to the movie The Matrix, cannot be accused of lack of breadth. What is most impressive, though, is his depth, drilling down into the soul of economics." - Deirdre McCloskey, author of Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce and The Cult of Statistical Significance

"There has long been a profound moral drive in Czech culture, seeking an ever larger view of the human, and trying to break through conceptual barriers to do so. In this sinewy and marvelous voyage of discovery, Tomas Sedlacek calls us all to think more imaginatively, more fully, and more concretely about economics than we have done for many generations. Many thinkers, including not a few economists, will be stimulated to new explorations by this book." - Michael Novak, author of The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism

"Economics of Good and Evil is an enchanting tour de force, offering the general public an unusual, erudite, and riveting view of the world. Scientists and scholars can choose how to read this book: either condemn it for its lack of a rigidly and traditionally scientific approach, or accept it as an invigorating elixir providing inspiration and vision for further study. I take it as the latter and I am certain the public will too." - Jan Švejnar, Professor of Business, Economics and Public Policy, University of Michigan

"A widely admired economist who sits on the National Economic Council in Prague radically rethinks his field, challenging assumptions about the business world in this work, a bestseller in the Czech Republic." - Publishers Weekly

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Tomas Sedlacek