拉古拉姆．拉詹Raghuram G. Rajan，名列當代最重要的經濟學者之一，曾出任國際貨幣基金組織IMF首席經濟學家、印度央行總裁、美國芝加哥大學商學院財政學教授等重要職位。在這本視野宏大、論點獨特的重量級作品，運用自己學術與政策兼備的深厚知識，為當下民粹崛起、反全球化的浪潮，提供了讀者一條兼容政治與經濟面向的理解之道，更提出如何解決問題的見解。

　　在拉詹的立論裡，支撐著我們生活的社會，並不如往常總體經濟的視角，只有「政府」及「市場」兩者──還有關鍵卻往往被忽略的第三支柱「社群」。唯有三者的力量平衡與彼此牽制，才可以維繫著社會的良好運行。任何其一的太強與太弱都會對社會造成問題。健康與自主的中小社群、地區組織，除了是制衡中央政府讓其不可趨於極權的重要角色，更是監督是否政府與財團、市場過度靠攏，不可少的存在。然而隨著人類長遠的經濟演變，讓「社群」逐漸地消失，只剩下政府與市場失控地膨脹。當前我們面臨著反全球化、排外與民粹，正是「社群」在長期受忽視及排除後的反動展顯。在當前對這些現象的抨擊聲中，拉詹以更廣闊而有同理心的方式，為現象找出脈絡，為之中的失衡找到癥結。

　　全書帶領讀者回溯人類的經濟發展史，當我們從古老社群中的物品交換分享，走向金融貨幣，當今天的我們的消費由實體走向無人的網路線上型態…為我們指出關鍵的改變──因著政策、戰爭或科技──如何逐步把「社會經濟」帶向了今日以個人與資本主義為依歸，失去了人性的「經濟」。同時提出具體的建議，指引如何重建「社群」，找回人與人之間的連帶，以及地區的凝聚發展，找回力量制衡獨大的政府、主導市場的資本巨人。對於如何才能解決人類當前面臨著的前所未有的動盪，拉詹的論點必將引起討論，但這將無損本書作為一本內容紮實而權威的解析，越出既有保守主義與自由主義的分野，以智慧及關懷，邀請我們回看牽動人類經濟的變遷演進，也由之展望我們如何為民主、經濟找回被遺忘的核心價值，向前邁進。（文/博客來編譯）

　　From one of the most important economic thinkers of our time, a brilliant and far-seeing analysis of the current populist backlash against globalization.

　　Raghuram Rajan, distinguished University of Chicago professor, former IMF chief economist, head of India's central bank, and author of the 2010 FT-Goldman-Sachs Book of the Year Fault Lines, has an unparalleled vantage point onto the social and economic consequences of globalization and their ultimate effect on our politics. In The Third Pillar he offers up a magnificent big-picture framework for understanding how these three forces--the state, markets, and our communities--interact, why things begin to break down, and how we can find our way back to a more secure and stable plane.

　　The "third pillar" of the title is the community we live in. Economists all too often understand their field as the relationship between markets and the state, and they leave squishy social issues for other people. That's not just myopic, Rajan argues; it's dangerous. All economics is actually socioeconomics - all markets are embedded in a web of human relations, values and norms. As he shows, throughout history, technological phase shifts have ripped the market out of those old webs and led to violent backlashes, and to what we now call populism. Eventually, a new equilibrium is reached, but it can be ugly and messy, especially if done wrong.

　　Right now, we're doing it wrong. As markets scale up, the state scales up with it, concentrating economic and political power in flourishing central hubs and leaving the periphery to decompose, figuratively and even literally. Instead, Rajan offers a way to rethink the relationship between the market and civil society and argues for a return to strengthening and empowering local communities as an antidote to growing despair and unrest. Rajan is not a doctrinaire conservative, so his ultimate argument that decision-making has to be devolved to the grass roots or our democracy will continue to wither, is sure to be provocative. But even setting aside its solutions, The Third Pillar is a masterpiece of explication, a book that will be a classic of its kind for its offering of a wise, authoritative and humane explanation of the forces that have wrought such a sea change in our lives.

Review

　　“Insightful and thought provoking.” —Publishers Weekly

　　“A welcome survey of a big-picture problem: Rajan proposes a rebalancing to be brought about by decentralized politics, diverse immigration, and other measures that, though controversial, certainly merit discussion.” —Kirkus Reviews
 
　　“Raghuram Rajan has done it again. Fresh, insightful and engaging, The Third Pillar offers a brilliant reckoning with one of today’s most important and potentially crippling challenges. He does more than analyze the unbalance that has developed among the three pillars that support society; he also tells us what’s needed to shift our prospects in favor of the exciting upside of technological progress that empowers, enables and enriches the many; and away from political anger, alienation and political radicalization. His clear and compelling case goes well beyond protecting the vulnerable. It’s also, critically, about enhancing the whole.” —Mohamed El-Erian, author of When Markets Collide and The Only Game in Town

　　“My parents lived through the Great Depression, the rise of Fascism, and World War II. I thought I was brought up in a world organized in a fundamentally different way. I was wrong. We all need to start thinking about this issue right now and this book is a place to begin.” —James A. Robinson, Professor, University of Chicago, co-author of Why Nations Fail
 
　　“Few economists span the worlds of policy and scholarship with such distinction as Raghu Rajan, and fewer still have been so consistently right about the wrong turns the world economy has taken. In his latest book, Rajan reminds us of the importance of local communities—the social ties that bind those who live in close geographical proximity. We need to strike a balance not just between state and market, he argues, but also between these two and community. Rajan presents a bold, original vision that significantly advances our contemporary debate on the ills of democracies and moves it onto new terrain.” —Dani Rodrik, Professor, Harvard University, author of The Globalization Paradox
 
　　“A remarkably original and insightful take on the evolution, foundations and future of capitalism. Sweeping in historical perspective, Rajan argues convincingly that the conventional dichotomy between the state and markets misses the critical role of communities—the third pillar—in economic and social development.  As a result, both progressives who favor a bigger and more centralized state, and conservatives, who prize market freedom, both miss a critical part of the recipe for a more prosperous and balanced society.  A landmark treatise of profound depth.” —Kenneth Rogoff, Professor, Harvard University, former IMF chief economist, author of The Curse of Cash and co-author of This Time It’s Different
 
　　“A strikingly insightful analysis of the penalties of neglecting the critically important role of community, by concentrating too much on the perceived efficacy of the markets and the state.  Rajan brings out loudly and clearly why this imbalance needs urgent correction.”   —Amartya Sen, Professor, Harvard University, Nobel Prize winner in Economic Sciences
 
　　“The Third Pillar is a must read for everyone seeking a way to preserve democracy as we’ve known it. In Rajan’s brilliant new perspective, successful democracies require balance between competitive markets, honest governments, and healthy, local communities. But our communities have been ravaged by globalization and ICT. Restoration of that third pillar is therefore the most essential task facing policymakers today.” —Janet Yellen, Distinguished Fellow in Residence, Brookings Institution, and Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 2014-2018