Mass Capitalism Book Trailer and Book Reviews

BOOK REVIEWS

 

1. Dr. Stanley Wolf, President of Lattice Press and author of Industry best seller Silicon Processing for the VLSI Era -Vol 1,2,3,4

Mass Capitalism offers hope for the embattled US economy. Apek Mulay has seen the negative impacts of offshoring and unequal trade regulations on the microelectronics industry. The solutions he proposes would level the playing field and strengthen the US economy. Mass Capitalism provides his vision for improving our future.

2. Dr. Susmit Kumar, ex-IAS officer and author of books Casino Capitalism and Modernization of Islam

Apek Mulay has provided a good geo-political analysis of US Macroeconomy while taking into consideration his area of expertise which is semiconductor industry. In my books Casino Capitalism and Modernization of Islam, I provided a geo-political analysis of not only US but also world economy. The author’s Mass Capitalism is very timely for revival of US electronics and semiconductor industry given the strategic importance of this capital intensive industry for US national economy. This book shows the author’s vision for a bright future of US economy through continued progress of its semiconductor industry with establishment of a true free market economy.

3. Dr. Kris Iniewski, Executive Director of CMOS Emerging Technologies Research Inc. Click to view PDF .

In his thought provoking work, Mass Capitalism, Apek Mulay has presented a free market economic solution for revival of semiconductor industry. While the industry has been constantly pessimistic about future of Moore’s law, Mass Capitalism presents an intriguing solution to the problems that global semiconductor industry faces because of huge capital investments required.

With over 25 years of experience in semiconductor industry, I have seen many ups and downs in this business. However, I have not come across a true free-market solution that would help the corporate world as well all of its employees during lean times. Mass Capitalism presents a potential path forward for global semiconductor industry in order to transition towards a sustainable manufacturing. It indicates how a balanced economy might be a solution for making next generation ecological fab a reality.

While the author gives a detail economic analysis of mistakes committed by US semiconductor industry, the economic solutions that he offers might lead to sustainable growth going forward. Apek has demonstrated his expertise in supply chains, socio-economics, geo-politics and macroeconomics. I would highly recommend semiconductor industry professionals to read this intriguing book.

4. Peter Gasperini, Principal at Markonix LLC and author of The Edge of Zero

As a preface: I am an adherent of the Austrian School of Economics, whereas the author’s viewpoint tends more towards classic Keynesian (though markedly removed from the extraordinarily destructive pseudo-Keynesian economic practices of today’s cabal of central government bubble – inducing micromanaged finance.)

Regardless of our differences in perspective, though, I found this book to be quite extraordinary. In clear and compelling prose, the author proposes an extremely thoughtful, wide-ranging macroeconomic approach to industrial policy (in this particular case, focused on the semiconductor portion of high technology, which is the foundation of all High Tech advancement and innovation.) The approach is holistic as it addresses economic, social, political, legal and international trade issues.

It is also an enjoyable read from start to finish. Highly thought-provoking and engaging, this text would be an appropriate selection to serve as a central point from which to discuss, formulate and implement macroeconomic policy at a national level.

5. Dr. Stephen Willis, Collaboration Expert and author of series Power through Collaboration

In my Power through Collaboration books I discuss economic systems and business models built upon a dual foundation of collaboration and competition, rather than upon only competition, or even predation and enslavement. The author’s book is an interesting and readable presentation of such a system called mass capitalism.

The author applies the mass capitalism/economic democracy theories of his late economic teacher Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar to the rejuvenation of the semiconductor industry in particular, and to the US economy as a whole. He describes the crisis of capitalism caused by what he refers to as monopoly or crony capitalism, the impacts of globalization, and counterproductive trade policies.

The author advocates the “heresy” of transforming the current economic orthodoxy of monopoly capitalism into free-market capitalism. He argues that the solution involves minimal government intervention, but it still requires new economic policies and business models that can help revive the US microelectronics industry. Key solutions are to enable employees to become the majority shareholders of corporations, and to foster higher employee wages to boost higher consumer purchasing power which can then generate increased economic demand. Recommended reading for anyone seeking to understand how the current economic system came into being, and the author’s recommendations for making the shift to mass capitalism/economic democracy.

6. Bob Willis, Tech Book Review Expert

New Book Reviews for the Engineers from Bob Willis
Bob Willis reviews recently released reference books and IPC documents for electronics manufacturing that can help make an engineer’s life easier.

Click Book Review by Bob Willis to watch the book review video.

Bob also provides his Top Ten Books, ideal reference source or the basics of your department’s office library. Contact Bob bob@bobwillis.co.uk or visit his web site

7. Magdalena-Maria GROSU, Economist and Trainer in Romania

Despite the communist resonance of the title of his book, “Mass Capitalism A Blueprint for Economic Revival” Apek is for free market capitalism…as a small business owner. He says that when you have huge wealth concentration…there is loss of consumer purchasing power. His approaches are based on common sense of SUPPLY and DEMAND.

In Apek’s vision producers and consumers are like two wings of a bird. If either of the wings gets hurt, the bird will no longer be able to fly. If that bird is not nursed quickly and properly, it would be disabled and either die from hunger or fall prey to a predator. With the same analogy, both producers and consumers have to prosper for a robust economy. The worker productivity is the main source of supply while wages are the main source of demand. If productivity rises faster than wages, then supply rises faster than demand. This results in overproduction and forces the manufacturer to fire workers. Producers are the suppliers of goods, and consumers generate the demand for these goods. Consumer demand, being dependent on wages, is sustainable only if the consumers as workers earn higher salaries. If the wages of consumers do not catch up with increased supply of goods, the supplier of goods is unable to sell all that he/she has manufactured.

Apek sustains that the United States must reform its current economic model so that wages keep track with worker productivity.

But, for cancel any communist resonance of any “mass” approach, I think we shouldn’t forget the case in which the productivity of a country workers has been consistently decreasing, but the average house hold median income has increased.

It is noticeable that, in Romania, after 1990 there are years in which the dynamics of real wage was higher than dynamics of labour productivity, infringing on the basic relation between wage and productivity.

In Romania, wage, reward of the work carried out, the least liberalized price in the transition period, in some cases it has been underrated and in some cases it has been overrated in relation to performances achieved, for certain occupational categories.

The number of employees after 1990 almost halved (from 8 000 thousand to 5000 thousand employees, 2013), and economic and social effects of this trend accumulate in the area of financing capability of some key public services to support the sustainable economic growth, such as research-development, education, health and social assistance, defence and peace etc. All these affect the equilibrium of labour market, and the other markets as well, more precisely macroeconomic equilibrium and sustainable development.

For achievement of sustainable human development and economic equilibrium, it is necessary to comply with the functional relation: rise of aggregate supply→ efficient employment →social protection.

Apek thinks we should understand that the free market economies do not believe in government benefits for free. It guarantees benefits only through work….but by ensuring wages catch up with productivity; it is very feasibly to create plenty of jobs in economy and maintain the incentives for hard work

Apek believes in free market economy, but he considers that for free markets to work supply and demand have to grow and fall in proportion. There have to balanced economic growth. He also believes in minimal government intervention. But, he explain that the wealth concentration is going to take US economy to next depression unless it is addressed with reforms which lead to true free markets.

Now, free markets also mean no monopolies. Apek considers that today US economy has been transformed into a Monopoly capitalism, existing no free market. So, he appreciates that if we wait for Federal Reserve to end its quantitative easing -QE by December 2014 we’ll see US economy slipping into a depression by end of 2015. US would have to reform its macroeconomy sooner else economic depression is sure to start in late 2015, in Apek’s opinion.

What about the overexpansion of credit, always followed by contraction?
Whether an influx of gold from the new world, easy bank credit, or Wall Street manufacturing derivatives, the end result is always the same. Apek has addressed these concerns in his book “Mass Capitalism: A Blueprint for Economic Revival“.

Also for solve the problem of rolling of money and huge disparity, Apek has come up with his book “Mass Capitalism: A Blueprint for Economic Revival”

Apek’s book considers that Free Market Mass Capitalism can lead to better standard of living for all instead of a few.

It deserves to have an idea about Mass Capitalism…it wants to be a complete restructuring of economics and a panacea for solution of current economic mess.

Good Luck, dear Apek!

8. Dr. Douglas Schulek-Miller (MBA, PhD, MBSI ), Intermediation Consultant in Ottawa,Canada and Global Economics, Politics and Strategy Expert

I have to confess that reading Apek Mulay’s well-researched proposal for Mass Capitalism was slightly daunting to the nit-picking side of my personality. Many times in the course of reading I sent Apek mails explaining how his depiction of events was at odds with my understanding and knowledge or how he glossed over issues, which I thought were more significant. However, getting beyond that bit of personal hypercritical part of my nature, he has produced an excellently documented proposal that he chose to define within an industry well known for its conflicting routes to full resourcing and optimization of returns: the semiconductor industry.

From the behavior of the major corporations in the US it is obvious that sometime in the last 50 years there was a distinct choice to be made: full employment or optimal returns on investment? Why would the two represent a choice? Well, on the latter side you have the Wal-Mart phenomenon, if you will, where most things are imported in final or un-packaged form from other countries, most notably of late, China. The result has been, as some would say, artificially depressed prices in US retailers due to sourcing these goods to countries without tariff restrictions, countries whose manufacturing and labor costs are significantly less than those of the US. This has encouraged almost unprecedented growth in consumer retailing… along with some adaptations held over from Sam Walton’s time.

On the other side, that featuring full employment, the discount retailers would be at a distinct disadvantage when tariffs and other negative-trade-balance-inhibiting practices would be employed to maintain the manufacturing base in the USA. Indeed, many say the greed of unions and lackadaisical management skills of the corporations are to blame for excessively high wage costs in the US, but one could also point to the great influx of foreign heavy manufacturers into the US’s South and riposte that such is not the case throughout the country.

Indeed, citing the semiconductor business as his primary and well studied example, Apek notes that it was nothing more than the heavy investment in fabricating plants in the US which drove many companies to seek offshore facilities where the costs of set-up and operation were significantly less. But, he asks, what was driving this search for lower costs?

Apek’s primary thesis is that the rate of return demands of majority investors have been driving companies to seek lower cost fabrication models for decades. This, then, has resulted in the virtual offshoring of most facilities, which, in turn, has produced the progressive diminishing of the employment base to most Americans in both intellectual and economic terms. Indeed, the lack of liquidity in the last six years has not helped this situation, but Apek’s thesis is directed at the ownership of these companies as being the arbiters of their chosen investment locales and facets.

For many Americans, the visible corporatocracy ruling the US for many years has taken on a more sinister aspect when the employment well appears to be running dry. Earlier in 2014 it was noted that there were 62 million Americans unemployed and, we presume, actively seeking work. Even if we accept that 10 million are consistently unemployed and not too fussed about finding a job, the remaining 52 million is a huge problem that Apek believes would be resolved more equitably by the implementation of his plan, much of which is credited to the philosophy of an Indian social thinker, Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar.

The thesis, actually, is embodied in US legislation first enacted as part of ERISA in 1974 but earlier considered as essential by progressive companies in the US as early as the mid 19th century (Procter & Gamble, Railway Express, Sears & Roebuck amongst others) where shares were set aside as gifts upon retirement. Apek’s proposal is that the majority stock holders of any company should be its employees. This is nothing more complicated than a prescribed ESOP plan for company ownership. On the face of it, the demons of Marxism first arise from the history books without the Leninist entrails and Stalinist martyrs. However, once you get past that fear, it is mostly the domination of the trading companies and speculators that interferes with the concept. Indeed, even as a good capitalist, one can see that the sponsor of the company, presumably an employee as they were in simpler times, might carry the lion’s share of decision weight. However, this is not an impasse that Apek traverses as there is a larger concern that speaks to this thought plan: how do you make modern corporations conform to this ideal in the current market environment?

While there is no current answer to his proposal as forcibly making this conversion entails the kind of legal encumbrances that makes lawyers in the US cry with anticipation… and would see it as their pension plan (no real pun intended). However, in this time of increasing national and international turmoil, Mr. Mulay looks to an intellectual revolution through exploiting the social networks as a method to further these thoughts and the concomitant business ownership transformation which would bring the decision level to those most immediately impacted by its consequences. In parallel, it is highly significant that Apek sees a far more decentralised government as one of the significant ramifications of this change, a clear and attractive alternative to the currently overweight behemoth in Washington, D.C.

I think it is fair to say that had the US corporations been ESOP’s back in the 60’s when this process began, one could be amazed at the different world in which we would be living. Aside from the effects of government sponsored inflation that would have been ever present, the inflationary wage settlements would not be as severe as they were; the classic entitlement programs would probably not be as they have evolved; the war on poverty would have been won (perhaps); the drastic and uneconomic changes to the medical profession might have been avoided; unemployment would not be so much an issue; and one even wonders if the election outcomes would have been the same. Another effect of the kind of decentralised government and manufacturing proposed by Apek would be the serious reduction in income taxes. The thought is tantalising to say the least as a government working within its (Constitutional) remit would be something the US hasn’t seen since the mid 19th century… or earlier.

You can look at this book as a “what–if” in terms of the immediate past decades or as a potential blueprint for the future coming out of the current economic miasma. Either way, it is thought provoking and an interesting proposal, worthy of consideration.

9. Trond Overland, Webmaster of PROUT Globe in Norway

Trond Overland’s review on Mass Capitalism : A Blueprint for Economic Revival has been published on PROUT Globe. It can be viewed here

Semiconductor expert Apek Mulay may have been a bit naughty as a child. His own mother may not agree but Mr. Mulay still appears to be mischievous today. Otherwise, how could he think to place the fundament of a work on the revival of the American economy on one apparently grave contradiction upon the other — and try to get away with it?

In Mass Capitalism, A Blueprint for Economic Revival, Mr Mulay serves up heavy systematic criticism of capitalism — while promoting “mass capitalism.” Mass capitalism? Everyone knows there is no such thing as mass capitalism. We have private capitalism, state capitalism (as under communism), mixed economy (where private sector sponsors public sector directly and indirectly through such means as employment, taxation, etc.), corporate capitalism, crony capitalism, to name but a few. But we will never have mass capitalism and for a very good reason: Capitalism is naturally limited to economic exploitation carried out by the few on the many.

In fact, everyone cannot perpetrate economic exploitation in the same way as a herd of cows cannot subsist only by drinking the milk of each other. Cows must graze and calves must stop drinking while someone else must do the milking and butchering, that is how exploitation of cows goes. Even if one construes a term such as “majority capitalism,” where economic exploitation would be carried out by the many on the few, it would be a misnomer. Such a system cannot sustain, at least not over time, let’s say for more than a few minutes, as there simply would not be enough genuine source material to be exploited by the disproportional (majority) number of exploiters. This is the reason pyramid schemes invariably collapse, and sooner rather than later.

So what does Mr. Mulay mean by mass capitalism? Alas, it appears that the imaginative Mr. Mulay is not alone but in cahoots with the spirited economist Ravi Batra, Professor of Economics at Southern Methodist University, Dallas. The latter is the actual coiner of the term mass capitalism here. When employees own the majority of shares in large companies and private property on a massive scale, it is mass capitalism according to Dr. Batra.* Similarly, Mr. Mulay suggests a system “that would lead to free market reforms, enabling capitalism to work for the masses, and would take the US semiconductor industry to the next level of innovation and financial success.”

Then what is their mass capitalism actually? Mr. Mulay reveals to us that it is nothing but a pseudonym for PROUT, the Progressive Utilization Theory. It is well known that American policy makers and most of the public and the media are wary of the term “socialism” just as a hyperallergic person is wary of the fiendish allergen. So while PROUT´s founder Shrii Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar dubbed PROUT “progressive socialism” (while dismissing capitalism to the scrapheap of destructive and useless systems), Mr. Mulay, an Indian citizen residing in the USA, goes along with Dr. Batra´s local market plan.

PROUT postulates that no one should be allowed to accumulate any physical wealth without the permission or approval of society. This is its first fundamental principle. Its scientific base is that physical wealth is finite whereas human urge is infinite, and therefore accumulation of physical wealth must be limited in the interest of all, while accumulation of mental and spiritual wealth should be unlimited. And therefore capitalism in any form and shape can never sustain. So there is no way we can call PROUT capitalism; PROUT is not a system of private capitalism and it is also not state capitalism, as it rejects economic centralisation and promotes economic decentralisation. Since the picture of Shrii Sarkar adorns the book´s dedication page, and PROUT is the ideological focus of the Mr. Mulay´s work, it seems only right to emphasise this point.

Is Batra and Mulay´s mass capitalism only a contrived selling point then? Yes, in all probability. Since the beginning of the semiconductor race, the US has been the leader of the pack, with Intel, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Broadcom and Micron Technology claiming nearly one third of the global market share at present, while the combined force of South Asian giants Samsung and Hynix (South Korea) and Toshiba and Renesas (Japan) amounts to less than 20%. Mr. Mulay proves to be a strong advocate of the US sustaining and even increasing that share – by “mass capitalism.”

All in all, Mr. Mulay´s work offers a great view from the American standpoint. As is common knowledge, all indications are that the Western economy is in for a very rough ride, in particular because the Western individualised world has sacrificed so much of its social, cultural, and industrial base to external interests, and in the process has outsourced large chunks of its technical skills and knowhow to foreign agencies and lands. Life on other continents on the other hand seems to have retained more of a traditional structure. Therefore it seems probable that a sinking global economy and the eventual collapse of capitalism as we know it would harm the First and Second Worlds infinitely more than the Third. It is therefore not inexplicable that Mr. Mulay and Dr. Batra find it opportune to stimulate a will and sentiment to do something radical about the impossible situation of their country and economic sphere.

The author´s solid background in the semiconductor industry, and his lofty vision of an economic and industrial system based on PROUT is instructive at a time when our very survival is in need of a new paradigm that can carry it forward into a world of numerous new beginnings. Thinkers and activists, also from other parts of the world, would be able to draw lessons from Mr. Mulay´s patriotic fervour based on his methodical professional and systemic analyses and syntheses.

10. Dr. Ravi Batra, Internationally recognized Macroeconomist and author of 6 National best sellers including Greenspan’s Fraud and The New Golden Age as NY Times best sellers

Ravi Batra’s Review has been published on www.truthout.org and it can be viewed here

According to the latest government statistics, the unemployment rate has dropped below 6 percent compared to around 10 percent in 2010. Then why is the nation still in a sour mood? In the words of Steve Liesman, a CNBC Senior Economics Reporter, an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll conducted at the end of September indicates that “Americans’ view of President Barack Obama’s economic leadership stands at the lowest level of his presidency.” While the president’s popularity hits rock bottom, Congress’ approval rating, less than 10 percent, is at its all-time low. So why are people disenchanted with politicians as well as our system? Perhaps the reason lies in the fact that seven years after the start of the Great Recession, the employment level has barely budged above its level in 2006, as millions of people have become so discouraged that they have simply dropped out of the labor force. Or it may be because median income is down by $5,000, with the rate of poverty the worst in more than 50 years. Meanwhile, federal debt has climbed by over $8 trillion, with the Federal Reserve spending an additional $4 trillion to bail out the financial system.

People wonder why this $12 trillion worth of stimulus has not even restored the status quo. The answer comes from a recent book by Apek Mulay entitled, Mass Capitalism: A Blue Print for Economic Revival. The author is an engineer by profession with a passion for economics, especially macroeconomics. While most experts blame the worst recession since the 1930s on the collapse of the housing market and the resulting banking crisis, Mr. Mulay sees the culprit primarily in the lack of competition among giant firms that dominate numerous industries in the United States. These firms charge high prices, pay low wages, lay off workers at will and engage in large scale outsourcing. As a consequence, their profits keep rising while the middle class suffers through dwindling wages and frequently part-time jobs.

Mr. Mulay then turns his attention to the semi-conductor industry, which is his forte, as he worked as an engineer for several years. This industry has been on the downhill along with many others. It is well known that manufacturing is fast becoming an endangered species in the United States, employing less than 10 percent of the labor force. Semiconductors have been hit especially hard by low-wage competition from China and some other Asian nations. According to Mr. Mulay, this industry can be revived with the help of a new system that may appropriately be called economic democracy, where the majority shares of a company are in the hands of employees themselves. In this system, the workers control the board of directors who in turn appoint key officers in management. Such is the idea behind mass capitalism, the phrase being synonymous with economic democracy. Ownership of shares will make employees give their best to their companies. They will work very hard to bring down the cost of production and thus be able to compete with low-wage foreign firms. This is Mulay’s blue print for the revival of not only the semi-conductors, but also all other manufacturing industries in the United States. As a result, employment and real wages will rise in the entire economy, while poverty will slowly vanish.

Mulay is highly critical of the current system which to him only makes the rich richer, while wages stagnate and poverty keeps rising. When employees own the majority of a company’s shares, the CEO will be sensitive to the needs of the workers whose wages will rise with their talent and skills. This will bring an end to wage stagnation, and the living standard will start to rise for all.

Mulay offers a fresh approach to America’s myriad economic problems. It is a thoughtful departure from the conventional view that blames our travails on reckless banks and their speculation. While the financial system is not without fault, the main problem lies in oligopolies that dominate industry after industry in the United States.

However, Mr. Mulay leaves one question unanswered. Who will bring about the system of mass capitalism? I guess given the vast unpopularity of our political institutions and the resulting economy, the system will evolve itself. That is why mass capitalism appears to be the wave of the future. It is clearly unrealistic now, but if $12 trillion spent by the government and the Federal Reserve are unable to restore the economic conditions that prevailed in 2006, mass capitalism may be the only way to eradicate unemployment and poverty in America.

11. Satinder Singh Paul, Internationally Experienced Strategist in Semiconductor Technology domain & VLSI/SoC/ASIC/IC (Chip) Design Specialist

As a foreword :- Based on many years of experience in the trenches of Semiconductors, Apek created a readable book covering the ins and outs of the current revival of US Economy .

So much of our business is learned from hit-or-miss experience–it’s nice to see a comprehensive look at all the factors to be considered when drafting an economics of Semiconductor market. particularly when the standard sales process is so counterproductive. …You can’t use manipulative techniques that are effective for selling dog food or soft drinks to the general public.

Apek touches on the huge number of factors and the social networking aspects of our trade. As he puts it:

Technical people are generally not ‘people’ people. They work better with machines than with humans. But the current blueprint must be congenial to both machines and people.

“Mass Capitalism: A Blueprint for Economic Revival” provides an excellent overview of the rapidly changing strategic environment in the semiconductor industry, and some sense of where things are headed. Since the 1960s the semiconductor industry has been a driver of global economic growth and social change. Each country involved wants a large, viable semiconductor industry that provides good jobs. The authors use both technical and managerial crises going back to the mid-1980s to examine the industry from an economic perspective, helping readers understand how global competitive advantage can be won and lost.

As the title of this review says…this is an admirable effort. Well done, Apek

12. Rtn. Sandesh Savant, Chemical Engineer from IIT-Madras

Just completed reading Mass Capitalism. Really enjoyed it mainly because I am from a chemical engineering background.

What attracted me to this book is the title “Mass Capitalism”, which are two words which do not go together very well.

Overall, a well researched and well written book with clarity and simple language. This study is very relevant in today’s world, since things move so fast in this digital age. Though a US-centric book, it will be useful for the… developing world as well. Short chapters with checklists are very useful and easy to understand. The progress from the past to the present and into the future is very smooth.

As a critic, I would like to point out that there appears to be an inordinate amount of repetitions, which may be good to drive home some points. And some ideas and examples used may be more suited for highly technical industries like semiconductors and microelectronics, but certainly not in manufacturing or service industries. Employees owning stocks in their companies is a tried and tested concept, finding success only in niche industries, which have well educated and qualified personnel.

I am glad I read “Mass Capitalism” and hope everyone gets the same opportunity.

13. Professor R R Sahuraja, Chief Mentor and faculty of Economics @ Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research

Its a pleasure writing a review for Mr. Mulay’s “Mass Capitalism: A Blueprint for Economic Revival” on receiving a copy of this book, the first impression I develop was that the title of the book Mass Capitalism is very much like the title of the book Saving Capitalism from Capitalists authored by Dr. Raghuram Rajan  currently the Governor of Reserve Bank of India. We, at Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, had invited Mr.Apek Mulay to give a talk to students of our Management Program on the topic “The US Semiconductor Industry” on 11th February 2015. I should stress this point that I was highly impressed with Mr. Mulay’s presentation and he did a great job in highlighting his ideas about macroeconomics and microelectronics to our management school students.

Later, I also watched Mr. Mulay talk about India’s budget 2015 on a television show Apekshit Bhavishyawani (Apekshit’s forecasts) and some forecasts about Indian economy. His vision related to the expected outcome of the Indian budget is appreciable, especially when he compared Indian Economy with all that has been happening in the American Economy – The theme of cyclical fluctuation – the role of credit, loan, capitalism etc and emphasizing the concept of Mass Capitalism – Economic boom and Economic bust, Macroeconomic reforms endangering the growth of microelectronics industry, the importance of restoration of the gold standard etc. all of which have been so well expressed by Mr. Mulay in Mass Capitalism : A Blueprint of Economic Revival.

Mr. Mulay’s forecasts made during his presentation at our management school, seem to be on track after the stock market crash of China and crisis in Europe. Let’s see if America also gets entangled in this rout as Mr. Mulay predicts. Regardless, I strongly recommend this book ‘Mass Capitalism’ to the students and readers at large, interested in knowing more about the relation between Macroeconomics and Microelectronics.

14. Amazon.com Customer – Sandy

In his intriguing book on US semiconductor industry, Mr. Apek Mulay has done a fantastic macroeconomic analysis explaining a new economic theory called Mass Capitalism while taking the semiconductor industry as a microeconomic model for his research. The study on the past, present and future of semiconductor industry is extremely insightful and in-depth, which makes his book pretty unique. Mr. Mulay has presented a thorough analysis of High-Tech industry by means of demonstrating the causes of its failure from a macroeconomic perspective. At the same time, Mr. Mulay presents a blueprint for revival of American economy by raising eyebrows, asking questions and presenting not too complex solutions.

Mr. Mulay stresses on a productive use of technology to sustain the technological progress and progress of today’s knowledge based economy. He argues that the present use of technology is very unproductive making the investments into technological growth highly unsustainable. While this book presents an in-depth research about semiconductor industry, there are also some good macroeconomic solutions towards sustainability of industry to ensure high productivity and profitability. Mr. Mulay has touched some important aspects about the financial industry as well and discussed the importance of gold standard in ushering a good macroeconomic growth, advocated lower income taxes on consumers to boost consumer purchasing power as well as offered some simple and practical solutions in order to eliminate black money from a country’s economy.

Mass Capitalism presents a holistic approach which is useful not only for developed economy like US but it has very good ideas for a developing economy like India it touches the socio-economic reforms that need to be implemented in order to establish a vibrant political democracy with ideas of a functioning economic democracy. I strongly recommend this book for semiconductor industry professionals as well as macroeconomic planners of a country.

Please buy this book and read. It highlights some Very interesting and real perspective!!

15. Amazon.com customer – d2thdr

The 2 well known schools of western economic thought – The Keynesian and The Austrian – do not see eye to eye on various economic issues. And when 2 irreconcilable ideologies collide, you get a general distrust about economic profession as a whole. Economics is not pure science but social science. Making decisions about scarcity, property and relationships is what economics does but even here the 2 schools diverge in their policy prescriptions. And to reconcile the 2 extremes, a policy prescription was devised by an Indian – Shri PR Sarkar. Due to the ability to deal simultaneously with history, modernism and post-modernism which symbolises the Indian ethos, PR Sarkar’s thesis has been further elaborated by Mr Apek Mulay with regards to semi conductor industry in the USA. I learnt more about semi conductor industry reading this book and I can see why its so critical for any economy.

The book is a glorious critique of today’s American Business Model which has morphed into crony capitalism.

The irony is the people who are in the position to make changes, do not wish to make changes and implement these simple yet highly necessary changes. And in not doing so, are sowing the seeds of their own political oblivion.

In essence I agree with Mr Mulay’s thesis. However, I would like to pick out certain specifics which do not bode well for the future of the USA. The purchasing power in the west drops as it rises in the east, hence the ability of the west to invest in these necessary changes will depend entirely on the investments from the east. East has its own issues so I would be surprised if they waste their precious resources on helping the west.

As Mr Mulay has clearly enunciated the failure of the west to save for a rainy day, they have indirectly given away their ability to influence the governmental trade and investment policies. The east learnt their lessons the hard way – and those lessons especially in relation to the understanding of money, will need to be learnt by the west too.

The 3 tiered manufacturing process is a marvellous addition to the necessary evolution of industry. Interestingly, my reading of some arcane texts from Arthashastra or the Hindu Yajmani System, suggests this 3-tiered model is perhaps the only way to ensure manufacturing survives through the waxing and waning phases of any economy. The economic super-organism as it breathes out, contracts and unless the economic model is not geared towards this inevitable eventuality, the risk of loosing the manufacturing process totally remains. Look at the so called north of the UK- Huge swathes of industry which depended on supplying stuff to India after gaining resources from India- are desolate with no hope of any recovery. Unless Apek’s model is not implemented in the US – that is the exact future that awaits silicon valley. This may sound precarious. But the time for implementing these ideas was the day before yesterday. Is the US late? Isn’t being late better than being sorry?

Some how I wish to suggest the power of ‘MASS CAPITALISM’ is seen very clearly in the Small and Medium Enterprise sector (SME) in India. Most being family run businesses tend to be worker owned with good idea of the capital allocation, strong customer support focus and very tailored product innovation in line with demands in the market.

All the recommendations in the book will need to be adopted by a politician who will be willing to adopt a radical position. This position however is feared by the left and right in the west. The left which preaches collectivism practices individualism. While the right who preaches enterprise practices protectionism. And both politicians believe the American people have a right for decent living, without ever delivering on this. What following MASS CAPITALISM will do is give the American people HOPE for the right of a decent living.

16. Dr. Ascanio Graziosi, Author of Financial Inclusion : Give People a Job not a Loan

Talking about capitalism means dealing with its unsuccessful achievements regards to the expectations. The issue has been a “continuing” debate as macroeconomists have been doing since A. Smith proposed his famous theory. Capitalism may be viewed from various angles; multifaceted being the ways it may affect the society. Certainly, the world financial crisis started eight years ago has revitalized the debate.

Apparently, capitalism looks forward to finding out an exit strategy and Mr. Apek Mulay’s book could be seen in the above context. I went through the thesis discussed by Author and I have observed some interesting and intriguing similarities with microfinance market trend, which is my field of expertise.

Microfinance insiders could find inspiration from Mr.Mulay’s book. Without embarking in a discussion dealing with global finance, we do say that microfinance is a “product” of the financial establishment, on the grounds of the following. We may create opportunities, by and large, in two ways:
1) providing people with a loan
2) giving people a job.

The former does privilege the financial component of the economy, the later counts on the real economy. Using their financial leverage, people can get indebted; on the contrary with a salaried people having pay-slip have the freedom to do what s/he likes and may apply for a guaranteed loan.

When Mr. Mulay claims that “mass capitalism may be the only way to eradicate unemployment and poverty in America”, we may translate it into what going on in microfinance, being promoted to fight poverty and then having failed to achieve this ambitious goal.

Like capitalism, currently microfinance is under scrutiny, at least its prevalent component that is still practicing without the appropriately attention to the durability of the interventions. Sustainable microfinance could be a real contributor to eliminate unemployment

In my opinion, the phasing out of Millennium Development Goal with Sustainable Development Goal re-evaluated the need to have sustainability at the centre of the interventions. Among other things, these new orientations could mean more attention to employment-based economy. Accordingly sustainable microfinance could really contribute to mitigate unemployment, revive country’s financial markets and help establish a true free-market economy.

Dr. Ascanio Graziosi
Owner, 2015 MICROFINANCE PRACTICE – http://www.linkedin.com/groups/2015-M…

17. James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, Midwest Book Review, 278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575 

Here is online version of book review published in small press book watch. Click here.

Economic Revival post Collapse of Crony Capitalism