The Invisible Heart: Economics and Family Values

The Boston Globe called the MacArthur Award-winning economist Nancy Folbre "a feminist outlaw challenging the orthodoxy in a discipline shaped almost entirely by men." The Washington Post Book World said she "is always a provocative analyst of important social problems." With The Invisible Heart, Folbre's thinking and agenda for change are distilled into what Library Journal describes as a "readable, well-documented, and thought-provoking" book. Written in a lively, personal style that Booklist finds "very accessible," The Invisible Heart is a pioneering reevaluation of the competitive market that explains why Adam Smith's invisible hand, if it reaches too far, can undermine the "invisible heart"—the values of love, reciprocity, and obligation on which our families and communities depend. Folbre addresses a basic problem in our society: balancing economic pursuits with care for others. The Invisible Heart outlines strategies for developing an economic system that rewards both individual achievement and care for others.