Why mention a book about mushrooms and mold in an economics blog?
Many of Shekldrake’s insights are transferable to the world of humans and illustrate how orthodox economics falls short. For instance, we are not individuals but rather “communities” (of fungi, bacteria, viruses, etc.) — a slightly different take on Harari in Homo Deus, which proposes that we all have multiple identities.
Sheldrake is also wise to the numerous intangible and impossible-to-measure phenomena that govern the fungal kingdom. Yet the same is true of the human economy. Economists, known for their fascination with numbers at the exclusion of all else, should take note.
Perhaps most important is the necessary sense of humility that follows from a serious reading of Sheldrake’s book. Something we all need much more of. Economists especially!