Walk Away

Housing, a central priority for government policy for many decades, collapsed in 2008; even in 2011, millions of homes are under water. This poses many economic and ethical issues. This elegant and fact-filled book by former Mises Institute president Doug French examines the background to the case of “strategic default,” or walking away from your home, and considers its implications from a variety of different perspectives. The thesis here is that there is nothing ominous or evil about this practice. It is an extension of economic rationality.