Cogs and Monsters Contains a British Economist’s Thought-Provoking Reflections

Abstract

Diane Coyle’s recent book Cogs and Monsters has been translated from English by Alla Belykh and published in 2025 by the Gaidar Institute Publishing House. The book highlights crucial problems in economic theory and argues that a number of its branches need reform in order to respond to changes in the real economy. Numerous examples show that economic models are unable to describe economic reality and are unsuitable for making predictions. Coyle shows the clear challenges to economics presented by both the digitalization of the economy and the introduction of artificial intelligence, and she proposes revisions in several standard economic models. The book points out that traditional economic science still views people as “cogs” who are rational, calculating, independent agents acting within clearly defined conditions. But the digital economy is swayed much more by other agents, the “monsters,” forces that are uncontrollable, ever accelerating, and influenced socially by unknowns. When people are regarded as cogs, the economy itself creates monsters and thus lacks tools for understanding new problems and contemporary challenges to existing practices. Cogs and Monsters will interest anyone who deals with issues in economic theory and the methodology of economic science.