In this landmark work NEW YORKER columnist James Surowiecki explores a seemingly counterintuitive idea that has profound implications Decisions taken by a large group even if the individuals within the group arent smart are always better than decisions made by small numbers of experts This seemingly simply notion has endless and major ramifications for how businesses operate how knowledge is advanced how economies are or should be organised and how nationstates fare With great erudition Surowiecki ranges across the disciplines of psychology economics statistics and history to show just how this principle operates in the real world Along the way Surowiecki asks a number of intriguing questions about a subject few of us actually understand economics What are prices How does money work Why do we have corporations Does advertising work His answers rendered in a delightfully clear prose demystify daunting prospects As Surowiecki writes The hero of this book is in a curious sense an idea a hero whose story ends up shedding dramatic new light on the landscapes of business politics and society