Mr. Stiglitz argues that so-called too-big-to-fail banks like Citigroup are exactly that: too big. He says that they should be broken up, and that the government should regulate derivatives and discourage mortgage securitization.

What’s more, he says, Americans need to get over the idea that higher taxes and more government involvement in the economy are a recipe for disaster. He points to Sweden as an example of a country that has a thriving economy but still provides its citizens with extensive social services.

THESE may all be worthy ideas. But at times, Mr. Stiglitz’s call for a new economic order seems a bit fanciful. Can you imagine President Obama going before the American people and telling them they need to emulate Sweden? Imagine the fun Glenn Beck would have with that.

Some of the suggestions that Mr. Stiglitz makes in these pages for reconfiguring the American economy (and American society) stray far from the realm of practical policy recommendations that actually have a chance of winning broad public support or being enacted by Congress. He writes about how a “redistribution of income” and more progressive taxation might help stabilize the economy and calls for a new global reserve system. He contrasts Bhutan’s concept of G.N.H. (“gross national happiness”) with America’s focus on G.D.P. and talks about the “moral deficit” that Americans’ “unrelenting pursuit of profits” and self-interest have created. Such remarks not only give ammunition to conservative critics who want to dismiss Mr. Stiglitz as a European-style liberal, but they also have the unfortunate effect of diverting the reader’s attention from the many shrewd assessments that he makes in “Freefall” about the causes and consequences of the great financial meltdown of 2008.

Nobelist explains how America screwed up the world economy -- and how we can fix it.