The Future of Capitalism

The Future of Capitalism
Author: Paul Collier
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2018-12-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 0062748661

Bill Gates's Five Books for Summer Reading 2019 From world-renowned economist Paul Collier, a candid diagnosis of the failures of capitalism and a pragmatic and realistic vision for how we can repair it. Deep new rifts are tearing apart the fabric of the United States and other Western societies: thriving cities versus rural counties, the highly skilled elite versus the less educated, wealthy versus developing countries. As these divides deepen, we have lost the sense of ethical obligation to others that was crucial to the rise of post-war social democracy. So far these rifts have been answered only by the revivalist ideologies of populism and socialism, leading to the seismic upheavals of Trump, Brexit, and the return of the far-right in Germany. We have heard many critiques of capitalism but no one has laid out a realistic way to fix it, until now. In a passionate and polemical book, celebrated economist Paul Collier outlines brilliantly original and ethical ways of healing these rifts—economic, social and cultural—with the cool head of pragmatism, rather than the fervor of ideological revivalism. He reveals how he has personally lived across these three divides, moving from working-class Sheffield to hyper-competitive Oxford, and working between Britain and Africa, and acknowledges some of the failings of his profession. Drawing on his own solutions as well as ideas from some of the world’s most distinguished social scientists, he shows us how to save capitalism from itself—and free ourselves from the intellectual baggage of the twentieth century.

Ages of American Capitalism

Ages of American Capitalism
Author: Jonathan Levy
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Total Pages: 945
Release: 2022-04-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0812985184

A leading economic historian traces the evolution of American capitalism from the colonial era to the present—and argues that we’ve reached a turning point that will define the era ahead. “A monumental achievement, sure to become a classic.”—Zachary D. Carter, author of The Price of Peace In this ambitious single-volume history of the United States, economic historian Jonathan Levy reveals how capitalism in America has evolved through four distinct ages and how the country’s economic evolution is inseparable from the nature of American life itself. The Age of Commerce spans the colonial era through the outbreak of the Civil War, and the Age of Capital traces the lasting impact of the industrial revolution. The volatility of the Age of Capital ultimately led to the Great Depression, which sparked the Age of Control, during which the government took on a more active role in the economy, and finally, in the Age of Chaos, deregulation and the growth of the finance industry created a booming economy for some but also striking inequalities and a lack of oversight that led directly to the crash of 2008. In Ages of American Capitalism, Levy proves that capitalism in the United States has never been just one thing. Instead, it has morphed through the country’s history—and it’s likely changing again right now. “A stunning accomplishment . . . an indispensable guide to understanding American history—and what’s happening in today’s economy.”—Christian Science Monitor “The best one-volume history of American capitalism.”—Sven Beckert, author of Empire of Cotton

The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism

The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism
Author: Gosta Esping-Andersen
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2013-05-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0745666752

Few discussions in modern social science have occupied as much attention as the changing nature of welfare states in western societies. Gosta Esping-Andersen, one of the most distinguished contributors to current debates on this issue, here provides a new analysis of the character and role of welfare states in the functioning of contemporary advanced western societies. Esping-Andersen distinguishes several major types of welfare state, connecting these with variations in the historical development of different western countries. Current economic processes, the author argues, such as those moving towards a post-industrial order, are not shaped by autonomous market forces but by the nature of states and state differences. Fully informed by comparative materials, this book will have great appeal to everyone working on issues of economic development and post-industrialism. Its audience will include students and academics in sociology, economics and politics.

The New Industrial State

The New Industrial State
Author: John Kenneth Galbraith
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 577
Release: 2015-04-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1400873185

With searing wit and incisive commentary, John Kenneth Galbraith redefined America's perception of itself in The New Industrial State, one of his landmark works. The United States is no longer a free-enterprise society, Galbraith argues, but a structured state controlled by the largest companies. Advertising is the means by which these companies manage demand and create consumer "need" where none previously existed. Multinational corporations are the continuation of this power system on an international level. The goal of these companies is not the betterment of society, but immortality through an uninterrupted stream of earnings. First published in 1967, The New Industrial State continues to resonate today.

The British Economy in Transition

The British Economy in Transition
Author: Royce Turner
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 284
Release: 1995-08-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1134834012

The British Economy in Transition: From the Old to the New? examines attempts at economic regeneration in areas that have experienced the decline in 'traditional' industry of recent years. The contributors also look at the impact of techno and managerial modernization strategies in industries that have survived, but have had to adapt rapidly to do

Cooperatives Confront Capitalism

Cooperatives Confront Capitalism
Author: Peter Ranis
Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.
Total Pages: 141
Release: 2016-08-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1783606525

Cooperatives the world over are successfully developing alternative models of decision-making, employment and operation without the existence of managers, executives and hierarchies. Through case studies spanning the US, Latin America and Europe, including valuable new work on the previously neglected cooperative movement in Cuba, Peter Ranis explores how cooperatives have evolved in response to the economic crisis. Going further yet, Ranis makes the novel argument that the constitutionally enshrined principle of 'eminent domain' can in fact be harnessed to create and defend worker cooperatives. Combining the work of key radical theorists, including Marx, Gramsci and Luxemburg, with that of contemporary political economists, such as Block, Piketty and Stiglitz, Cooperatives Confront Capitalism provides what is perhaps the most far-reaching analysis yet of the ideas, achievements and wider historical context of the cooperative movement.

Conservatives Against Capitalism

Conservatives Against Capitalism
Author: Peter Kolozi
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2017-08-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 0231544618

Few beliefs seem more fundamental to American conservatism than faith in the free market. Yet throughout American history, many of the major conservative intellectual and political figures have harbored deep misgivings about the unfettered market and its disruption of traditional values, hierarchies, and communities. In Conservatives Against Capitalism, Peter Kolozi traces the history of conservative skepticism about the influence of capitalism on politics, culture, and society. Kolozi discusses conservative critiques of capitalism—from its threat to the Southern way of life to its emasculating effects on American society to the dangers of free trade—considering the positions of a wide-ranging set of individuals, including John Calhoun, Theodore Roosevelt, Russell Kirk, Irving Kristol, and Patrick J. Buchanan. He examines the ways in which conservative thought went from outright opposition to capitalism to more muted critiques, ultimately reconciling itself to the workings and ethos of the market. By analyzing the unaddressed historical and present-day tensions between capitalism and conservative values, Kolozi shows that figures regarded as iconoclasts belong to a coherent tradition, and he creates a vital new understanding of the American conservative pantheon.

Political Economy and American Capitalism

Political Economy and American Capitalism
Author: Rodney D. Peterson
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9401138745

We are now witness to the waning years of the 1900s. Soon, we shall embark upon a bold journey into the uncharted territory of the twenty-first of various persuasions have speculated as to what the century. Futurists oncoming decades might bestow upon us. Not surprising, most predictions are closely tied to advances in technology, especially in astrophysiCS, biochemistry, electronics, and genetics. But what about the economic system? Whatever happens, forces have undoubtedly already been set in motion which will mold (or remold) the structure and character of American capitalism. American capitalism has been, is, and will undoubtedly continue to be a system in transition. Technology perennially changes, albeit at a faster or slower pace sometimes than others, and society's institutions continually adjust to these technological changes. Such adjustments alter the character of our politico-economic system when statutes are enacted, court decisions rendered, administrative agency rules promulgated, and cultural mores realigned to supplant old ones. Other adaptations are brought about when small-group collective action is successful in causing a special status of privilege to be conferred on some members of society, but restrictions to be levied on others.

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
Author: Shoshana Zuboff
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Total Pages: 683
Release: 2019-01-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1610395700

The challenges to humanity posed by the digital future, the first detailed examination of the unprecedented form of power called "surveillance capitalism," and the quest by powerful corporations to predict and control our behavior. In this masterwork of original thinking and research, Shoshana Zuboff provides startling insights into the phenomenon that she has named surveillance capitalism. The stakes could not be higher: a global architecture of behavior modification threatens human nature in the twenty-first century just as industrial capitalism disfigured the natural world in the twentieth. Zuboff vividly brings to life the consequences as surveillance capitalism advances from Silicon Valley into every economic sector. Vast wealth and power are accumulated in ominous new "behavioral futures markets," where predictions about our behavior are bought and sold, and the production of goods and services is subordinated to a new "means of behavioral modification." The threat has shifted from a totalitarian Big Brother state to a ubiquitous digital architecture: a "Big Other" operating in the interests of surveillance capital. Here is the crucible of an unprecedented form of power marked by extreme concentrations of knowledge and free from democratic oversight. Zuboff's comprehensive and moving analysis lays bare the threats to twenty-first century society: a controlled "hive" of total connection that seduces with promises of total certainty for maximum profit -- at the expense of democracy, freedom, and our human future. With little resistance from law or society, surveillance capitalism is on the verge of dominating the social order and shaping the digital future -- if we let it.