The Future of Capitalism

Author Paul Collier
Narrator Peter Noble
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Run Time 9 hours and 26 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Comparative politics, Economic theory and philosophy, International economics, Political economy, Political ideologies and movements, Political science and theory, Political structures: democracy, Politics and government, Popular economics, Society and Social Sciences.

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What to expect

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Deep new rifts are tearing apart the fabric of Britain and other Western societies: thriving cities versus the provinces, 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 fervour 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 20th century.

'In this bold work of intellectual trespass, Paul Collier, a distinguished economist, ventures onto the terrain of ethics to explain what's gone wrong with capitalism, and how to fix it. To heal the divide between metropolitan elites and the left-behind, he argues, we need to rediscover an ethic of belonging, patriotism, and reciprocity. Offering inventive solutions to our current impasse, Collier shows how economics at its best is inseparable from moral and political philosophy' Michael Sandel, author of What Money Can't Buy and Justice

'The Future of Capitalism is the most revolutionary work of social science since Keynes. Let's hope it will also be the most influential. These times are in desperate need of Paul Collier's insights.' George Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2001

'For thirty years, the centre left of politics has been searching for a narrative that makes sense of the market economy. This book provides it' John Kay, Fellow of St John's College, Oxford and the author of Obliquity and Other People's Money

©2018 Paul Collier (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

Collier is one of the UK’s most distinguished economists. In this important book, he analyses what has gone wrong with contemporary capitalism, focusing on the growing divide between the educated and the less educated and between booming metropolis and the declining provinces. Rejecting the illusions of the ideologues and the populists, he puts forward pragmatic, provocative and perceptive ways to deliver widely shared prosperity, by restoring an ethical basis to our national politics, companies and families.
Financial Times
I’m a big fan of Paul Collier. When I saw that The Future of Capitalism was about the polarization we’re seeing in the U.S., Europe, and other places, I was eager to see what he had to say. I’m glad I did. The Future of Capitalism is an ambitious and thought-provoking book. . . . I think he is right more often than not. Ultimately, I agree with him that ‘capitalism needs to be managed, not defeated.’
Bill Gates, Summer Reading Recommendations 2019
These times are in desperate need of Paul Collier’s insights. The Future of Capitalism restores common sense to our views of morality, as it also describes their critical role in what makes families, organizations, and nations work. It is the most revolutionary work of social science since Keynes. Let’s hope it will also be the most influential
George Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2001
For me the most gripping [2018 book on capitalism] was Paul Collier’s The Future of Capitalism: a deep exploration of the ethical institutions underlying our market society — and an impassioned argument about how to restore them.
The New Statesman
Collier has set for himself [the task] to re-establish the ethical character of social democracy. This is an important book for anyone concerned at the state of modern politics and our liberal democracies.
Jon Cruddas MP
This book is not an easy read but it is an important one – the revenge of the clever provincial biting the metropolitan hand that has fed him so generously.
Evening Standard
In this bold work of intellectual trespass, Paul Collier, a distinguished economist, ventures onto the terrain of ethics to explain what’s gone wrong with capitalism, and how to fix it. To heal the divide between metropolitan elites and the left-behind, he argues, we need to rediscover an ethic of belonging, patriotism, and reciprocity. Offering inventive solutions to our current impasse, Collier shows how economics at its best is inseparable from moral and political philosophy’
Michael Sandel, author of What Money Can't Buy and Justice
For thirty years, the centre left of politics has been searching for a narrative that makes sense of the market economy. This book provides it
John Kay, Fellow of St John's College, Oxford and the author of Obliquity and Other People's Money
For well-to-do metropolitans, capitalism is the gift that goes on giving. For others, capitalism is not working. Paul Collier deploys passion, pragmatism and good economics in equal measure to chart an alternative to the divisions tearing apart so many western countries.
Mervyn King, former Governor of the Bank of England

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