Capitalism, Alone: The Future of the System That Rules the World - Hardcover

Milanovic, Branko

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674987594 ISBN 13: 9780674987593

Publisher: Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press, 2019

Synopsis

A provocative account of capitalism’s rise to global dominance and, as different models of capitalism vie for world leadership, a look into what the future may hold.

We are all capitalists now. For the first time in human history, the globe is dominated by one economic system. In Capitalism, Alone, leading economist Branko Milanovic explains the reasons for this decisive historical shift since the days of feudalism and, later, communism. Surveying the varieties of capitalism, he asks: What are the prospects for a fairer world now that capitalism is the only game in town? His conclusions are sobering, but not fatalistic. Capitalism gets much wrong, but also much right―and it is not going anywhere. Our task is to improve it.

Milanovic argues that capitalism has triumphed because it works. It delivers prosperity and gratifies human desires for autonomy. But it comes with a moral price, pushing us to treat material success as the ultimate goal. And it offers no guarantee of stability. In the West, liberal capitalism creaks under the strains of inequality and capitalist excess. That model now fights for hearts and minds with political capitalism, exemplified by China, which many claim is more efficient, but which is more vulnerable to corruption and, when growth is slow, social unrest. As for the economic problems of the Global South, Milanovic offers a creative, if controversial, plan for large-scale migration. Looking to the future, he dismisses prophets who proclaim some single outcome to be inevitable, whether worldwide prosperity or robot-driven mass unemployment. Capitalism is a risky system. But it is a human system. Our choices, and how clearly we see them, will determine how it serves us.

About this title

About the Author

Branko Milanovic is Visiting Presidential Professor and Core Faculty at the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. He was formerly Lead Economist in the World Bank’s research department. His books include Global Inequality (Harvard) and The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality.

Review

“A brilliant sequel to the pathbreaking Global Inequality. Drawing on original research and a typically wide sweep of history, Branko Milanovic poses all the important questions about our future.”―Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

“Branko Milanovic, a master economic statistician, here divides modern capitalism broadly into two versions: the ‘liberal’ one found in the West, and the ‘political’ one that has emerged in China. In this searching and richly argued work he weighs the choices we face and discusses whether the future may lie with one version, alone.”―James K. Galbraith, author of The End of Normal

“Leaves little doubt that the social contract no longer holds. Whether you live in Beijing or New York, the time for renegotiation is approaching.”―Edward Luce, Financial Times

“Countries with larger tax cuts experienced bigger increases in inequality...[The consequences] are richly detailed in Capitalism Alone...Builds on Milanovic’s previous book, Global Inequality...Ideally the two should be read together...[Milanovic] belongs to a new generation of data-driven economists who have helped track what has happened to income distribution in recent years.”―Liaquat Ahamed, New Yorker

“Milanovic outlines a taxonomy of capitalisms and traces their evolution from classical capitalism before 1914, through the social-democratic capitalism of the mid-20th century, to ‘liberal meritocratic capitalism’ in much of the rich world, in particular America. He contrasts this with the ‘political capitalism’ found in many emerging countries, with China as the exemplar. These two capitalistic forms now dominate the global landscape. Their co-evolution will shape world history for decades to come.”―The Economist

“A remarkable book, possibly the author’s most comprehensive opus so far...I highly recommend Capitalism, Alone to all readers and scholars interested in challenging their understanding of the (supposed) sole socio-economic system we live in.”―Roberto Iacono, LSE Review of Books

“May turn out to be a seminal work on the fin de siècle de capitalisme...His conclusions and concepts, make extraordinary contributions to considerations of the state of capitalism.”―Business Day

“Capitalism, Alone is an excellent work that covers a broad swath of the history of modern capitalism.”―Edward Wolff, author of A Century of Wealth in America

“Milanovic has written what may be his most ambitious book yet. Featuring his trademark clarity and erudition, Capitalism, Alone contains wide-ranging and thoughtful insights into the nature of capitalism as it is currently structured and considers how it will evolve in the coming century.”―Arjun Jayadev, Azim Premji University

“Branko Milanovic, the master narrator of global equality, brings an entirely new perspective to the topic in this remarkably astute book. By tracing the deep and evolving ideological foundations of capitalism and communism and analyzing the rise of Asia and particularly China, he contributes thought-provoking insights on the critical role of institutions and ideology for the long-term prospects of global economies.”―Debin Ma, London School of Economics and Political Science

Edition details

• Publisher: Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0674987594
• ISBN 13: 9780674987593
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 304