John Cassidy

A sweeping history of capitalism as seen through the eyes of its fiercest critics At a time when we are faced with fundamental questions about the sustainability and morality of the economic system, Capitalism and Its Critics provides a kaleidoscopic history of global capitalism, from colonialism and the Industrial Revolution to the ecological crisis and artificial intelligence. John Cassidy adopts a bold new approach: he tells the story through the eyes of the system's critics. From eighteenth-century weavers who rebelled against early factory automation to Eric Williams's paradigm-changing work on slavery and capitalism, to the Latin American dependistas, the international Wages for Housework campaign of the 1970s, and the modern degrowth movement, this absorbing narrative traverses the globe. It looks at familiar figures - Smith, Marx, Luxemburg, Keynes, Polanyi - from a fresh perspective, but also focuses on many less familiar, including William Thompson, the Irish proto-socialist whose work influenced Marx; Flora Tristan, the French proponent of a universal labour union; John Hobson, the original theorist of imperialism; and J. C. Kumarappa, the Indian exponent of Gandhian economics. Blending biography, panoramic history, and lively exploration of economic theories, Capitalism and Its Critics illuminates the deep roots of many of the most urgent issues of our time.

A Financial Times Most Anticipated Book of 2025 A sweeping, dramatic history of capitalism as seen through the eyes of its fiercest critics. Capitalism has long been understood as a driving force behind the biggest political, economic, and social dislocations of our time. But in this sweeping, kaleidoscopic history of the economic system that has shaped our world, the Pulitzer Prize finalist John Cassidy adopts a bold new approach: he examines global capitalism through the eyes of its critics. From the English Luddites, who rebelled against early factory automation, to communists in Germany and Russia in the early twentieth century, Latin American dependistas, the international Wages for Housework campaign of the 1970s, and the modern degrowth movement, this absorbing narrative traverses the globe. It visits with familiar names?Smith, Carlyle, Marx, Luxemburg, Keynes, Polanyi?but also focuses on many lesser-known figures, including William Thompson, the Irish proto-socialist whose work influenced Marx; Flora Tristan, the French proponent of a universal labor union; John Hobson, the original theorist of imperialism; J.C. Kumarappa, the Indian exponent of Gandhian economics; Eric Williams, the Trinidadian author of a famous thesis on slavery and capitalism; and Joan Robinson, the Cambridge economist and critic of the Cold War. Blending rich biography, panoramic history, and lively exploration of economic theories, Capitalism and Its Critics tells an expansive story that illuminates the deep roots of many of the most urgent issues we face today, from widening inequality and the ecological crisis to technological transformation and resurgent authoritarian politics.

Půl století rozvíjejí ekonomové po celém světě elegantní teorie o tom, jak trhy usnadňují inovace, jak vytvářejí bohatství a jak efektivně alokují zdroje, které má společnost k dispozici. Co se ale stane, když trhy selhávají? Když nás zavádějí až k bublinám na trhu s cennými papíry, ke křiklavým nerovnostem, ke znečištěným řekám nebo k úvěrovým krizím? V knize Jak selhávají trhy (How Markets Fail) americký publicista John Cassidy popisuje stoupající vliv "utopické ekonomie" - myšlení, které je slepé k tomu, jak jednají skuteční lidé, a které popírá existenci spousty způsobů, jimiž může neregulovaný volný trh vyvolat katastrofu. Cassidy kombinuje reportážní postupy založené na faktech a srozumitelné vysvětlování ekonomických teorií, aby upozornil na to, že za současné ekonomické krize je úporné setrvávání na starých ortodoxních "pravdách" nejen pošetilé -, ale vysloveně nebezpečné.