Capitalism:  The Future of an Illusion

“Capitalist,” a term that once belonged almost exclusively to the political left, is now used by everyone to describe the society in which we live. Yet this broad consensus has become part of a problem—the false idea and deep-seated illusion that the economy is autonomous and should be governed by its own laws, even if it means restricting the scope of democratic decision-making.

In my book, Capitalism: The Future of an Illusion, I explain how U.S. politics got caught in a loop that alternates between center-left Democrats and increasingly extreme-right Republicans. I argue that to exit this cycle of raised hopes followed by dashed dreams, we must challenge the idea that we live in a society that operates according to its own inner laws.

The book includes examples of the consequences of our absence of political imagination.

Capitalism is meant to guide the reader through the reality that market societies are complex institutional hybrids and that, periodically, we must consider (despite our own fears) replacing our existing economic system to restore economic vitality.