Can Democracy Survive Global Capitalism?

Democracies govern nations, while global capitalism runs the world. Robert Kuttner provides a clear-eyed, intellectually riveting account of how the inevitable tensions between the two have fueled neofascist nationalism here and abroad, and why the response must be a new progressive populism rooted in democracy and social justice. Timely and compelling.--Robert B. Reich, chancellor's professor of public policy, University of California at Berkeley Robert Kuttner combines economic acumen, a gift for narrative, and genuine passion in his persuasive new book. In his telling, the issue isn't whether national economies should be open to foreign trade or finance. It's whether the rules of the global economy are set up to benefit?ordinary citizens or merely economic elites.--Jacob S. Hacker, Yale University and coauthor of Winner-Take-All Politics Kuttner brilliantly brings together two strands of thought: explaining both the economics and politics of global capitalism and how our society has abandoned core principles of fairness and equality. The rise of inequality helped pave the way for Donald Trump--a figure out of step with basic American values. Kuttner reminds us of the urgency with which we need to get back to a more just society.--Joseph E. Stiglitz, Columbia University, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and best-selling author of The Price of Inequality Standing on the shoulders of Karl Polanyi, Bob Kuttner revives the lost art of political economy in this absorbing and important analysis of wild markets, assaults on labor, and profound changes to institutional rules.--Ira Katznelson, Columbia University and author of the Bancroft Prize-winning Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time Democracy is no longer writing the rules for capitalism; instead it is the other way around. With his deep insight and wide learning, Kuttner is among our best guides for understanding how we reached this point and what's at stake if we stay on our current path.--Heather McGhee, president of Demos Conventional wisdom has it that our income disparities and dysfunctional politics are the consequence of inexorable and uncontrollable developments in technology, market competition, and globalization. As Robert Kuttner argues in this superb book, they are instead the result of our own policy choices.--Dani Rodrik, Harvard University and author of Straight Talk on Trade and The Globalization Paradox