Capitalism and Its Critics

An intriguing account of how some of the most consequential ideas in economics developed, and how they forged the modern world…Several enjoyable evenings might be spent with Netflix off and Mr Cassidy’s new book open * Economist *A marvellously lucid overview of capitalism’s critics, written in good old-fashioned expository prose – Pratinav Anil * Guardian *Capitalism and its Critics [is an] unexpectedly lively romp through the two-and-a-half-century history of capitalism … a zombie tale in which the mystery is why capitalism, having so many ill-wishers and so many chronic health problems, keeps rising anew from each crisis – be it the 1930s Great Depression or 2008 financial crisis – even stronger and more resilient. Cassidy … offers gripping analyses of socialist communes, slavery, imperialism and monetarism; he takes us to the heart of such topical questions as whether tariffs are folly, as laissez-faire orthodoxy suggests, or essential to making America great again, as Donald Trump insists … I predict it’ll become the intelligent beach read of the summer – Stuart Jeffries * Telegraph *Cassidy’s range is impressive … [he] makes the history of capitalism digestible by weaving together, in each chapter, the biography of each of his subjects with their key critique of capitalism, thus humanising otherwise dry debates about economic theory – Yuan Yi Zhu * The Times *Each chapter is a substantial essay on an economist, activist or policymaker and their work … astonishing … – Alan Ryan * Literary Review *Fascinating and informative. The history of capitalism is told through the eyes and legitimate concerns of its most articulate critics. This is intellectual history at its best. Essential reading for anyone who wonders how the modern world wandered off course – Simon Johnson, winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize for Economics and co-author of Power and ProgressJohn Cassidy’s Capitalism and Its Critics is an impressive history of arguments about capitalism, from the industrial age to our time. Clear and accessible, it is an invaluable touchstone for current debates about economic renewal in our post-globalization moment – Michael J. Sandel, author of The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good?

John Cassidy is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of Dot.con- The Greatest Story Ever Sold and How Markets Fail, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction.