Publisher's Synopsis
"Both a savage critique of 'techno-feudalism' and an idealistic appeal to share the fruits of our collective intelligence more fairly." - John Thornhill, Financial Times
Revolutionary ideas on how to use markets to bring about fairness and prosperity for all
Many blame today's economic inequality, stagnation, and political instability on the free market. The solution is to rein in the market, right? Radical Markets turns this thinking--and pretty much all conventional thinking about markets, both for and against-on its head. The book reveals bold new ways to organize markets for the good of everyone. It shows how the emancipatory force of genuinely open, free, and competitive markets can reawaken the dormant nineteenth-century spirit of liberal reform and lead to greater equality, prosperity, and cooperation.
Eric Posner and Glen Weyl demonstrate why private property is inherently monopolistic, and how we would all be better off if private ownership were converted into a public auction for public benefit. They show how the principle of one person, one vote inhibits democracy, suggesting instead an ingenious way for voters to effectively influence the issues that matter most to them. They argue that every citizen of a host country should benefit from immigration-not just migrants and their capitalist employers. They propose leveraging antitrust laws to liberate markets from the grip of institutional investors and creating a data labor movement to force digital monopolies to compensate people for their electronic data.
Only by radically expanding the scope of markets can we reduce inequality, restore robust economic growth, and resolve political conflicts. But to do that, we must replace our most sacred institutions with truly free and open competition - Radical Markets shows how.
Endorsements:
"I have always been motivated to find ways to unite the power of technology and markets with the goal of creating a more egalitarian society, and the authors of this book offer an exploration of these apparently contradictory strands."--Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft
"Perhaps the most ambitious attempt to rethink democracy and markets since Milton Friedman. Twenty years from now this just might be the book people are talking about. The writing is excellent, with great examples and historical detail. I admire the ambition and willingness to experiment, a rare thing in economics these days. It just might help launch a new branch of political economy."--Kenneth S. Rogoff, author of The Curse of Cash
"One of the most exciting books in the social sciences published in the past several years. Very original, using a consistent ideological approach, and intellectually compelling."--Branko Milanovic, author of Global Inequality
"Radical Markets thinks big and builds daring proposals, all on a unified theme: the need for maintaining competition and eliciting decentralized information, whose neglect led to the demise of planned economies. Whether you are convinced by the specific proposals or not, your confidence in your worldview may well be shattered by the depth and originality of the analysis."--Jean Tirol, Toulouse School of Economics, Nobel Laureate in Economics, and author of Economics for the Common Good
"In our difficult times, with mounting anxieties over migration, global inequality, and the cohesiveness of public culture, many are inclined to reject market-based solutions as heartless and elitist. Eric Posner and Glen Weyl argue that market-based ideas of a radically new sort (though based on neglected insights from the past) have the power to create greater equality and reciprocity. Counterintuitive and fascinating, this book will be an essential part of the debate about global issues going forward."--Martha C. Nussbaum, University of Chicago
