A Capitalism for the People

Recapturing the Lost Genius of American Prosperity

De: Luigi Zingales

Narrado por: Jonathan Davis

Audie Award Nominee, Business and Educational, 2013

Born in Italy, University of Chicago economist Luigi Zingales witnessed firsthand the consequences of high inflation and unemployment - paired with rampant nepotism and cronyism - on a country’s economy. This experience profoundly shaped his professional interests, and in 1988 he arrived in the United States, armed with a political passion and the belief that economists should not merely interpret the world, but should change it for the better.

In A Capitalism for the People, Zingales makes a forceful, philosophical, and at times personal argument that the roots of American capitalism are dying, and that the result is a drift toward the more corrupt systems found throughout Europe and much of the rest of the world. American capitalism, according to Zingales, grew in a unique incubator that provided it with a distinct flavor of competitiveness, a meritocratic nature that fostered trust in markets and a faith in mobility. Lately, however, that trust has been eroded by a betrayal of our pro-business elites, whose lobbying has come to dictate the market rather than be subject to it, and this betrayal has taken place with the complicity of our intellectual class.

Because of this trend, much of the country is questioning - often with great anger - whether the system that has for so long buoyed their hopes has now betrayed them once and for all. What we are left with is either anti-market pitchfork populism or pro-business technocratic insularity. Neither of these options presents a way to preserve what the author calls the lighthouse” of American capitalism. Zingales argues that the way forward is pro-market populism, a fostering of truly free and open competition for the good of the peoplenot for the good of big business.

Drawing on the historical record of American populism at the turn of the twentieth century, Zingales illustrates how our current circumstances aren’t all that different. People in the middle and at the bottom are getting squeezed, while people at the top are only growing richer. The solutions now, as then, are reforms to economic policy that level the playing field. Reforms that may be anti-business (specifically anti-big business), but are squarely pro-market. The question is whether we can once again muster the courage to confront the powers that be.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2012 Luigi Zingales (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Enjoyable but a tad predictable.

Would you consider the audio edition of A Capitalism for the People to be better than the print version?

I found Jonathan Davis's performance distracting and not in keeping with the subject matter. He sounded like a newscaster who, faced with subject matter he doesn't understand, projects extra confidence. Still, it was a minor problem.

What other book might you compare A Capitalism for the People to and why?

I wanted to like this book, but I found it reiterated many points and arguments which have appeared in other publications. If you follow economics and general news blogs you won't encounter much which is new.

Did Jonathan Davis do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

This was non-fiction, so Davis didn't need to distinguish between different characters.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

I thought Zingales explained his problems with public private partnerships quite well. For those who aren't familiar with the material, this would actually be a great introduction.

Any additional comments?

Zingales is totally correct when it comes to the merits of his arguments. For someone who isn't familiar with the general critique of crony capitalism, rent seeking, etc., as it is practiced in the US, this book should open some eyes.

An Urgent Wake-up Call for Business Educators

This book makes some strong arguments for a smaller, better government while calling on business educators to do a better job instilling a moral compass in our future business leaders. While it was a bit more libertarian than I usually align with, I especially liked the notion of teaching that loopholes are the result of lobbying, and that they make everything more complicated, and complications results in negative exploitation. Definitely one to re-read.