Overview

A century of expanding government has distorted financial markets, stoked massive inequality, and soaked America in debt.What went wrong with capitalism? Ruchir Sharma's explanation is unlike any you will have heard before. Progressives are partly right when they mock modern capitalism as ""socialism for the rich,"" but what really happened in recent decades is that the government expanded in just about every measurable dimension, from spending and regulation to the sheer scale of its rescues each time the economy wobbled. The result, Sharma says, is ""socialized risk,"" expensive government guarantees, for everyone--welfare for the poor, entitlements for the middle class, and bailouts for the rich. The Reagan and Thatcher Revolution of the 1980s did little to reverse this trend; it just changed the way governments finance themselves. They now rely more on borrowing than taxing. Over the last forty years, governments and central banks have pumped so much money into the economy that the markets can no longer allocate capital efficiently. Capitalism is now so deeply addicted to debt, even the return of inflation in recent years--which ended four decades of easy money--has not weaned its leaders off their habit. Many high-profile symbols of capitalism gone wrong, including the rise of monopolies and billionaires, are effectively creatures of a borrow and bailout culture. They thrive in a system soaked in too much government support. Conservatives and liberals find themselves surprisingly united in support of bigger government, whether to fight climate change, to revive manufacturing, to out-compete China, or contain Russia. President Biden is leading the way and has put the United States on course to become the developed world's biggest deficit spender and biggest debtor. Voters say they are disillusioned with capitalism, but a system so distorted by government interventions is a dysfunctional version of free market ideals. As a result, productivity and economic growth have slowed sharply, shrinking the pie for everyone, and stoking popular anger. Since these flaws developed as the government expanded, building an even bigger state will only double down on what's gone wrong. The answer Sharma offers is a series of seven fixes to restore the balance between state support and economic freedom and lay the path to a happier future.

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9781797179742

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Ruchir Sharma is chairman of Rockefeller International and founder and chief investment officer of Breakout Capital, an investment firm focused on emerging markets. He moved to Rockefeller in 2022 after a twenty-five-year career at Morgan Stanley, where he was head of emerging markets and chief global strategist. Based in New York, he is a contributing editor at the Financial Times and a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times. His work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, The Guardian, and Foreign Policy. He is the author of four books, the international bestseller Breakout Nations, the New York Times bestseller The Rise and Fall of Nations, Democracy on the Road, and The 10 Rules of Successful Nations. Fajer Al-Kaisi is an actor for the stage and screen as well as an accomplished voice-over artist and narrator with over a hundred audiobook credits. Fajer is currently the voice of Shazzan on Jellystone (HBO Max) as well as cohost of the podcast BardQuest Empire. His TV appearances include Law & Order, Future Man, The Code, 30 Rock, Nurse Jackie, The Blacklist, The Onion News Network, Person of Interest, Delocated, Search Party, Madam Secretary, and Deadbeat. His film credits include ""Karim"" in I'll Come Running, ""Ali Soufan"" in The Report, and as ""the interpreter"" in Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. His theatrical credits include: Tareq in the Guthrie's production of Nora, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, Aeneas in Troilus and Cressida at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Grahm/2 in the world premiere of Informed Consent at Cleveland Playhouse, and Shahid the translator in the NYTW world premiere of Aftermath and the subsequent Arktype World tour. His additional regional credits include: The Humans, Disgraced, and The Invisible Hand. Fajer has been nominated for a Drama Leagues Award (Aftermath, Best Ensemble 2011) as well as a finalist for best male performance at the Audies (Fives and Twenty-Fives, 2015). He has also received several AudioFile Earphones Awards.

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