Capitalism, alone - Branko Milanovic

A provocative account of capitalism's rise to global dominance and, as different models of capitalism vie for world leadership, a look into what the future may hold.

We are all capitalists now. For the first time in human history, the globe is dominated by one economic system. In Capitalism, Alone, leading economist Branko Milanovic explains the reasons for this decisive historical shift since the days of feudalism and, later, communism. Surveying the varieties of capitalism, he asks: What are the prospects for a fairer world now that capitalism is the only game in town? His conclusions are sobering, but not fatalistic. Capitalism gets much wrong, but also much right-and it is not going anywhere. Our task is to improve it.

Milanovic argues that capitalism has triumphed because it works. It delivers prosperity and gratifies human desires for autonomy. But it comes with a moral price, pushing us to treat material success as the ultimate goal. And it offers no guarantee of stability. In the West, liberal capitalism creaks under the strains of inequality and capitalist excess. That model now fights for hearts and minds with political capitalism, exemplified by China, which many claim is more efficient, but which is more vulnerable to corruption and, when growth is slow, social unrest. As for the economic problems of the Global South, Milanovic offers a creative, if controversial, plan for large-scale migration. Looking to the future, he dismisses prophets who proclaim some single outcome to be inevitable, whether worldwide prosperity or robot-driven mass unemployment. Capitalism is a risky system. But it is a human system. Our choices, and how clearly we see them, will determine how it serves us.

Branko Milanovic is Visiting Presidential Professor and Core Faculty at the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. He was formerly Lead Economist in the World Bank's research department. His books include Global Inequality (Harvard) and The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality.

A brilliant sequel to the pathbreaking Global Inequality. Drawing on original research and a typically wide sweep of history, Branko Milanovic poses all the important questions about our future.
Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Branko Milanovic, a master economic statistician, here divides modern capitalism broadly into two versions: the 'liberal' one found in the West, and the 'political' one that has emerged in China. In this searching and richly argued work he weighs the choices we face and discusses whether the future may lie with one version, alone.
James K. Galbraith, author of The End of Normal

Leaves little doubt that the social contract no longer holds. Whether you live in Beijing or New York, the time for renegotiation is approaching.
Financial Times - Edward Luce

Countries with larger tax cuts experienced bigger increases in inequality.[The consequences] are richly detailed in Capitalism Alone.Builds on Milanovic's previous book, Global Inequality.Ideally the two should be read together.[Milanovic] belongs to a new generation of data-driven economists who have helped track what has happened to income distribution in recent years.
New Yorker - Liaquat Ahamed

May turn out to be a seminal work on the fin de sicle de capitalisme.His conclusions and concepts, make extraordinary contributions to considerations of the state of capitalism.
Business Day

Capitalism, Alone is an excellent work that covers a broad swath of the history of modern capitalism.
Edward Wolff, author of A Century of Wealth in America

Milanovic has written what may be his most ambitious book yet. Featuring his trademark clarity and erudition, Capitalism, Alone contains wide-ranging and thoughtful insights into the nature of capitalism as it is currently structured and considers how it will evolve in the coming century.
Arjun Jayadev, Azim Premji University

Branko Milanovic, the master narrator of global equality, brings an entirely new perspective to the topic in this remarkably astute book. By tracing the deep and evolving ideological foundations of capitalism and communism and analyzing the rise of Asia and particularly China, he contributes thought-provoking insights on the critical role of institutions and ideology for the long-term prospects of global economies.
Debin Ma, London School of Economics and Political Science

Milanovic gives an impressive amount of space and effort in his book to provide a thorough analysis of the role of corruption in globalization.What I have always most valued about Branko Milanovic is his willingness to follow his intuition to open up new aspects of the political discussion. I may not agree with him on some issues, but I always come away greatly enriched by the experience.
Brave New Europe - Mathew D. Rose

A data-rich, provocative account of where capitalism is today and where it may be headed.
Quillette - Samuel Hammond

A gift to those of us grappling with economic and political inequality, as we seek ways to promote a fairer and more productive, sustainable society.
TUC blog - Tim Page