People, Power, and Profits

Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent

By: Joseph E. Stiglitz

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

A Nobel prize winner challenges us to throw off the free market fundamentalists and reclaim our economy.

We all have the sense that the American economy - and its government - tilts toward big business, but as Joseph E. Stiglitz explains in his new book, People, Power, and Profits, the situation is dire. A few corporations have come to dominate entire sectors of the economy, contributing to skyrocketing inequality and slow growth. This is how the financial industry has managed to write its own regulations, tech companies have accumulated reams of personal data with little oversight, and our government has negotiated trade deals that fail to represent the best interests of workers. Too many have made their wealth through exploitation of others rather than through wealth creation. If something isn't done, new technologies may make matters worse, increasing inequality and unemployment.

Stiglitz identifies the true sources of wealth and of increases in standards of living, based on learning, advances in science and technology, and the rule of law. He shows that the assault on the judiciary, universities, and the media undermines the very institutions that have long been the foundation of America's economic might and its democracy.

©2019 Joseph E. Stiglitz (P)2019 Tantor

simple enough a politician could understand it

hopefully our foolish politicians will give this a listen before the next erroneous tax bill

Good vision and explained clearly

The ideas are well argumented and a good foundation to convince people to make the choices necessary to provide better living conditions for all and turning away from egotistical thinking.

Great material, a must read!

The author articulates what anyone who cares to would observe about our nation. He also goes on to explain some solutions to our economic dysfunction. Were it not for his semifrequent reiterating previous reasoning I'd have given 5 stars. (note: I redundancy is a particular pet peeve of mine and most people may not even notice)

Superbly describes the decline of US society

An excellent description of the american society in the second guilded age.Should be required reading in high school

Excellent Summary

While I can’t say the ideas are new in this book the author does an excellent job of pulling all the criticisms of our current system together and providing concrete solutions. Required reading for any progressive.

Joseph Stiglitz' vision for a reclaimed America

I respect Joe Stiglitz. I respect his opinions, his experience and his judgment. When he speaks, much as with Richard Wolff or Bill Black, I listen. However, when he expresses the view that out of control markets and an American polity now wholly in the cash-soaked stranglehold of corporate capture can somehow be reclaimed from its current iteration of absolute immoral degeneracy through a combination of existing and new laws, and the implementation of a brash new can-do spirit, I can not agree. Only replacing Capitalism with human-centered, rational, egalitarian economics can ever achieve that.

Survival kit

This is a map of where we have been and where we headed to. A must read for young and old alike.
Our politicians, should work for the entire polis, because by maintaining only one small neighborhood, the entire city would collapse.

Government policy ready-made for implementation

Here is government policy ready-made for implementation. Through solid argument and historical example, Joseph E. Stiglitz demonstrates that the solution is Keynesian—government unapologetically has an indispensable role in the well-being of everyone, including the rich in a fair relationship.

Stiglitz shreds the tired old demagogy of free market ideology (both intellectual and popular), with articulate and well researched refutation of its failed trickle-down theory and conservative folklore about freeloaders. Here you will find effective detox from the Chicago school of economics supply side snake oil that has been artificially injected into policy and public opinion for the past 40 years—the author offers a well deserved shout out to Nancy MacLean for her book, "Democracy in Chains" (an insightful work that has struck a nerve about the deliberate suppression of public will, and about which there has been a telling amount of gaslighting from the libertarian right wing).

Government, democracy, and public opinion must be freed from their current capture by wealthy corporate forces in finance and other sectors. This will be difficult to achieve, but it is possible with sufficient public awareness and pressure.

Along with protecting people from economic fluctuations outside of their control, the economy will grow only when extractive practices that merely transfer wealth from poor to rich cease to operate. That means minimizing the current regime of rent seeking in financial markets and elsewhere, and incentivizing technological innovations that create true wealth—this is not happening under the dominant religion of short term profits and grossly distorted patent system.

This book addresses technical economic issues, but it is easily followed by those without training in economics. The unfair rigging of past and current economic policy is depressing. But the realism of the solutions proposed in this book are cause for hope—let's make it happen.

Brilliant

This book open my eye to a broader view of financial institutions. We the people have failed to regulation and to hold them accountable. The author stated the problem and provided an alternative.

phenomenal

this is a great book explaining the problems with the contemporary American economy and political landscape; the author also makes a compelling case for a progressive agenda anyone interested in economics would benefit from giving this a listen