NEW PARADIGM
Branko Milanovic on how to reform capitalism
The complete keynote that Branko gave at the launch of our Forum in Berlin.
BY
FORUM NEW ECONOMYPUBLISHED
2. NOVEMBER 2019READING TIME
1 MINIn his new book, economist Branko Milanovic argues that capitalism is the only game in town and here to stay. It has triumphed because it is better able to deliver prosperity and personal autonomy than other systems. However, Milanovic acknowledges that capitalism offers no guarantee of stability, as shown by the inequality and excess of mature capitalist societies and the populism this is breeding, and by the overt corruption and political suppression of political capitalism, as exemplified by China. Capitalism pushes us to treat material success as the ultimate goal of human existence, to the detriment of all else. But, he concludes, capitalism is a human system; we can mold it to make it serve those choices. The challenge is to decide what kind of society we want.