Is Capitalism Broken?
'We need to organise politically to defend the weak, empower the many and prepare the ground for reversing the absurdities of capitalism.'
– Yanis Varoufakis
'Capitalism over the past twenty-five years has been an incredible moral good.'
– David Brooks
The Munk debate on capitalism
There is a growing belief that the capitalist system no longer works. Inequality is rampant. The environment is being destroyed for profits. In some western nations, life expectancy is even falling. Political power is wielded by wealthy elites and big business, not the people. But for proponents of capitalism, it is the engine of progress, not just making all of us materially better off, but helping to address everything from women’s rights to political freedoms. We seem to stand at a crossroads: do we need to fix the system as a matter of urgency, or would it be better to hold our nerve?
Yanis Varoufakis is the former finance minister of Greece and the author of several international bestselling books, including Talking to my Daughter About the Economy, And the Weak Suffer What They Must?, and Adults in the Room.
Arthur Brooks is a Harvard professor, bestselling author and a Washington Post columnist. His latest book is Love Your Enemies.
Katrina vanden Heuvel is editorial director and publisher of The Nation, and she writes a weekly column for the Washington Post.
David Brooks is a New York Times columnist and author of the bestselling The Road to Character and The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life.