Capitalism and Its Critics

Capitalism and its Critics [is an] unexpectedly lively romp through the two-and-a-half-century history of capitalism ... a zombie tale in which the mystery is why capitalism, having so many ill-wishers and so many chronic health problems, keeps rising anew from each crisis – be it the 1930s Great Depression or 2008 financial crisis – even stronger and more resilient. Cassidy ... offers gripping analyses of socialist communes, slavery, imperialism and monetarism; he takes us to the heart of such topical questions as whether tariffs are folly, as laissez-faire orthodoxy suggests, or essential to making America great again, as Donald Trump insists

Stuart Jeffries, Telegraph

A marvellously lucid overview of capitalism’s critics, written in good old-fashioned expository prose

Pratinav Anil, Guardian

Fascinating and informative ... This is intellectual history at its best. Essential reading for anyone who wonders how the modern world wandered off course

Simon Johnson, winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize for Economics and co-author of <i>Power and Progress</i>

An impressive history of arguments about capitalism, from the industrial age to our time. Clear and accessible, it is an invaluable touchstone for current debates about economic renewal in our post-globalization moment

Michael J. Sandel, author of <i>The Tyranny of Merit</i>

Cassidy makes the history of capitalism digestible by weaving together, in each chapter, the biography of each of his subjects with their key critique of capitalism, thus humanising otherwise dry debates about economic theory

The Times