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Table of Contents
About The Book
Longlisted for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Nonfiction
A Next Big Idea Book Club Must-Read for March 2024
In the vein of The Shock Doctrine and Evil Geniuses, this timely manifesto from an acclaimed journalist illustrates how corporate and political power brokers have used planned capitalism to advance their own interests at the expense of the rest of us—and how we can take back our economy for all.
It’s easy to look at the state of the world around us and feel hopeless. We live in an era marked by war, climate crisis, political polarization, and acute inequality—and yet many of us feel powerless to do anything about these profound issues. We’ve been assured that unfettered capitalism is necessary to ensure our freedom and prosperity, even as we see its corrosive effects proliferating daily. Why, in our age of unchecked corporate power, are most of us living paycheck to paycheck? When the economy falters, why do governments bail out corporations and shareholders but leave everyday people in the dust?
Now, economic and political journalist and progressive star on the rise Grace Blakeley exposes the corrupt system that is failing all around us, pulling back the curtain on the free market mythology we have been sold, and showing how, as corporate interests have taken hold, governments have historically been shifting away from competition and democracy and towards monopoly and oligarchy.
Tracing over a century of neoliberal planning and backdoor bailouts, Blakeley takes us on a deeply reported tour of the corporate crimes, political maneuvering, and economic manipulation that elites have used to enshrine a global system of “vulture capitalism”—planned capitalist economies that benefit corporations and the uber-wealthy at the expense of the rest of us—at every level, from states to empires. Blakeley exposes the cracks already emerging within capitalism, lighting a path forward for how we can democratize our economy, not just our politics, to ensure true freedom for all.
A Next Big Idea Book Club Must-Read for March 2024
In the vein of The Shock Doctrine and Evil Geniuses, this timely manifesto from an acclaimed journalist illustrates how corporate and political power brokers have used planned capitalism to advance their own interests at the expense of the rest of us—and how we can take back our economy for all.
It’s easy to look at the state of the world around us and feel hopeless. We live in an era marked by war, climate crisis, political polarization, and acute inequality—and yet many of us feel powerless to do anything about these profound issues. We’ve been assured that unfettered capitalism is necessary to ensure our freedom and prosperity, even as we see its corrosive effects proliferating daily. Why, in our age of unchecked corporate power, are most of us living paycheck to paycheck? When the economy falters, why do governments bail out corporations and shareholders but leave everyday people in the dust?
Now, economic and political journalist and progressive star on the rise Grace Blakeley exposes the corrupt system that is failing all around us, pulling back the curtain on the free market mythology we have been sold, and showing how, as corporate interests have taken hold, governments have historically been shifting away from competition and democracy and towards monopoly and oligarchy.
Tracing over a century of neoliberal planning and backdoor bailouts, Blakeley takes us on a deeply reported tour of the corporate crimes, political maneuvering, and economic manipulation that elites have used to enshrine a global system of “vulture capitalism”—planned capitalist economies that benefit corporations and the uber-wealthy at the expense of the rest of us—at every level, from states to empires. Blakeley exposes the cracks already emerging within capitalism, lighting a path forward for how we can democratize our economy, not just our politics, to ensure true freedom for all.
About The Author
Photograph by Klara Waldberg
Grace Blakeley, one of the fiercest anti-capitalist advocates of her generation, is an author, journalist, and commentator. She attended University of Oxford where she graduated with a first-class honors degree in philosophy, economics, and politics and later obtained a masters in African studies. Her writing has appeared in Tribune and the New Statesman. She is the author of Stolen, The Corona Crash, and Vulture Capitalism, and edited Futures of Socialism. Find out more at GraceBlakeley.co.uk.
Product Details
- Publisher: Atria Books (March 12, 2024)
- Length: 384 pages
- ISBN13: 9781982180874
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Raves and Reviews
“A galvanizing takedown of neoliberalism’s ‘free market’ logic, one rooted as much in history as it is in current events. Blakeley’s argument is well researched, clear, and devastating. Most important of all, she charts a path forward based in hope, democracy, and liberation.”
– Naomi Klein, author of Doppelganger and The Shock Doctrine
“Blakeley's magnificent book is frightening, yes, but it brilliantly gives the lie to the concept that the (man-made) ties that bind us cannot be undone. It arms the reader with detailed knowledge of the history we're normally discouraged from looking into, lest we organize, fight, and very likely win the freedom and peace we deserve. It's the sort of book that will help us make a better world.”
– Rob Delaney, bestselling author of A Heart That Works
“Vulture Capitalism is a guide through the dissipating mist of neoliberal thought. Grace unmasks the fiction of an automatic market and reveals that it's been economic planning all along.”
– Malcolm Harris, author of Palo Alto
“Aneurin Bevan once quipped that the greatest success of wealth was to persuade poverty to use its political freedom to keep wealth in power. Grace Blakeley’s excellent new book brings up to date Bevan’s insight. Capitalism, she shows by means of pertinent case studies, is the mortal enemy of freedom and democracy. A must-read for anyone keen to put the demos back into democracy.”
– Yanis Varoufakis, bestselling author of Talking to My Daughter about the Economy
“In this trenchant book, Grace Blakeley shows how it is the logic of ultra-monopoly capitalism, rather than greed of the elite or money politics, that is at the root of our socio-economic problems. Using sharp theoretical arguments and instructive real-life examples, she tells us that only greater collectivism and a democracy that goes beyond the ballot box will allow us to create a system that can restrain that logic and make society better. Read this book if you want to make fundamental changes to the world.”
– Ha-Joon Chang, Professor of Economics at SOAS University of London and author of Edible Economics
“Urgent and necessary, Vulture Capitalism brilliantly exposes the lie at the heart of capitalism – that there is no alternative – and systematically demolishes the myths that bolster its power. Rigorous and forensic, this ultimately hopeful book hands us the keys to redesign our own destiny. Another world is possible – and Grace Blakeley expertly charts the roadmap to reach it.”
– Caroline Lucas, Member of Parliament, Green Party of England and Wales
“If you've ever wondered why you (and everyone you know) feel so out of control of the world around you, this book will give you the answer. Grace Blakeley brilliantly reveals that, for elites, economics is a weapon. This book wrests that power out of their hands.”
– Ash Sarkar, journalist and activist
“Impassioned and provocative, this will challenge readers’ understanding of the fundamental forces that govern economic markets.”
– Publishers Weekly
“Readers will appreciate this well-researched book on a complex topic.”
– Booklist
“Passionate … meticulous … engaging.”
– Kirkus Reviews
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- Author Photo (jpg): Grace Blakeley Photograph by Klara Waldberg(0.1 MB)
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