In The Future of Capitalism: Facing the New Anxieties, Paul Collier offers a forthright discussion of capitalism today that seeks to diagnosis and propose remedies for the anxieties shaping divisions between families, cities and nations. Staying away from clichés, ideology or populism, Collier calls our attention to pragmatism and the ‘hard centre’, and he is impressive in doing so in this notable book, writes Mehmet Emin Bayram

Emin Bayram, Mehmet

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LSE Research Online

Book	Review	|	The	Future	of	Capitalism:	Facing	theNew	Anxieties	by	Paul	CollierIn	The	Future	of	Capitalism:	Facing	the	New	Anxieties,	Paul	Collier	offers	a	forthright	discussion	of	capitalismtoday	that	seeks	to	diagnosis	and	propose	remedies	for	the	anxieties	shaping	divisions	between	families,	cities	andnations.	Staying	away	from	clichés,	ideology	or	populism,	Collier	calls	our	attention	to	pragmatism	and	the	‘hardcentre’,	and	he	is	impressive	in	doing	so	in	this	notable	book,	writes	Mehmet	Emin	Bayram.Picture:	haru_q	(CC	BY	SA	2.0)	licenceThe	Future	of	Capitalism:	Facing	the	New	Anxieties.	Paul	Collier.	Allen	Lane.	2018.		Prominent	economist	Paul	Collier	offers	a	forthright	discussion	of	capitalism	in	hisnew	book	with	candid	personal	touches.	Shedding	light	on	a	topic	under	constantdiscussion,	Collier	undertakes	diligent	work	in	The	Future	of	Capitalism.	Stayingaway	from	clichés	and	easy	dichotomies,	the	book	provides	readers	with	a	deeperanalysis	of	capitalism.	The	foundations	of	capitalism’s	success	–	the	balancebetween	freedom	and	responsibility,	reinforced	by	the	welfare	state	–	are	given	ascore	parts	of	the	solution	by	Collier	for	the	rising	and	frightening	divisions	betweenfamilies,	cities	and	nations.	The	Future	of	Capitalism	is	a	thought-provoking	andsubstantial	book	for	anyone	concerned	by	the	‘brave	new	anxieties’	of	the	twenty-first	century,	such	as	the	erosion	of	confidence	in	the	future	of	the	social	safetynet,	increased	pessimism	among	the	working	classes	and	growing	support	forpolitical	extremes.The	life	of	Collier	contributes	significantly	to	this	book.	As	both	a	respectedacademic	and	a	concerned	person,	Collier	connects	his	life	with	the	risinganxieties.	When	he	speculates	about	divisions	between	metropolitan	andprovincial	cities,	examples	include	his	hometown	of	Sheffield.	Divisions	betweenthe	classes	are	also	analysed	through	reference	to	himself	and	his	cousin.	Lastbut	not	least,	arguments	regarding	the	global	divide	between	countries	are	notonly	drawn	from	cold	facts	but	also	from	insights	distilled	from	Collier’s	research	in	Africa.	Combined	with	academicknowledge,	these	personal	touches	allow	the	reader	to	grasp	the	book	more	deeply,	provoking	one	to	undertakesimilar	reflections	on	one’s	own	life	in	relation	to	the	book’s	arguments.Democratic Audit: Book Review | The Future of Capitalism: Facing the New Anxieties by Paul Collier Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2019-06-01Permalink: https://www.democraticaudit.com/2019/06/01/book-review-the-future-of-capitalism-facing-the-new-anxieties-by-paul-collier/Blog homepage: https://www.democraticaudit.com/According	to	Collier,	it	is	not	capitalism	itself	that	is	causing	the	anxieties;	instead,	‘capitalism	needs	to	be	managednot	defeated’	(18).	Revisiting	Adam	Smith	and	the	concept	of	‘economic	man’	initially,	Collier	installs	the	alternativeconcept	of	‘social	man’	as	the	cornerstone	of	his	book,	emphasising	reciprocity	and	dignity	as	its	core	values.These	values,	Collier	argues,	are	easy	to	detect	in	early	works	of	capitalism,	including	those	of	Smith,	mostespecially	The	Theory	of	Moral	Sentiments.	Nevertheless,	capitalism,	due	to	the	effects	of	utilitarian,	Rawlsian	andlibertarian	backlashes,	has	lost	these	values	and	is	failing	to	deliver	prosperity	today.The	result	is	‘the	Rottweiler	society’	–	a	society	drifting	towards	aggression,	humiliation	and	fear,	Collier	states	(46).Divisions	between	classes,	cities	and	countries	are	also	given	as	the	results	of	this	failing.	A	pragmatic	approach	issuggested	as	an	answer	to	such	problems	by	Collier.	He	proposes	an	ethical	capitalism,	built	on	values	and	shapedby	practical	reasoning	(43).	Thereafter,	conceptualisations	of	the	‘ethical	state’,	the	‘ethical	firm’,	the	‘ethical	family’and	the	‘ethical	world’	are	introduced	as	key	tenets	of	the	theory.	After	some	elaborated	observations,	Part	Fourconcludes	the	book	with	discussion	of	how	to	restore	an	inclusive	politics.The	book’s	discourse	is	powerful	–	Collier	has	aimed	to	write	a	work	that	can	be	read	by	any	person	who	isconcerned	about	the	current	or	future	situation	of	capitalism.	Rather	than	applying	ready-to-use	ideological	orpopulist	solutions	from	either	the	left	or	right,	Collier	instead	tries	to	cover	the	‘hard	centre’.To	create	the	hard	centre,	he	first	advises	changes	to	political	mechanisms.	He	recommends	confining	the	selectionof	the	party	leader	to	the	elected	representatives	of	that	party	rather	than	leaving	it	to	members.	Electedrepresentatives	are	less	prone	to	choose	charismatic	populists	due	to	their	interest	in	appealing	to	a	wide	group	ofvoters	(206).	This	interest	would	also	push	them	towards	centrist	candidates.Secondly,	he	advocates	for	reversing	the	new	divergence	between	the	metropolis	and	‘broken	cities’	–	cities	whichbecame	worse	off	due	to	global	competition,	such	as	Sheffield	with	its	collapsed	steel	industry.	By	taxing	the	hugeincrease	in	the	rents	of	agglomeration	generated	in	the	metropolis	and	using	this	to	revitalise	broken	cities,	Collierthinks	the	divergence	could	be	mitigated.Thirdly,	to	reverse	the	gap	between	the	highly	skilled	educated	and	the	deskilled	less	educated,	he	requests	‘socialmaternalism’	and	curbing	the	‘predatory’	behaviours	of	the	highly	skilled	(208).	Social	maternalism	–	intensivepractical	assistance,	mentoring	rather	than	monitoring	and	cooperating	more	with	NGOs	–	instead	of	socialpaternalism	will	serve	to	deliver	more	to	the	less	educated.	Heavier	taxes	on	sectors	such	as	asset	management,on	the	other	hand,	will	nudge	the	highly	skilled	towards	socially	valuable	sectors	such	as	innovation	(187).	Finally,for	the	divide	between	the	nations,	he	offers	international	organisations	that	build	new	reciprocal	obligations	(210).Supra-national	organisations	have	lost	their	capacity	to	forge	reciprocal	obligations,	which	has	led	to	the	race	to	thebottom	(194).Collier	does	great	work	in	diagnosing	the	problem	and	roots	of	them.	Yet,	while	he	convincingly	answers	thequestions	of	‘why?’	and	‘what?’,	his	ideas	for	‘how	to	solve	it?’	lack	detail.	True,	he	avoids	clichés	for	answers,	yetthis	doesn’t	make	his	alternatives	entirely	convincing.	Taxing	the	agglomeration	over	the	metropolises,	as	headmits,	is	not	an	easy	task	(207);	neither	is	curbing	the	behaviours	of	the	highly	skilled.	The	solutions	presented	bythe	author	are,	therefore,	more	helpful	for	setting	the	direction	of	action	rather	than	providing	a	recipe.	Collier	doesa	better	job	when	he	addresses	the	anxieties,	determines	their	roots	and	calls	for	action	against	them.	However,ultimately,	the	lack	of	detail	in	solutions	is	understandable	when	it	is	considered	that	this	is	a	short	book	with	a	wideremit.To	conclude,	Collier	delivers	a	remarkable	work	in	the	midst	of	heated	discussions	about	capitalism,	especially	itsfuture.	His	mix	of	theory	and	practice,	enhanced	with	personal	touches	and	forthright	discourse,	makes	his	bookspecial.	Staying	away	from	clichés,	easy-to-copy	ideologies	or	easy-to-follow	populism,	Collier	calls	our	attention	topragmatism	and	the	‘hard	centre’,	and	he	is	impressive	in	doing	so	in	this	notable	book.	Definitely	one	to	read.This	review	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	Democratic	Audit.	It	was	first	published	on	the	LSEReview	of	Books	blog.Democratic Audit: Book Review | The Future of Capitalism: Facing the New Anxieties by Paul Collier Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2019-06-01Permalink: https://www.democraticaudit.com/2019/06/01/book-review-the-future-of-capitalism-facing-the-new-anxieties-by-paul-collier/Blog homepage: https://www.democraticaudit.com/Mehmet	Emin	Bayram	is	a	Graduate	Student	from	Hanyang	University	Graduate	School	of	International	Studies,South	Korea.	He	holds	BSc	degrees	in	History	(High	Honours)	and	International	Relations	(Honours)	from	TOBBUniversity	of	Economics	and	Technology,	Turkey.	His	studies	focus	on	institutions	(primarily	economic	and	politicalones),	their	creation,	effects	and	interactions	at	the	intersection	of	history	and	politics.Similar	PostsBook	Review	|	Capitalism,	Alone:	The	Future	of	the	System	That	Rules	the	World	by	Branko	MilanovicBook	Review	|	Democracy	and	Prosperity:	Reinventing	Capitalism	through	a	Turbulent	Century	by	TorbenIversen	and	David	SoskiceWho	invented	the	British	dream	of	a	‘property-owning	democracy’?Book	review:	The	Ways	of	the	World	by	David	HarveyBook	Review:	Sex,	Needs	and	Queer	Culture:	From	Liberation	to	the	Post-Gay	by	David	AldersonDemocratic Audit: Book Review | The Future of Capitalism: Facing the New Anxieties by Paul Collier Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2019-06-01Permalink: https://www.democraticaudit.com/2019/06/01/book-review-the-future-of-capitalism-facing-the-new-anxieties-by-paul-collier/Blog homepage: https://www.democraticaudit.com/

Book review: The future of capitalism: facing the new anxieties by Paul Collier

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Book review: The future of capitalism: facing the new anxieties by Paul Collier

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