A Capitalism for the People

A Capitalism for the People: Recapturing the Lost Genius of American Prosperity
First edition
AuthorLuigi Zingales
LanguageEnglish
SubjectCrony Capitalism
GenreNonfiction
PublisherBasic Books
Publication date
June 5, 2012
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover), audiobook
Pages336
ISBN978-0-465-02947-1

A Capitalism for the People: Recapturing the Lost Genius of American Prosperity is a non-fiction book by the Italian writer and economist Luigi Zingales, who is known for serving as a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. Zingales also authored the book Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists, released in 2003.

In A Capitalism for the People, Zingales writes that he wants to rescue markets and competition from the twin forces that threaten them: over-regulation on the political left and, on the right, a pro-business (as opposed to pro-market) ideology.[1] He sees the great threat to the U.S. economy as being crony capitalism, laying out what he sees as persuasive evidence, and makes suggestions on how to channel populist anger, reverse the movement toward a crony system, reduce the opportunities for rent seeking, and increase the opportunities for competition. He advocates reforms such as greater transparency with economic data as well as with restrictions on lobbying.[2][3][4]

Zingales has answered questions on A Capitalism for the People during the Business Daily programme on World Service BBC.[5] He has presented the book at the London School of Economics, where he warned that the U.S. economy risks deteriorating into a Berlusconi-style crony-capitalist system—pro-business rather than pro-market, and run by corrupt politicians who are more concerned with lining the pockets of the connected elite than with improving opportunity for the people.[6]

The book has received positive reviews from a variety of publications such as EconTalk, Publishers Weekly, and The Sacramento Bee.[7][2][8]

  1. ^ Carter, Stephen L. (June 7, 2012). "True Capitalists Are Pro-Market, Not Pro-Business". BloombergView. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Nonfiction Review: A Capitalism for the People: Recapturing the Lost Genius of American Prosperity by Luigi Zingales". Publishers Weekly. April 23, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  3. ^ Plender, John (April 15, 2012). "Nostalgia for the land of opportunity". The Financial Times.
  4. ^ Rammohan, Yasmin (June 18, 2012). ""A Capitalism For The People"". Chicago Tonight. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  5. ^ Rowlatt, Justin (July 5, 2012). "Remedies for capitalism's malaise". BBC World Service. Business Daily. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  6. ^ Zingales, Luigi (June 21, 2012). "A Capitalism for the People". The London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference talk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference bee was invoked but never defined (see the help page).