Short of Staging a Revolution, How Can the Current Capitalist System Be Modified?

A widening gap between rich and poor across the world has people rethinking the assumptions and accepted wisdom of mainstream economics.

The US political debate, which will intensify as the 2020 election draws nearer, provides a window into contemporary thinking on how to remodel capitalism for the future. A group of Bloomberg Businessweek journalists have surveyed some of the most talked-about ideas on both the Left and the Right in Seven Fixes for American Capitalism.

Seven Fixes for American Capitalism

In the US economy, new fixes that once seemed radical are now getting more attention.

Peter Coy, David McLaughlin, Matthew Boesler, Carolynn Look, Katia Dmitrieva, Shawn Donnan and Andrew Mayeda Bloomberg Businessweek

Alternatives to existing economic policies that rely solely on market mechanisms definitely exist, argue three prominent economics professors in Economics after Neoliberalism. The authors champion the goal of achieving “inclusive prosperity,” which encompasses nonmonetary aspects of well-being, such as health and civil rights.

Economics After Neoliberalism

Modern economics needs a fresh way of thinking to address inequality and improve prosperity.

Suresh Naidu, Dani Rodrik and Gabriel Zucman Boston Review

For the more scholarly minded, Rethinking Economics: An Introduction to Pluralist Economics shares key insights from nine alternative schools of economic thought. Lessons from post-Keynsian economic thought or Cooperative Economics offer ways to address some of capitalism’s imbalances and can be implemented within a capitalist economic framework.

Rethinking Economics

Universities mainly teach neoclassical economics, but nine other types of economics have value, too.

Lillian Fisher, Joe Hasell, J. Christopher Proctor, David Awake, Zach Ward Perkins and Catriona Watson Routledge

Sara Küpfer

Sara Kuepfer is a staff writer for getAbstract in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Bloody Hell! — "Good morning, Mr. Schmidt. For cost reasons, Dr. Rob Ott suggests we forgo the local anesthetic. Of course, your insurance wouldn't have paid for it anyway."

Robots have much to offer in the medical world, and can even carry out operations, but don’t worry: There’s still a surgeon behind their actions.

“Sideways Is the New Up!” — Kelley Steven-Waiss & Edie Goldberg / (c) Christophe Testi @ CreativeShot Photography

Most organizations still assess employees’ skills by looking at their current roles and job titles. In a rapidly changing environment, however, this approach is no longer suitable. Edie Goldberg and Kelley Steven-Waiss propose a tried-and-tested alternative.

After the pandemic, there won’t just be the office and the home office – but everything in between. Here are five points to consider if productivity, employee health and a good company culture are important to you.

And how you can do better than Kodak, Kohl and Communism.