Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few by Robert B. Reich | Key Takeaways, Analysis & Review

By IRB Media

Inside this Instaread of Saving Capitalism:

Overview of the book

Important People

Key Takeaways

Analysis of Key Takeaways

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Dec 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781944195342

IRB Media

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OVERVIEW

Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few by Robert B. Reich examines the intersection of economics and politics in order to make sense of income inequality and wealth disparity in the 21st century United States of America.

The free market has been used to mask the reality of how big money, such as Wall Street, large corporations, and wealthy individuals, manipulate the market to their benefit, distributing wealth upwards at the expense of US working and middle classes. The real choice is not between a mythical free market and a demonized big government, but between a market designed to enhance the wealth of a minority at the top and a market designed to benefit the majority of US

Reviews for Saving Capitalism

[cissa_5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an important and thorough look at the economic aspect of what is wrong in America today- and since many of our other ills spring from the economics, it speaks to areas not explicitly addressed as well.If you are at all interested in how we got into this mess- and some similar historical situations- read this.In brief: it is not the "free market" vs the "government"; the market would not even exist without the legal enforcement of the government. The problem is that as wealth is accumulated by an ever-shrinking number of people, they are thus able to disproportionately affect the laws that cover the market... and so can rig it so that they keep siphoning off more and more.Now, this is not sustainable in the long run- but they don't care, and the rest of us have little ability to affect these matters.Reich tries to offer some hope...but I don't really see it, at least not until things collapse in a devastating way, which is inevitable unless things change.

[dlmorrese · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There is an old adage, 'With great power comes great responsibility', and Reich argues that large corporations, banks, and Wall Street have neglected this duty in exchange for short-term personal gain. Two key points he comes back to throughout this book are that the dollar value of one's assets is not a measure of their worth, and that there is no such thing as a 'free' market. Beyond that, he shows how our political system has been rigged to favor the wealthy, and he highlights some of the key policy decisions over the last forty years that have helped create the excessive wealth and political influence enjoyed by ultra-rich in America today. He convincingly argues why this situation is unsustainable and provides rational suggestions for public policy changes that can help correct it. What more could you want? I highly recommend this one and hope politicians, pundits, and investment bankers carefully consider what he says. Who knows? They may begin to act responsibly.

[paul_s-289480 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I just read a similar book by a British author. I have to say that beyond what I expected, more optimism (I think they put something in the water in the US), this book is way more interesting and features fewer angry lizard people accusations and is more about the mechanics of political power. It merits an extra star even if only for the optimism. It's nice to read people who are optimistic because they're full of ideas rather than resentment.