Economic Elites, Crises, and Democracy: Alternatives Beyond Neoliberal Capitalism - Hardcover

"Andres Solimano has written a timely and vital book that makes sense of the evolution of the national and global economies over the past twenty years. Focusing on the emergence of global economic elites and growing disparities between the rich and poor within and among countries, this book calls upon economics, history-including history of ideas-and political economy to explain some of the defining economic and social trends of the time. Written with great elegance and comprehensibility, this book will truly help to bring clarity to the readers." -- Jean-Marc Coicaud, Professor of Law and Global Affairs and Director of the Division of Global Affairs, Rutgers University "Dealing with the rise of global elites and its impact on our economic and political systems, Economic Elites, Crises, and Democracy should really be considered as a companion volume to Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-first Century. Andres Solimano has produced a tour de force, asking many crucial questions about the way the modern economy is run. Few economists have the range or depth of knowledge like Solimano to produce such a book. It deserves to be as widely read as Piketty's." -- Andrew Mold, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa "Andres Solimano has written a timely and vital book that makes sense of the evolution of the national and global economies over the past twenty years. Focusing on the emergence of global economic elites and growing disparities between the rich and poor within and among countries, this book calls upon economics, history-including history of ideas-and political economy to explain some of the defining economic and social trends of the time. Written with great elegance and comprehensibility, this book will truly help to bring clarity to the readers." -- Jean-Marc Coicaud, Professor of Law and Global Affairs and Director of the Division of Global Affairs, Rutgers University "Dealing with the rise of global elites and its impact on our economic and political systems, Economic Elites, Crises, and Democracy should really be considered as a companion volume to Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-first Century. Andres Solimano has produced a tour de force, asking many crucial questions about the way the modern economy is run. Few economists have the range or depth of knowledge like Solimano to produce such a book. It deserves to be as widely read as Piketty's." -- Andrew Mold, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa "

Economic Elites, Crises, and Democracy analyzes critical topics of contemporaneous capitalism. Andrés Solimano, President of the International Center for Globalization and Development, focuses on economic elites and the super rich, the nature of entrepreneurship, the rise of corporate´s technostructure, the internal fragmentation of the middle class, and the marginalization of the working poor. While examining historical episodes of economic and financial crises from the 19th century to the present, he reviews a variety of related economic theories and policies, including austerity, which have been enacted in attempts to overcome these crises.

Solimano also examines patterns of international mobility of capital and knowledge elites along with the rise of global social movements and migration diasporas. The book ends with an analysis of the concept, modalities, and potential areas of the application of economic democracy to reform 21st century global capitalism.