Can American Capitalism Survive?

Why Greed Is Not Good, Opportunity Is Not Equal, and Fairness Won't Make Us Poor

By: Steven Pearlstein

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser, Steven Pearlstein

Pulitzer Prize-winning economic journalist Steven Pearlstein argues that our thirty year experiment in unfettered markets has undermined core values required to make capitalism and democracy work.

Thirty years ago, “greed is good” and “maximizing shareholder value” became the new mantras woven into the fabric of our business culture, economy, and politics. Although, around the world, free market capitalism has lifted more than a billion people from poverty, in the United States most of the benefits of economic growth have been captured by the richest 10%, along with providing justification for squeezing workers, cheating customers, avoiding taxes, and leaving communities in the lurch. As a result, Americans are losing faith that a free market economy is the best system.

In Can American Capitalism Survive?, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steven Pearlstein chronicles our descent and challenges the theories being taught in business schools and exercised in boardrooms around the country. We’re missing a key tenet of Adam Smith’s wealth of nations: without trust and social capital, democratic capitalism cannot survive. Further, equality of incomes and opportunity need not come at the expense of economic growth.

Pearlstein lays out bold steps we can take as a country: a guaranteed minimum income paired with universal national service, tax incentives for companies to share profits with workers, ending class segregation in public education, and restoring competition to markets. He provides a path forward that will create the shared prosperity that will sustain capitalism over the long term.

Praise for Can American Capitalism Survive?:

"In the Venn diagram of 'economics' and 'interesting,' Steven Pearlstein occupies the (tiny) overlapping area in the middle." — Malcolm Gladwell

“Americans have begun to lose faith in capitalism, and that has sapped our optimism and poisoned our politics. In this enlightening and important book, Steven Pearlstein explains how our economic system gradually has undermined our sense of community by glorifying greed rather than fairness.” — Walter Isaacson

fantastic history of today's American economy

graduating college before the turn of the century in the midst of the internet revolution that would become a bubble, then surviving another bubble/bust and crisis, while now preparing for another bust I am a father and recovering libertarian whose finally found with this accessible and plain-worded work a single source documenting how my collegiate indoctrination with the maximize shareholder wealth business ethic was merely a symptom of a trend toward corporate governance that is vastly more interested in financial well-being rather than happiness and community.

great book

a balanced and thought provoking dive into why capitalism is in trouble and whether it can save itself from self destruction

Antidote to economic disinformation

I so appreciate this book was put on audio for those of us who are too busy to sit down and read. This is an important book because not only does he unpack the lies we've been told that are supposedly truths, he gives corroborating research. The Chicago school of economic lies permeate media and our schools. Those who have taken the Koolaide will of course hate this book. This is for those of us who desperately want to understand what doesn't seem to make sense, we get a glimpse of why our guts tell us greed is not good and immorality is not moral,trust has been drastically eroded and the rich are not better than everybody else. I like most of what Mr. Pearlstein offers for fixes and it's nice that he took the time to include them as too many books just leave me overwhelmed with the facts with no way to move forward.

Competent but simplistic and full of holes

This is a good read for someone who has recently come to question the inevitability and primacy of capitalism. Frustrating read if you’re looking for something substantial. Full of holes, like: neglecting to mention the global toll of capitalism, extolling Amazon (the company) without mentioning their aggressive lobbying or labor practices, etc.

Not a deep dive by any stretch, but okay as a means of starting conversation.

I only read this for school

It’s good, but I feel the author repeats himself over and over again. By that I mean he gets sidetracked too often to prove a point he had already proved.