Greed Is Dead, Paul Collier
Greed Is Dead, Paul Collier
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Greed Is Dead
Politics After Individualism

Author: Paul Collier, John Kay

Narrator: Peter Noble

Unabridged: 6 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Allen Lane

Published: 07/30/2020

Synopsis

Brought to you by Penguin.

The idea that people are basically driven by individualism and economic incentives, and that prosperity and good societies come from top-down leadership, has dominated politics for the last thirty years (from some perspectives, much longer). This book shows that the age of homo economicus and centralisation is coming to an end. Instead, Collier and Kay argue that community and mutuality will be the drivers of successful societies in the future - as they are already in some parts of the world. They show how politics can reverse the move to extremes of right and left in recent years, that the centre can hold, and that if we think differently we can find common ground to the benefit of all.

© John Kay, Paul Collier 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

About Paul Collier

Paul Collier is a professor of economics at St. Antony's College, Oxford. His book The Bottom Billion has won the Lionel Gelber Prize, the Arthur Ross Prize awarded by the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Corine Prize.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Timothy on February 03, 2021

Timely and thought provoking. Perhaps not the lightest read and as with many socio-economic books a little brief on practical steps. However, the authors’ identification of the growth of greed and self-interest combined with excessive state centralisation and control leading to individuals expecting......more

Goodreads review by Priyanka on January 14, 2021

Quick and easy read for context on individualism from an economic perspective. Four stars bc it's so quick to read.......more

Goodreads review by Rwabigwi on April 12, 2022

Very sobering book. Makes an important read for those who seek to understand the roots of extreme individualism and possible solutions out of the current mess in our polarised politics and globalised society. Loved the chapter on community.......more

Goodreads review by John on January 04, 2023

The authors, both senior economists, acknowledge at the outset that the title of their book is misleading: ‘What we mean is that the extreme individualism embraced by many prominent and successful people in recent decades, and which sought justification in terms of merit or celebrity, is no longer i......more

Goodreads review by Jason on December 28, 2022

An excellent objective analysis, from an economist's view, of the rise of individualism and strident rights-based activist politics in western society and particular in Britain, over recent decades, and its effect on society and the economy. It is argued coherently and persuasively, that since we ha......more

Quotes

this thoughtful polemic... is clear, punchy and... convincing... their breezy, no-nonsense guide is packed with excellent advice - a plea for expertise rather than feeling, for pragmatism rather than ideology and for listening rather than shouting. Sunday Times

Two of the most thoughtful economists writing today ... Collier and Kay are interesting on almost every subject they alight upon. Literary Review

Written by two of the UK's best economists, the book attacks the solipsistic individualism that permeates modern economics and far too much of modern society. The book's animating idea is that humans are first and foremost social animals. Our successes always depend on co-operation. The authors apply this concept to our economic, social and political institutions, which can, they argue, only be revived by being seen as self-sustaining communities. Financial Times Books of the Year

Their analysis is pitiless and compelling. This is a fine, incisive polemic. Telegraph

In a provocative but thought-provoking and nuanced argument, Collier and Kay argue that our culture of hyper-centralisation is choking us. Daily Telegraph

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