The Sport and Prey of Capitalists, Linda McQuaig
The Sport and Prey of Capitalists, Linda McQuaig
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The Sport and Prey of Capitalists

Author: Linda McQuaig

Narrator: Sarah Pesek

Unabridged: 8 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/26/2022


Synopsis

Why are we selling off the impressive public enterprises we often battled as a nation to create?

In the early 1900s, thousands of Canadians battled wealthy interests, winning control of Niagara Falls and creating a public power company. Another popular movement succeeded in creating Canada’s public broadcasting system to counter American dominance of the airwaves. And a Canadian doctor established a publicly owned laboratory that saved countless lives by producing affordable medications, contributing to medical breakthroughs and helping to eradicate smallpox throughout the world.

But in recent decades, we have allowed our inspiring public enterprises to be privatized and our vital public programs downsized, leaving us increasingly dominated by the forces of private greed that rule the marketplace.

In The Sport and Prey of Capitalists, Linda McQuaig challenges the dogma of privatization, which has defined our political era. She argues that now more than ever, as we grapple with climate change and income inequality, we need to expand, not shrink, our public sphere.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Rhys on January 04, 2020

Written from a Canadian context, The Sport & Prey of Capitalists tells a universal story of capitalism, and its most recent incarnation, neoliberalism. "That narrative has things backwards, insists Polanyi. The free-market economy is actually unnatural and it had to be constructed through laws; what......more

Goodreads review by Glennys on April 30, 2024

4.5 — this was such a great read, I learned sooo much. I have to dock half a point for the tone/style of this sometimes. I found the exclamation points and asides really grating at times lol. But otherwise, highly recommend to all Canadians. RIP our strong public infrastructure 😭......more

Goodreads review by Justin on December 18, 2019

In The Sport & Prey of Capitalists, Linda McQuaig achieves two important things: she gives a lesson in Canada's history of public enterprise across numerous sectors, and then she makes a case for the continuation of that proud history in key industries of the future. In both cases, her work here is v......more

Goodreads review by Alexandra on July 27, 2020

This was interesting to me in that it introduced me to broader applications of public enterprise in Canada's history and what it could become, and for that, I appreciate it. However, it was quintessentially Canadian in an awful way. It regularly compared Canadian history to American history to emphas......more

Goodreads review by JW on May 08, 2020

Plenty of ammo here in the fight against the privatization of public assets. WARNING: This book will induce intense bouts of rage. Symptoms include uncontrollable swearing, contempt for sociopathic businessmen, and frequent lamentations over so many lost opportunities for growth in Ontario and Canad......more