Unequal

by David Buckham, Robyn Wilkinson, Daniel York Loh (Reader)

'The definitive guide to understanding our divided world' Michael Jordaan How extreme and growing inequality is destroying democracy and what we can do about it The leading lights of the tech revolution - Gates, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Musk - have been hailed as savants and saviours of the modern age. And yet they are at the forefront of wealth inequality not seen since the heyday of the robber barons in the late nineteenth century, part of the slide to the First World War. Today, rampant inequality is inciting social unrest and undermining faith in the institutions of the democratic state. Citizens have been left at the mercy of unfettered capitalism - mere data subjects, endlessly surveilled, marshalled and increasingly angry and polarised. The decoupling of capitalism from democracy has fostered an economic system seemingly powered by greed alone, with the marginalisation of democratic principles facilitating the rise of authoritarians and populists like Putin, Xi Jinping, Trump and Boris Johnson. How has it come to this? And does the unanticipated fightback in Ukraine, with support from the West, show us the way to reclaiming the lost spirit of freedom inherent in liberal democracy?

Audio CD

Published April 13, 2023

Reviews

[Tim Richman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must declare my interest here, having helped produce this book – but in saying that, I almost never give ratings or reviews for books I have been involved in. That Unequal is one of the exceptions to that rule is an indication of its superb quality. My short assessment:

UnequalUnequal is a rare book - an interrogation of modern capitalism and a wide-ranging assessment of the complex world we live in today that reads remarkably easily and offers genuine a-ha insights. In pulling together seemingly disparate strands of finance, economics, culture, ideology and geopolitics, it leaves the reader with a greater understanding of why things are the way they are.

Regarding the audio book in particular, it is brilliantly read by Daniel York Loh.