“The definitive account of what ails capitalism and democracy.” —Yascha mounk, author of The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure

“A necessary book—and a guide—for our times.” —Daniel Ziblatt, coauthor of How Democracies Die

From the chief economics commentator of the Financial Times, a reckoning with how and why the marriage between democracy and capitalism is coming undone, and what can be done to reverse this terrifying dynamic

Martin Wolf has long been one of the wisest voices on global economic issues. He has rarely been called an optimist, yet he has never been as worried as he is today. Liberal democracy is in recession, and authoritarianism is on the rise. The ties that bind open markets to free and fair elections are threatened.

Around the world, powerful voices argue that capitalism is better without democracy; others argue that democracy is better without capitalism. This book is a rejoinder to both views. Even as it offers an assessment of why this marriage has grown so strained, it makes clear why a divorce of capitalism from democracy would be a calamity.

For all its flaws, argues Wolf, democratic capitalism remains the best system for human flourishing. But something has gone awry: the growth of prosperity has slowed, and the division between the hypersuccessful few and the rest has become more unequal. The plutocrats have retreated to their bastions, where they scorn government’s ability to invest in the public goods needed to foster opportunity and sustainability. But the flood of autocracy will rise to overwhelm them, too, in the end.
This wise and rigorously fact-based exploration of the dynamic between democracy and capitalism concludes with the lesson that our ideals and our interests not only should align but must, for everyone’s sake. Expanded with scathing new material to confront rising autocracy, The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism warns us all: democracy itself is now at stake.