Capitalism and its Critics with John Cassidy

In Capitalism and Its Critics: A Battle of Ideas in the Modern World, John Cassidy offers a multi-century history of global capitalism, told through the eyes of its dissenters.Cassidy is a staff writer at The New Yorker and a Pulitzer Prize finalist. His new book blends biography, history, and economic analysis to reveal the roots of urgent debates the business world and society face today, as AI, climate change, and inequality are forcing us to reexamine the economic system.In his conversation with Nikolaus Lang, global leader of the BCG Henderson Institute, Cassidy discusses the main historical themes of capitalism critique, why the system continues to endure, how it is being, and what its future may be in the current context of assaults on the system from both the political left and right.Key topics discussed: 01:44 | The main themes of capitalism critique04:17 | Why capitalism endures09:15 | The paradox of state capitalism14:21 | The misunderstood Luddites19:09 | Trade tensions and global economic asymmetry24:45 | The role of unpaid domestic labor in driving the capitalist system28:50 | The most surprising insights in writing the book31:33 | The future of capitalismAdditional inspirations from John Cassidy:Dot.Con: The Greatest Story Ever Sold (Harper, 2022)How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities (Picador, 2010)

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This episode was published on October 28, 2025.

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