From AI to climate change, inequality to trade wars, our turbulent times demand a reconsideration of the very structure of our economic system and how it came to be. In a new sweeping global history, the New Yorker’s John Cassidy tells the story of capitalism through the eyes of its critics on all sides: English Luddites who rebelled against early factory automation, Latin American dependistas, India’s Gandhian economists, imperialists, anti-imperialists, and more.
On June 5, John will join the Roosevelt Institute for a conversation on his lively, expansive book. We will dive into capitalism’s contradictions, failures, and ever-present crises, and the multiple roads not taken—offering the possibility of envisioning other economic systems.
Speakers
John Cassidy
Staff writer at The New YorkerJohn Cassidy has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1955. He writes a regular column about economics and politics, The Financial Page. Over the years, he has also written many longer articles for the magazine, covering subjects ranging from the economics of John Maynard Keynes to Karl Marx and globalization to the degrowth movement. He is the author of two books, “How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities” and “Dot.Con: How America Lost its Mind and Money in the Internet Era.” He grew up on Leeds, West Yorkshire, and has degrees from Oxford, Columbia, and New York Universities. He lives in Brooklyn with his family.
Felicia Wong
Principal, Roosevelt Institute [Moderator]Felicia Wong is a principal at the Roosevelt Institute and served as president and CEO from March 2012 to January 2025. In her current role, she is the chief strategist for the Roosevelt Society and supports the Institute’s President and CEO, serving as senior advisor and as a fundraising and external relations principal. During her time as president and CEO, Felicia and the team quadrupled the overall budget and made Roosevelt a key collaborator with the nation’s top public officials, academic experts, and progressive movement organizers.