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The unfairness of capitalism

Dec 4, 2023
We’re watching “Trading Places” in December.
A screenshot from the trailer of 1983's "Trading Places." From left to right: Don Ameche, Eddie Murphy and Ralph Bellamy.
Paramount Pictures via YouTube

What happened to the Buy Nothing Project?

May 16, 2023
What started on Facebook evolved into a dysfunctional app and a fractured community, as chronicled by Wired contributor Vauhini Vara.
A screenshot of the Buy Nothing Facebook page. Though the group got its start on the social media site, an effort to raise funds for an app was met with backlash from community members.
Facebook

Here's why the U.S. has so many banks

May 5, 2023
Deregulation has allowed lenders to operate across state lines, making it easier for banks to merge when they’re in trouble.
"Banking in this country is way more restrictive than in any other of the industrialized countries," says Richard Grossman, an economics professor. 
David McNew/Getty Images

How private equity creates a "circle of pain" in the US economy

Apr 27, 2023
Private equity "is a major driver of the enormous gulf between rich and poor in this country," says author Gretchen Morgenson.
The private equity firm Blackstone Group, led by Stephen A. Schwarzman (center) is among the top buyers in leveraged buyouts over the last several decades.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Capitalism's response to school shootings

Apr 5, 2021
In his new book, "Children Under Fire," John Woodrow Cox writes about how gun violence affects children and the nearly $3 billion market for school security.
Kindergarten students during a lockdown drill in Hawaii in 2003.
Phil Mislinski/Getty Images

Why rich people tend to think they deserve their money

Jan 19, 2021
A psychology experiment using a rigged Monopoly game reveals how inequality replicates itself.
A psychology experiment using a rigged Monopoly game reveals how inequality replicates itself.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Kat Cole's vision for a kinder capitalism

The president and COO of Focus Brands says "caring for connected stakeholders — employees, customers, vendors" is where our economic system is going.
Kat Cole, president and COO of Focus Brands, supports stakeholders, not just shareholders.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Ray Dalio says we need to reform capitalism to make it work for everyone

May 29, 2020
"Isn't our objective to work together peacefully and achieve greatness together in a broad way?" Dalio asks.
Dalio says the combination of debt, a large wealth gap and an economic downturn create instability that history has shown leads to extreme conflict.
Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch

We should treat inequality as injustice, says Ford Foundation President Darren Walker

Dec 20, 2019
"We're getting a distorted capitalism that does not produce shared prosperity," says Walker.
"We're getting a sort of distorted capitalism that does not produce shared prosperity," said Walker.
Kris Connor/Getty Images

Why economist Joseph Stiglitz is advocating for "progressive capitalism"

May 30, 2019
Stiglitz discusses the themes and recommendations contained in his latest book: People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent.
Nobel prize-winning US economist Joseph Stiglitz listens during the opening session of the 6th edition of the "Entretiens du Tresor" seminar at the Economy Ministry in Paris on January 31, 2017.
ERIC PIERMONT/AFP/Getty Images