Synopses & Reviews
Even as inequalities widen, the effects of austerity deepen, and the consequences of recession linger, in many countries the wealth of the rich has soared.
Why We Cant Afford The Rich exposes the unjust and dysfunctional mechanisms that allow the top 1% to siphon off wealth produced by others through the control of property and money. Leading social scientist Andrew Sayer shows how over the last three decades the rich worldwide have increased their ability to hide their wealth, create indebtedness, and expand their political influence.
Written for a wide readership, this important and accessible book uses simple distinctions to burst the myth of the rich as especially talented wealth creators. But more than this, as the risk of runaway climate change grows, it shows how the rich are threatening the planet by banking on unsustainable growth. Forcefully arguing that the crises of economy and climate can only be resolved by radical change, Sayer makes clear that we must make economies sustainable, fair, and conducive to wellbeing for all.
Review
“Engagingly explains how—and why—we have such trouble seeing what the rich are doing. We are the job creators, they insist. But our rich arent creating jobs. Theyre not creating wealth. Theyre extracting wealth from the rest of us.”
Review
“Unmatched in persuasive argument and compelling illustrations, Andrew Sayer shows how the rich and the super-rich are destroying not just the economy but the planet too. Everyone should read Why We Cant Afford the Rich and spread the word.”
Review
“A refreshing antidote to a public discourse that has allowed the perpetrators of the financial crisis to make massive gains, while the full burden of costs falls on those innocent of its causes. A must-read for all those who want to reverse that injustice and a wake-up call for the rich.”
Review
“Cuts through the hype so often used to defend growing inequality and gets to the core of the problem, with suggestions about where solutions may come from.”
Review
“This timely and important book exposes the pernicious influence of the super rich on our economic and social fabric. It underlines the need for radical action to redistribute wealth, re-balance our economy and tackle inequality. A must read for politicians and policymakers alike.”
Review
“Packed with useful information and insights, this is a useful complement to Thomas Pikkety’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century, and makes a serious challenge to the many claims propagated by rich people and their minions.”
Review
“Thought-provoking . . . a persuasive examination of the rich, the sources of their wealth, and their impact on the planet and its less fortunate inhabitants. . . . A cogent and thoroughly convincing argument that will enlighten and inform—and may even help instigate the radical changes Sayer puts forth.”
Review
“Although he draws heavily on the work of others, Sayer offers new insights, in the process granting today’s capitalist class—along with the mainstream political parties—very little merit at all. Why We Can’t Afford the Rich adds to the growing body of work that challenges mainstream economic thinking and traditional self-justifications for inequality. It provides an extended catalogue of the multiple and often complex devices used by those with financial and economic power to grab a bigger share of the cake, manipulating the control of assets like land and money, to ‘siphon off wealth that others produce.’”
Review
“Sayer shows how financial markets came to overshadow the traditional industrial economy, exacerbating the depth of the economic crisis and increasing the share of the rich in national wealth in the process. . . . Sayer’s penetrating analysis of asset-based unearned income is a powerful case for socialism, supporting as he does land nationalization and the creation of banks with the remit to lend for productive investment in ethical and environmentally sustainable business. Well worth a read.”
Review
“Bursting with . . . jaw-dropping data, leaving the reader reeling in disbelief and indignation that the global elite ha[s] amassed such obscene fortunes and shows no sign of slowing down in its insatiable appetite for financial and material excess. The author goes beyond the headline-grabbing examples of super-rich extravagance, however, to construct an incisive analysis of the origins and development of capitalist greed. Anybody looking for an understandable but insightful introduction to political economy need look no further.”
Review
“Talking about unfairness, savvy egalitarians have always understood, only gets us so far. Count British social scientist Sayer among these savvy egalitarians. . . . Why We Can’t Afford the Rich takes on—and demolishes—the old canards that apologists for grand fortune regularly trot, everything from ‘When did you last get a job from a poor person?’ to ‘You can’t make the poor rich by making the rich poor.’”
Review
“An excellent critique of capitalism as well as a critique of the rich. . . . Presents a nuanced, well-informed vision, which speaks from the perspective of a moral economy. . . . I recommend this book to politicians, people interested in social change, NGOs, academics, and all those people, whether they belong to the 99% or the 1%, who have an inclination to come to a critical understanding of the status quo, and who wish to contribute to a world that sustains us, that is more economically and socially just, and that is ready to receive future generations.”
Synopsis
As inequalities widen and the effects of austerity deepen, in many countries the wealth of the rich has soared. Why we can't afford the rich exposes the unjust and dysfunctional mechanisms that allow the top 1% to siphon off wealth produced by others, through the control of property and money. Leading social scientist Andrew Sayer shows how the rich worldwide have increased their ability to create indebtedness and expand their political influence. Winner of the 2015 British Academy Peter Townsend Prize, this important book bursts the myth of the rich as specially talented wealth creators. It shows how the rich are threatening the planet by banking on unsustainable growth. The paperback includes a new Afterword updating developments in the last year and forcefully argues that the crises of economy and climate can only be resolved by radical change to make economies sustainable, fair and conducive to well-being for all.
Synopsis
Why we can't afford the rich exposes the unjust and dysfunctional mechanisms that allow the top 1% to siphon off wealth produced by others. With an updated Afterword, Andrew Sayer shows how the rich worldwide have increased their ability to hide their wealth, create indebtedness and expand their political influence.
About the Author
Andrew Sayer is professor of social theory and political economy at Lancaster University, UK. His books include Radical Political Economy: A Critique, The Moral Significance of Class, and Why Things Matter to People: Social Science, Values and Ethical Life.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I: A Guide to Wealth Extraction
Slippery Terms and Vital Distinctions
For rent . . . for what?
Interest . . . for what? or We need to talk about usury
Profit from production: or capitalists and rentiers: whats the difference?
Other ways to skin a cat
Dont the Rich Create Jobs? - and other objections
Part II: Putting the Rich in Context: What Determines What People Get?
To what do we owe our wealth?: Our dependence on the commons
So what determines pay?
The myth of the level playing field
Part III: How the Rich Got Richer: Their Part in the Crisis
The roots of the crisis
Key winners
Summing up: the crisis and the return of the rentiers
Part IV: Rule by the Rich, for the Rich
Silent power, pol donations lattice of influence
Hiding it
Illegal? + poachers
What about philanthropy?
Plutonomy
Part V: Ill-gotten and Ill-spent: From Consumption to Ill-Being and CO2
Spending it
Global warming trumps everything
Conclusion: back to basics -
what kind of economy do we need?