Review of The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

Martin Wolf begins The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism by observing: “As the Cold War ended, in 1989, many agreed … that the Western synthesis of liberal democracy with the free market had won a decisive victory over its ideological enemies … Neither liberal democracy nor free-market capitalism seems at all triumphant today” (p. 1). He goes on to argue that market capitalism is the “least bad” economic system and liberal democracy the “least bad” political system (p. 312), but that both are in desperate need of reform. Wolf is the chief economics commentator for the Financial Times of London, and the many fans of his writing there will recognize in this book his blunt and erudite criticism of capitalism and democracy’s failures and his constructive and forceful recommendations about how to do better. He focuses on the United States and the United Kingdom, with less attention given to other countries. The book is not a quick or casual read, running nearly 400 pages and drawing on hundreds of economic and political analyses as documented in 30 pages of references and almost 800 footnotes. But the book is a highly educational and enjoyable read for anyone interested in the crucial economic and political challenges of our time.