Vulture Capitalism, Grace Blakeley
Vulture Capitalism, Grace Blakeley
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Vulture Capitalism
Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts, and the Death of Freedom

Author: Grace Blakeley

Narrator: Grace Blakeley

Unabridged: 11 hr 46 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/12/2024


Synopsis

Winner of the 2025 Ellen Meiksins Wood Prize

In the vein of The Shock Doctrine and Evil Geniuses, this timely and “galvanizing” (Naomi Klein, New York Times bestselling author) manifesto illustrates how corporate and political power brokers have used capitalism to advance their own interests at the expense of the rest of us—and how we can take back our economy.

It’s easy to look at the state of the world around us and feel hopeless. We live in an era marked by war, climate crisis, political polarization, and acute inequality—and yet many of us feel powerless to do anything about these profound issues. We’ve been assured that unfettered capitalism is necessary to ensure our freedom and prosperity but why, in our age of unchecked corporate power, are most of us living paycheck to paycheck? When the economy falters, why do governments bail out corporations and shareholders but leave everyday people in the dust?

Now, acclaimed journalist and progressive star on the rise Grace Blakeley exposes the corrupt system that is failing all around us, pulling back the curtain on the free-market mythology we have been sold. She also clearly illustrates how, as corporate interests have taken hold, governments have historically been shifting away from competition and democracy towards monopoly and oligarchy.

Tracing over a century of neoliberal planning and backdoor bailouts, Blakeley takes us on a deeply reported tour of the corporate crimes, political maneuvering, and economic manipulation that elites have used to enshrine a global system of “vulture capitalism”—planned capitalist economies that benefit corporations and the uber-wealthy at the expense of the rest of us.

As “the sort of book that will help us make a better world” (Rob Delaney, New York Times bestselling author), Vulture Capitalism exposes the cracks already emerging within capitalism, lighting a path forward for how we can democratize our economy, not just our politics, to ensure true freedom for all.

About Grace Blakeley

Grace Blakeley, one of the fiercest anti-capitalist advocates of her generation, is an author, journalist, and commentator. She attended the University of Oxford where she graduated with a first-class honors degree in philosophy, economics, and politics and later obtained a masters in African studies. Her writing has appeared in Tribune and the New Statesman. She is the author of StolenThe Corona Crash, and Vulture Capitalism, and edited Futures of Socialism. Find out more at GraceBlakeley.co.uk.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Emily

As someone who is more left-leaning, I was keen to read this to learn more about how capitalism has got it wrong , some shocking stories, and some hope about where we can go from here and hope for how things could be better. What I got was a detailed look into the economics of capital vs democracy a......more

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-arc! This is a great resource for those wanting to understand why trade unions are so important especially with how the past year has gone with workers from Harper Collins and the film writers' in America going on strike. It distills down the points for why workers hav......more

Goodreads review by Kate

The prevailing orthodoxy in Western countries contrasts the free market and the planned economy. However, as Blakeley makes clear, capitalist economies are planned too. Companies and states collude to protect the interests of capital. Her argument is backed up by numerous examples. Many of these wer......more

Goodreads review by Rachel

This a detailed and seemingly well researched exploration into the interplay between capitalism and democracy, and the utter pervasiveness we have seen of capitalism in our economy. It’s not the easiest read, especially if you aren’t used to reading academic texts or books in this genre, but I think......more

Goodreads review by Jen

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley. This book was so eye-opening and shocking. It provides examples of where companies and corporations have engaged in extremely unethical behaviour to maximise profits. This includes falsifying information, deception and m......more