Capitalism: in search of an alternative

The capitalist system we are living in today might be efficient in producing economic growth, but is it producing wellbeing? The supposedly efficient allocation of resources seems to be faltering more and more, resulting in inequality, environmental damage, and financial insecurity. If resources are so well allocated, why do we see overconsumption in the western part of the world while in other parts people are still starving? What is efficient about this? And most importantly, is there a better way?

Based on a thrilling discussion between a father and his daughter, the father (Giacomo Corneo) starts to look for alternative systems in the world that could produce a better way of living. His findings are realistic and sober, but he ultimately develops a simple and potentially brilliant idea, which has already caught the interest of Germany’s Minister of Finance…

 Corneo is interviewed by Sandra Phlippen about his quest for alternative economic systems. The interview is followed by a first response of Bas Jacobs and a Q&A with the audience.

Professor Giacomo Corneo is Professor of Public Finance and Social Policy at the Free University of Berlin, and managing editor of Journal of Economics.

Professor Bas Jacobs is Professor of Public Finance and Economic Policy at the Erasmus School of Economics (EUR).

Dr Sandra Phlippen is economist and sociologist at Erasmus School of Economics (EUR) and ABN Amro.

For everyone who is interested in potential solutions, such as a basic income, or in unconventional ideas, such as those presented in Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-first Century or Raworth’s Doughnut Economics.