Over the next two weeks I'll be launching a ten part assessment of the health of capitalism. Here's an introduction to the series.
Chapter One reviews the failure of the anti-capitalists to overthrow the system after the 2008 crash - but it also argues that reform is still needed and that the laissez-faire opponents of reform actually represent the biggest threat to capitalism.
Chapter Two lists the achievements of capitalism and the public's ignorance pop them. This extra section lists eight great characteristics of enterprise societies.
Chapter Three calls for a rediscovery among economists and the centre right of the real Adam Smith - a thinker who was more interested in moral conduct than free market forces.
Chapter Four looks at the importance of social capital and asks if we need new measures to assess social and economic progress.
Chapter Five examines the role of business leaders in creating a more popular capitalism and whether they should purpose purpose as much as profit.
Chapter Six on the inefficiency, inequality and inequity produced by crony capitalism.
Chapter Seven argues that inequality is a social as well as an economic phenomenon and that middle class entitlements have produced an unfocused state.
Chapter Eight regrets the US and UK failure to invest in infrastructure and why welfare cuts are unlikely to provide enough of the extra financing required.
Chapter Nine looks at the possibilities of extending free trade and how protectionism is a disaster for social justice.
Chapter Ten examines the unresolved issues surrounding the regulation of finance and the control of asset price inflation.
Concluding remarks and acknowledgements.
By way of background, you might be interested in this survey of what the world thinks about capitalism. The seven nation survey carried out by YouGov for the Legatum Institute featured in The Times and the Wall Street Journal. YouGov investigated attitudes towards capitalism in Britain, Brazil, Germany, India, Indonesia, Thailand and the United States. You can access the full results here.
Some media coverage of the Prosperity for All report.
