From one of America's foremost economic and political thinkers comes a vital analysis of our new hypercompetitive and turbo-charged global economy ...
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Mar 15, 2009
Erik
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Because I'm something of a student of politics and political history, my wife has often asked me, "Why is it people didn't have to work two and three jobs in the fifties and sixties just to get by, but now we do?" The only thing I could ever say is, "I have no idea." Having read this book, I now have an idea.
In Clinton's cabinet, Reich was always the one I trusted when it came to economics. Rubin I never did trust, and now that we know he's one of the ass holes wh More...
In Clinton's cabinet, Reich was always the one I trusted when it came to economics. Rubin I never did trust, and now that we know he's one of the ass holes wh More...
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Jan 06, 2009
Tiffoknee the 3rd
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I had the distinct privilege of meeting Professor Reich in San Francisco last year. He is an intelligent, insightful, engaging man. I wish I were so privileged as to have an opportunity to take a class with him at Berkeley. Oh, he's also very, very short. Like, really short. And nice. He's nice too . . . for someone who attended law school.
I enjoyed this book. This was my first time reading any of Professor Reich's work. I knew of him from his time as Secretary of Labor wit More...
I enjoyed this book. This was my first time reading any of Professor Reich's work. I knew of him from his time as Secretary of Labor wit More...
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Dec 06, 2008
Joe
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This book describes the transition, particularly in America but also somewhat in the rest of the world, from a balanced capitalist democracy to a capitalism-dominated system.
Previously, businesses served many purposes: they were important parts of communities, giving people stable jobs, strengthening communities and the country, and mostly stay out of politics and the government. Over time, as competition and widespread stock investing got more popular, an evolutionary process trans More...
Previously, businesses served many purposes: they were important parts of communities, giving people stable jobs, strengthening communities and the country, and mostly stay out of politics and the government. Over time, as competition and widespread stock investing got more popular, an evolutionary process trans More...
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Apr 01, 2009
William
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I have no idea why I thought that Mr Reich would deliver the knockout blow or at least the stunning indictment of unrestrainted global capitalism in place today. Mr Reich was labor secretary during that most probusiness of administrations, the Clinton years. A probusiness stance only furthered and exacerbated in the following 8 Bush years. One could rightly accuse Mr. Reich of being an architect of the present global meltdown. But any mea culpas would be hard to find.
No, what you will fin More...
No, what you will fin More...
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Aug 29, 2011
Carol
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I've been trying to understand what's happening economically, politically, globally, and noticed quite a few discussions mentioned Robert Reich. Supercapitalism gives some really helpful insight into the ways that unregulated capitalism has overwhelmed democracy "of the people." Reich explains the power of free market mechanisms to intensify competition and to push us toward a system where money is the only recognized value. He identifies disturbing symptoms, suggests possible causes,
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Apr 15, 2009
Jens
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I picked this up on a whim... I like Reich's writing even though I don't always agree with him. Unsurprisingly, this is a well-written book, but it seems a little under-cooked to me. His thesis is that the global shift from one mode of capitalism to another (democratic capitalism to "supercapitalism") since the 1970s is essentially caused by structural or technological developments rather than political or moral movements. New technologies have empowered us as consumers and investor
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Oct 13, 2011
Clinton
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Supercapitalism is broadly defined as the separation of capitalism and democracy citing eight reasons. However, the problem with the term Supercapitalism is that capitalism and democracy have always been separate. Capitalism is an economic system while Democracy is a political system, and this is self evident in the case of Hong Kong and Singapore. Both have the most lassize-faire capitalist economies in the world yet both lack democracy while simultaneously, sustaining the most economic prosper
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Aug 17, 2011
Dylan
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Reich's account of the rise of Neoliberalism curiously omits significant antagonism and occasionally employs some shaky arguments. For example, I find the Marxist analysis of the crisis of the '70s to be more convincing than Reich's analysis, and I don't even know if I find the Marxist analysis all that convincing. Reich's argument that the introduction of new and better products and greater market efficiency and competition led to the dismantling of market regulation and a decrease in the value
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Jan 28, 2010
Igor
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Investment capitalism's intense competition leads actors to gain any imaginable advantage over their competitors. Personal ethics must give way to investor demands, because of how liquid investment has become and how easily investors can invest in better returns from competitors that don't have ethical (whatever that means) reservations that stagnate profits. This, coupled with government deregulation, has transformed the economy from one of oligopolies driven by labor unions benefiting unionize
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Nov 21, 2008
Rachel
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This book is fabulous. It's a fascinating look at what's happened to the American (and also the world) economy. Reich believes that a particular brand of capitalism he calls Supercapitalism (shocker) has taken over in the past 30-40 years. Supercapitalism has weakened our democracy by handing over governmental power to corporations (and their lobbyists) rather than keeping it in the hands of citizens. Reich repeatedly states that while our power and 'choices' as consumers and investors have broa
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Dec 28, 2008
Brian
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A very well written book about the interaction between capitalism and democracy. It contains an excellent history of markets in the United States, displaying how they have functioned in the past, how they operate currently, and what caused those changes. Reich's writing eschews ideology. This book is easy to read, and I would recommend it to anyone regardless of political orientation.
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Jan 06, 2009
Kevin
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This book is an excellent overview of how our system of capitalism works, and how it used to work. He talks about the ways in which our system is good and the ways it is bad, and at the end he presents some pretty reasonable suggestions for how it could be improved so that we still have a thriving capitalist society but our voices as citizens aren't drowned out. While I disagree with some of his suggestions, most I would agree with, and his overall point is that we often don't have a chance to
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Oct 27, 2011
Charles
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This is an excellent book. Reich covers the evolution of democratic capitalism into "Super Capitalism" from the time of the Great Depression through the "not-so Golden Age' of Post WWII America into the current day. Main points, despite the Supreme Court's ruling to the contrary corporations ARE NOT PEOPLE! Corporations cannot be "socially responsible," their purpose is to provide the highest possible returns to their shareholders and good products at the great bargains,
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Nov 14, 2010
Michael
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This is an excellent read. Reich is a great storyteller, so he is able to break down the workings of contemporay markets and how they interact with democracy. His interpretive structure provides insight into how to see and understand world markets. Reading it alongside There is Power in a Union, is also revelatory. I can't help but see our current situation as similar to the emergence of industrial capitalism in the late 19th century. The difficulty, of course, is that there is not a worldw
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Aug 01, 2009
Matt
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Robert Reich is sometimes categorized as a standard liberal idealogue. This book should put that characture to rest. Reich sees himself as pro-capitalism. The market is needed, Reich argues (echoing Milton Friedman) because dissent is undermined if one cannot dissent and also buy bread without government funds. There is, however, a difference between democratic capitalism and supercaptilism. And we have gone from one to the other, with terrible results.
Simply put, Reich's thesis is t More...
Simply put, Reich's thesis is t More...
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Sep 05, 2011
Betsy
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Without a doubt, one of the best books I've ever read on the economics of American society, and how this has changed from the Democratic Capitalism of the 1950s and 1960s (remember LBJ's Great Society?) to the Supercapitalism of our present time. Reich is adept at explaining economic policy in terms that the layman can understand, while keeping the narrative intelligent and engaging. I know understand why very little public policy legislation comes out of Congress, why present day CEOs are paid
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Dec 16, 2010
Ray
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Secretary Reich has convinced me. He's left me better educated about the function of corporations during the twentieth century, shown me how globalization has changed that very scheme; he has convinced me that our current political discussions about economic growth are highly off-base, centered to much within the borders of our own nation.
He made one misstep: I was left without a call to action or a plan of execution. I want these perspectives to become part of our discourse, but I a More...
He made one misstep: I was left without a call to action or a plan of execution. I want these perspectives to become part of our discourse, but I a More...
Feb 03, 2010
Matt
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 02, 2009
Brendan
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Reich offers a succinct, interesting history of the relationship between business and democracy in the last fifty years. Here’s the nutshell, as I see it: in post WW2 America, there was a sort-of detente reached between large companies who made profits through economies of scale, government which used regulation to protect these companies from competition, and trade unions that were able to negotiate strong wages for its workers. This arrangement, made as part of “Democratic Capitalism,” balan
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Dec 23, 2008
Cheryl
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Some was very useful information and a reminder. Corporations are not persons and are not capable of intent. Soem of it was paranoia and second guessing. For instance, I didn't care for the slam against Yahoo for working with China. The author questioned what right Yahoo had to represent the Western way of life. It was said like someone had to vote or present people with the right to do such. Whenever we travel, we represent America, whether intentionally or not. At the same time I say th
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Nov 13, 2011
Brian
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Capitalism is roughly defined as "economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for profit from investment." Democracy is defined as "a form of government in which all the people have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives."
Admittedly not entirely well-versed in economics or political science, I believed that democracy and capitalism were always symbiotic (meaning what was good for democracy was always good for More...
Admittedly not entirely well-versed in economics or political science, I believed that democracy and capitalism were always symbiotic (meaning what was good for democracy was always good for More...
Dec 24, 2008
Jon-Erik
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Interesting read. I could use more persuasion to undergird some of the assumptions that pepper the book that seem a little outside the textbook mainstream, for example, that the change in the 70s that reshaped our economy stems from Cold War technologies like fiber optics and not from the breaking of Bretton-Woods and the oil embargoes. It's not that I refuse to believe that, it's just I could use a fuller treatment.
Also, I think the solutions are a bit thin. I also agree to some ext More...
Also, I think the solutions are a bit thin. I also agree to some ext More...
Jun 22, 2009
Olivia
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Robert Reich is a legend and with his help, I hope I'll be able to understand some of the crazy economic forces that shape our everyday lives.
The point that sticks with me the most is his warning not to treat corporations as individuals, eligible for the rights of citizens, but as legal fictions, who can neither be blamed nor extolled for the situation we find ourselves in today. Corporations exist as a collection of shareholders, designed to increase shareholder value for investors More...
The point that sticks with me the most is his warning not to treat corporations as individuals, eligible for the rights of citizens, but as legal fictions, who can neither be blamed nor extolled for the situation we find ourselves in today. Corporations exist as a collection of shareholders, designed to increase shareholder value for investors More...
Jul 07, 2009
Daniel
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This book is very informative as to the relationship between business and government. Quite simply, under supercapitalism, where business aims only to please investors and customers, messing with the wheels of government is one of only a number of levers a business has to increase profits. The author goes into great detail as to how businesses are able to manipulate customers and politicians into getting exactly what they want. The author makes the point that supercapitalism is here to stay a
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Feb 02, 2009
JM
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Of course everything changes with a crash. Written before our capitalist laissez-faire economy spiraled into who-knows-where, so this book is instantly out of date in some areas. An update would be great as it would be fascinating to know Reich's take on how the current crash affects world corporate greed. The theme is excellent and scary, which is why I read it in a day. (Don't you love a scary economics-based book?) He's a wonderful speaker but as a writer, he tends to love the long senten
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Jan 19, 2009
Jon Edward
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Read it. If you haven't, don't claim to understand the current bizarre situation where Americans act in ways that seems to not be in their own best interest. We are both citizens and capitalists in the 21st century economy. This book explains how we got that way.
I also heard Reich speak. When I asked him in the forum how we could get people being citizens again, and not just consumers, he said something like, "Hillary Clinton would make a great president, but vote for Obama! More...
I also heard Reich speak. When I asked him in the forum how we could get people being citizens again, and not just consumers, he said something like, "Hillary Clinton would make a great president, but vote for Obama! More...
Jan 13, 2009
Jessica
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I like to keep up on current events, but I am by no means an expert on the government or the economy. When Supercapitalism was selected as the monthly pick for one of my book clubs my first thought was “This will be different”. My second thought was “Hmm, I am not sure how everyone in the book club will feel about reading this book.” Our book club reads mostly contemporary fiction and memoirs. This book was a few steps outside of our book club’s comfort zone.
I talked to several other More...
I talked to several other More...
Sep 03, 2011
Marcus
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Wow. Does this book rock or what? That's rhetorical; it rocks. Reich always toes the line between deep economic discussion and an ability relate to the lay reader, people like me. But the information he provides is enlightening and compelling. It's weird to think about but this is an economics book that reads like a page turner ... if you're into understanding how/why the economy works the way it does. Reich seems to have a kind of dry charm that comes off the page when discussing a topic people
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Jul 02, 2011
Brittany
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Reich takes on a very controversial but poignant topic with Supercapitalism. He makes really good points about how a nation can no longer be capitalistic and democratic at the same time. It's one or the other. But it is possible to improve the situation with few fixes, like no longer referring to a corporation like you would a person. Wal-Mart does not make donations to good causes, the owners and employees do. Or as consumers we have to accept that a company that offers the lowest prices d
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Sep 24, 2010
Jesse
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Robert Reich is one smart cookie. This book explained a lot about the, in many ways, screwed up global economy. I can't say it is an uplifting book, but similar to the way "An Omnivore's Dilemma" shows you that you vote for what type of food system you want every time you eat, this book makes a good case that you vote for what type of an economy and corporations you want every time you make a purchase. We are, in many ways, the only ones to blame for the perverse capitalistic world we'
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