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Limitarianism

The Case Against Extreme Wealth

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Limitarianism

By: Ingrid Robeyns
Narrated by: Rachel Bavidge
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

We all notice when the poor get poorer: when there are more rough sleepers and food bank queues start to grow. But if the rich become richer, there is nothing much to see in public and, for most of us, daily life doesn't change. Or at least, not immediately.

In this astonishing, eye-opening intervention, world-leading philosopher and economist Ingrid Robeyns exposes the true extent of our wealth problem, which has spent the past fifty years silently spiralling out of control. In moral, political, economic, social, environmental and psychological terms, she shows, extreme wealth is not only unjustifiable but harmful to us all - the rich included.

In place of our current system, Robeyns offers a breathtakingly clear alternative: limitarianism. The answer to so many of the problems posed by neoliberal capitalism - and the opportunity for a vastly better world - lies in placing a hard limit on the wealth that any one person can accumulate. Because no-one should have more than ten million, and no one needs more than one million. Not even you.

©2024 Ingrid Robeyns (P)2024 Penguin Audio

 Ethics & Morality Philosophy Politics & Government Social Classes & Economic Disparity Society Sociology Capitalism Economic disparity Socialism Taxation Money Economic Inequality Banking
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Critic reviews

The best case I've read for putting an upper limit on the accumulation of wealth. Even the super-rich might be glad if there was a finishing line! (Richard Wilkinson)
You might find yourself, as I did, underlining a sentence or three on every page, and adding exclamation points in the margin (Tim Adams)
Valuable, intriguing, provocative ... Robeyns poses a question that very rarely gets asked in mainstream politics ... How much is too much?
She’s done the maths. We need Limitarianism. Urgently
Provocative ... begs an interesting debate about society's future
A landmark ... gripping, riveting, vivid ... We need to embrace, as Robeyns so compellingly argues, limits on income and wealth.
Powerful – a must-read (Thomas Piketty)
Effortlessly navigating between ethics, political theory, economics and public policy, Ingrid Robeyns’ nuanced and persuasive defence of limitarianism is also a much-needed manifesto for reimagining political institutions (Lea Ypi)
Is it possible to meet the needs of all people within the means of the living planet? Definitely not in a world dominated by extreme wealth, as Ingrid Robeyns powerfully argues. This landmark book combines meticulous logic with compelling personal stories to draw everyone - from the super-rich to the super-riled - into one of the most critical public debates of our times. Read it. (Kate Raworth)
A compelling case for limiting extreme wealth, along economic, political and moral lines ... This argument has never been more important, and this book is a persuasive call to action (Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst)
All stars
Most relevant
Brilliantly identifies the key economic problems and presents concrete solutions. A recommended listen for sure

Excellent

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Hopefully a new economic classic. Let's just get on with implementing this idea immediately. Need extra words.

Excellent idea

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I was very interested in why some people are very rich and why that is bad for the rest of us and the planet. The arguments were well made and full of interesting examples and facts. If you are interested in how we can improve our world and everyone’s life, I recommend this book.

The case against greed

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we all instinctually know 🤔💭🌌

and NO the irony (the source/ of said) is NOT lost on me 😑😑😑

truths

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I expected this book to present an argument on why cases of extreme wealth and privilege are bad for our society, using well researched case studies (as there are so many). It starts off strong, with sharp numeric figures to show how absurdly out of proportion billionaires wealth is to the rest of the world. It never really gets to presenting in depth examples and data afterwards though, instead digressing and falling back on familiar cliched paragraphs of why we should all be more environmentally friendly and consume less - which while important was not what I was hoping to glean from this book. If you are already well versed with the general arguments and refrain of left wing think pieces and pop science social political books and you are looking for something more original and in depth - this book is not for you.

Lackluster and unoriginal

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