Winners Take All Book Summary, by Anand Giridharadas

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1-Page Summary of Winners Take All

Overview

Technology is progressing every day. It’s unstoppable, and it has made our lives better. Products like cell phones, computers, and cars make life easier for us because of technology.

But what’s the point of progress if most people can’t enjoy it? Technological innovation makes us more productive, but only rich people are reaping its benefits. Ordinary people across the world feel that they’re at a disadvantage and rightfully so because top billionaires’ fortunes grow twice as fast as everyone else’s meager earnings. The top 10 percent of people own 90 percent of the entire planet’s wealth.

You might be wondering how the world is changing. After all, people are trying to make a difference and bring change in some way or another. Businesses promote ethical trade and green investing. Thought leaders host panels on global justice. Philanthropists tout their generosity in “giving back”. Could all this talk of making the world a better place be a charade? In these key points, you’ll learn how elite’s language of changing the world is actually a ruse to preserve the status quo by keeping power in their hands while they reap benefits from capitalism without sharing it with others who need it more than them. You’ll see that denial of power makes them stay in control even when there’s something wrong going on around them so they can keep doing what they want instead of fixing it for everyone else including themselves since they’re only interested in preserving their own power instead of using it responsibly for everyone else as well.

In this book, you’ll learn how to trick workers into giving up their rights; why a powerful painkiller funds the world’s cultural institutions; and whether Wonder Woman can help society move toward gender equality.

Big Idea #1: Corporate elites have redefined social progress to suit their own interests.

Most young adults coming of age after the global financial crash were facing tough decisions about their future. They wanted to make a difference, but they weren’t sure how. Hilary Cohen was one such person. She decided she would do something entrepreneurial, so that everyone could benefit from her efforts.

Corporate elites have redefined social progress to suit their own interests. People who’ve been around for a few decades will notice that inequality has increased in the last few years, especially in the US. In fact, Google searches for “inequality” doubled among Americans between 2010 and 2014—the year that Cohen graduated from college.

In 2014, Hilary Cohen would make twice as much money if she were a college graduate. Although the bottom half of earners made $200 more than they did in 1980, that’s nothing compared to what top 10% of earners made (twice as much).

In recent years, the gap between rich and poor has increased. Many young people are aware of this problem and want to do something about it. They believe that they can make a difference by joining the business world and learning how businesses operate. One such person is Cohen, who decided to join a top management consultancy firm in order to use capitalism’s tools for social good.

Cohen didn’t realize it, but he had absorbed the dominant ideology of how to change the world – neoliberalism. This is based on a belief in free markets and minimal regulation. The idea is that if you let individuals pursue their own goals in a free market, they will be happier and more prosperous. Neoliberals believe that big companies are responsible for changing the world by applying business knowledge to social problems like poverty.

However, this belief comes with a big risk. If the wealthy elite are put in charge of resources, questions about power and inequality will be ignored because they don’t want to give up their power.

Winners Take All Book Summary, by Anand Giridharadas