Synopses & Reviews
"A powerful case for limitarianism, i.e. the idea that we should set a maximum on how much resources one individual can appropriate. This eye opening book is a must read."
–Thomas Piketty, bestselling author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century
For readers of Anand Giridharadas and Shoshanna Zuboff who want a more original, bold, and convincing argument for a cap on wealth by the philosopher who coined the term "limitarianism."
How much money is too much? Is it ethical, and democratic, for an individual to amass a limitless amount of wealth, and then spend it however they choose? Many of us feel that the answer to that is no — but what can we do about it?
Ingrid Robeyns has long written and argued for the principle she calls "limitarianism" — or the need to limit extreme wealth. This idea is gaining momentum in the mainstream - with calls to "tax the rich" and slogans like "every billionaire is a policy failure" - but what does it mean in practice?
Robeyns explains the key reasons to support the case against extreme wealth:
- It keeps the poor poor and inequalities growing
- It's often dirty money
- It undermines democracy
- It's one of the leading causes of climate change
- Nobody actually deserves to be a millionaire
- There are better things to do with excess money
- The rich will benefit, too
This will be the first authoritative trade book to unpack the concept of a cap on wealth, where to draw the line, how to collect the excess and what to do with the money. In the process, Robeyns will ignite an urgent debate about wealth, one that calls into question the very forces we live by (capitalism and neoliberalism) and invites us to a radical reimagining of our world.
Review
"Many people accept that there is a threshold that no one should fall
below. But few have thought that there is a threshold that no one should
be free to soar above. In this wonderful book, Ingrid Robeyns presents a
novel and nuanced set of arguments for just such an upper threshold.
This is a model of how to bring rigorous analysis to bear on practical
issues, and to do so in an engaging, humane and accessible way." Debra Satz, author of Why Some Things Should Not Be For Sale
Review
"Ingrid Robeyns raises what, historically, would be a tendentious
question because in the Industrial Age a rising tide of wealth tended to
lift yachts and dinghies alike. But in our Digital Age yachts
proliferate while dinghies get swamped. Robeyns' argument that top heavy
wealth is sinking living standards for the many, spreading economic
fear that authoritarians exploit is sound and her thoughtful ideas for
reining in extreme wealth are provocative
." David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author of Perfectly Legal, Free Lunch, and It's Even Worse Than You Think
Review
"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, author of Free: Coming of Age at the End of History
Review
"Robeyns delivers an urgent, thought provoking treatise that is both a
compelling critique of limitless inequality and an imaginative account
of a world without the superrich." Peter Geoghegan, author of Democracy for Sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics
Review
"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, bestselling author of The Spirit Level and The Inner Level (with Kate Pickett)
Review
"There is a limit beyond which additional wealth can't do much to
enhance its owner's life or happiness. But our economic system generates
fortunes far beyond any such limit. Is the existence of billionaires
and multi-millionaires a necessary feature of a system that makes
everyone better off in the long run? Or is it one of the sources of the
growing inequality and political breakdown that we see today? Ingrid
Robyens makes a convincing case that an upper limit on wealth would be
good for society as a whole and even for the wealthy themselves." John Quiggin, author of
Zombie Economics
Review
"Ingrid Robeyns makes a compelling case for limiting extreme wealth,
along economic, political and moral lines--and outlines the structural,
fiscal and ethical actions required to achieve this. 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
About the Author
Ingrid Robeyns holds master degrees in economics and philosophy, and
obtained her PhD for a thesis on gender inequality and the capability
approach at Cambridge University. She currently holds the chair in
ethics of institutions at Utrecht University. In 2018, she was elected
as a member of the Netherlands Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts. In
2021, she was awarded an Emma Goldman Award for her work on inequality
studies and feminism by the FLAX foundation in Vienna. She lives in
Utrecht, Netherlands.