Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society
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- Create Date：2021-04-08 14:55:18
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Eric A. Posner
- ISBN：0691196060
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Summary
Revolutionary ideas on how to use markets to achieve fairness and prosperity for all
Many blame today's economic inequality， stagnation， and political instability on the free market。 The solution is to rein in the market， right？ Radical Markets turns this thinking on its head。 With a new foreword by Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin and virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier as well as a new afterword by Eric Posner and Glen Weyl， this provocative book reveals bold new ways to organize markets for the good of everyone。 It shows how the emancipatory force of genuinely open， free， and competitive markets can reawaken the dormant nineteenth-century spirit of liberal reform and lead to greater equality， prosperity， and cooperation。
Only by radically expanding the scope of markets can we reduce inequality， restore robust economic growth， and resolve political conflicts。 But to do that， we must replace our most sacred institutions with truly free and open competition--Radical Markets shows how。
Many blame today's economic inequality， stagnation， and political instability on the free market。 The solution is to rein in the market， right？ Radical Markets turns this thinking on its head。 With a new foreword by Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin and virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier as well as a new afterword by Eric Posner and Glen Weyl， this provocative book reveals bold new ways to organize markets for the good of everyone。 It shows how the emancipatory force of genuinely open， free， and competitive markets can reawaken the dormant nineteenth-century spirit of liberal reform and lead to greater equality， prosperity， and cooperation。
Only by radically expanding the scope of markets can we reduce inequality， restore robust economic growth， and resolve political conflicts。 But to do that， we must replace our most sacred institutions with truly free and open competition--Radical Markets shows how。
Reviews
Finn
，
Pretty interesting impulses！
Max
，
After having read this as part of our EA reading group， we will probably use quadratic voting to choose books until we finally get prediction markets that estimate the highest expected utility for each and every book （so far we chose The Book of Why） （quadratic voting online app）。 I liked the book， I had mechanism design on my That Sounds Pretty Cool list for maybe 7 years and I really find it pretty cool。 I read Robin Hansons critique beforehand （which I'll try to avoid even more going forward， After having read this as part of our EA reading group， we will probably use quadratic voting to choose books until we finally get prediction markets that estimate the highest expected utility for each and every book （so far we chose The Book of Why） （quadratic voting online app）。 I liked the book， I had mechanism design on my That Sounds Pretty Cool list for maybe 7 years and I really find it pretty cool。 I read Robin Hansons critique beforehand （which I'll try to avoid even more going forward， to practicing noticing flaws myself） and wholeheartedly agreed with how unrealistic the proposals around making gaming and social media browsing an economically viable profession felt:Furthermore， the authors seem completely out of touch with reality in imagining that this could substitute for real jobs:In a world where digital contributions were appropriately valued by society， many video gaming young men could convert their enjoyment of gaming into a productive skill。 … It is not hard to imagine that the skills these young men have acquired in their life as gamers might help them earn a living if data were treated as labor。 。。。more
Omar Fernández
，
I read this book as a way to instill new ideas， spark new thinking， and not as a realistic or pragmatic guide to solve problems。 I like most of the ideas， but they are presented， purposefully， in a radical or visionary way that seems far too out there for it to be realistic。 Because of this， it is at times easy to fall back into reading it purely as a theoretical/interesting thought experiment and not critically to consider how we might implement some of the ideas。 That said， I think the concept I read this book as a way to instill new ideas， spark new thinking， and not as a realistic or pragmatic guide to solve problems。 I like most of the ideas， but they are presented， purposefully， in a radical or visionary way that seems far too out there for it to be realistic。 Because of this， it is at times easy to fall back into reading it purely as a theoretical/interesting thought experiment and not critically to consider how we might implement some of the ideas。 That said， I think the concepts and ideas will resonate。 In particular， finding creative ways to redistribute voting power in a way that actually reflects people's passions， similar to a market， and it's not simply binary voting （yes/no） where each person counts as one。 The ideas exposed are interesting in that regard。 I also enjoyed the discussions around private property and how we might rethink it， particularly for land which is so limited and often its private ownership can truly hinder development of great goods for society。 I have long been thinking about the problem of land ownership in places with high demand and loved the concepts explored in this book。 However， I also think that there's something terribly unsettling of moving from our current model to one in which anyone might bid and buy your place immediately if they are willing to pay the price you've reported your place to be valued at。 While I like the direct link between the price you post & your taxes， to eliminate gaming the tax system， I don't think that just because someone else can afford to pay that price and wants it you should have to move out right away。 It puts the long-term security， particularly of the retired with modest income， at the mercy of rich buyers。 Overall， I give this 4 stars because of the interesting ideas discussed and the many benefits to society as a whole。 However， I do think that for me to be more excited about the ideas I'd need a more pragmatic view of how the ideas would be introduced in a way that don't create chaos and unintended consequences that hurt vulnerable sectors of society。 。。。more
João P
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Thought-provoking ideas。 The first chapters are really interesting （on COST and Quadratic Voting）， but then it gets worse with each chapter。 The ideas to foster immigration （VIP） are interesting and seem feasible， even though radical。 The rest is just meh and the chapter on the data economy seems rather flawed， as it doesn't discuss Adverse Selection as Vitalik mentioned in his blog post on the book。 Finally， applying the idea of Common Ownership Self-assessed Tax （COST） to human capital， as des Thought-provoking ideas。 The first chapters are really interesting （on COST and Quadratic Voting）， but then it gets worse with each chapter。 The ideas to foster immigration （VIP） are interesting and seem feasible， even though radical。 The rest is just meh and the chapter on the data economy seems rather flawed， as it doesn't discuss Adverse Selection as Vitalik mentioned in his blog post on the book。 Finally， applying the idea of Common Ownership Self-assessed Tax （COST） to human capital， as described in the Conclusion， sounds terribly authoritarian imo。 I can't imagine how a system that forces people to work on a specific predetermined wage can be a positive change for society。 But I also admit that I have serious divergences in general on the original idea of COST （having to sell your property on a predetermined， taxable price）， even though I see how it could be used in some narrow cases described in the book， especially for "public" property。In general， the book promotes a technocratic view and focuses its points on liberty/freedom mostly from an economic perspective， while proclaiming to be anti-authoritarian （which doesn't always hold imo）。 The final chapter on "After Markets？" is very relevant for today's society and echoes some points I have already seen Yuval Harari talk about （or vice-versa）。 I was between 3 and 4 stars， but this last discussion together with the afterword on Blockchain tipped the balance。 。。。more
Alper Çuğun
，
"So you like markets？ Let's push markets as far as they can go。" —"Not like this！"Most people who say they like markets use it as an excuse to cover up their desire to maintain entrenched power relations， monopolies and inequality。I like many of the proposals in this book but more than that I think the way of thinking about society， coordination and exchange is very valuable。 I've seen a talk by Weyl where he supersedes many of the ideas in the book based on new evidence and research。Is there a "So you like markets？ Let's push markets as far as they can go。" —"Not like this！"Most people who say they like markets use it as an excuse to cover up their desire to maintain entrenched power relations， monopolies and inequality。I like many of the proposals in this book but more than that I think the way of thinking about society， coordination and exchange is very valuable。 I've seen a talk by Weyl where he supersedes many of the ideas in the book based on new evidence and research。Is there a path towards realizing something like the COST？ Probably not working in the tired democracies that we are stuck with at the moment， but most of the institutions that we have are shearing to the point of breaking anyway。 Once they break for real， it's nice to have alternative ways of organizing ready to go。 。。。more
Diego
，
Achei extremamente provocativo。 Realmente as ideais parecem algo fora da realidade porém os autores tem a humildade de propor pequenos experimentos que permitam avaliar seus resultados。 A sensação de volta ao medievo ficou mais latente na pandemia。
Ryan Kish
，
Interesting， but I disagree with most of this。 I agree that inequality and the agency problems of today's capitalism are very important， and I agree we need move to a society that draws more from both libertarianism and socialism。 Unlike other books that talk about this， Posner explicitly states that these two ideologies aren't always antithetical。 I'm glad Posner cites people on the spectrum from Mises to Marx。 And good on Posner for picking up on the issue of common ownership of large asset ma Interesting， but I disagree with most of this。 I agree that inequality and the agency problems of today's capitalism are very important， and I agree we need move to a society that draws more from both libertarianism and socialism。 Unlike other books that talk about this， Posner explicitly states that these two ideologies aren't always antithetical。 I'm glad Posner cites people on the spectrum from Mises to Marx。 And good on Posner for picking up on the issue of common ownership of large asset managers， which many still ignore。 But Posner sees the solution， among other things， being from the top-down and requiring the eradication of private property。 These are the two things that turn me off the most about this book。 Marjorie Kelly's book shows how improvements can be made from the bottoms-up。 While interesting to read， chapter 1 on private property is laden with untenable laws。 。。。more
Markus Reich
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Reading this in a reading group / book club format was a lot of fun - that way we could share our annoyment about the book。 This book likes to suggest solutions and afterwards struggles to justify why the solution is needed。 This book likes to make unsupported claims。 I give it two stars for achieving one thing: It was thought provoking alright。
Michael Große
，
"Interesting" thoughts， but I don't think that I will look back in a few years and will consider the hours spent reading this book as particularly well invested time。 "Interesting" thoughts， but I don't think that I will look back in a few years and will consider the hours spent reading this book as particularly well invested time。 。。。more
Kiel Mitchell
，
5/5 for sheer density of ideas， although Weyl seems slightly concerning as a wannabe firebrand
Hamish Seamus
，
First two chapters on common-ownership self-assessed tax （COST） and Quadratic Voting are excellent。 These are appealing ideas which are plausibly refinements of the original ideas which progressed us from feudalism to capitalism。 Then the book runs out of road and plummets to mediocrity。
Soeren
，
Fascinating book that proposes innovative （and radical ways） to improve the current versions of capitalism and democracies using the power of markets。 They key ideas are a database of all property where citizens give their assets prices， are taxed based on them， but also have to sell if someone offers the price。 The second key idea is quadratic voting。 Also good ideas on migration， corporate ownership， and the digital economy。
Finn
，
Excellent—more books like this please。It was also very enlightening to read Glen Weyl's recent criticism of their book in his recent blog post: https://www。radicalxchange。org/kiosk/。。。 Excellent—more books like this please。It was also very enlightening to read Glen Weyl's recent criticism of their book in his recent blog post: https://www。radicalxchange。org/kiosk/。。。 。。。more
Danforth Morrigan
，
I really appreciate just how radical the ideas presented are。 They help me think outside the box。。。 That said， don't listen to the audiobook version。 There are too many numbers and calculations being thrown around as examples and it's all just too confusing。 The first radical idea is to make it so that private property is always for sale and that the valuation is self determined - it's an interesting and terrible idea。 The problem is that the wealthy would inevitably find/make loopholes to the d I really appreciate just how radical the ideas presented are。 They help me think outside the box。。。 That said， don't listen to the audiobook version。 There are too many numbers and calculations being thrown around as examples and it's all just too confusing。 The first radical idea is to make it so that private property is always for sale and that the valuation is self determined - it's an interesting and terrible idea。 The problem is that the wealthy would inevitably find/make loopholes to the detriment of everyone else。 This basic problem is not （as far as I could tell） addressed and it's the same problem with all the other proposals。 。。。more
Sean O'Connell
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Really intriguing and clever ideas， but almost impossible to implement from a practical standpoint - which the authors psuedo admit。 Enjoyed it as an economic thought experiment。
Neel Nanda
，
One of the most important insights to understanding the world is to look at incentives。 Our incentives largely shape what we do， and in aggregate incentives shape the trajectory of civilisation。 I think this is a fairly well-known， and well-discussed insight。But I see far less discussion of mechanism DESIGN - which system of incentives we decide to create and why， and what the effect of different mechanisms are。 In many ways， I think human progress can be attributed to innovative mechanisms such One of the most important insights to understanding the world is to look at incentives。 Our incentives largely shape what we do， and in aggregate incentives shape the trajectory of civilisation。 I think this is a fairly well-known， and well-discussed insight。But I see far less discussion of mechanism DESIGN - which system of incentives we decide to create and why， and what the effect of different mechanisms are。 In many ways， I think human progress can be attributed to innovative mechanisms such as capitalism， democracy， and stock markets。 Any mechanism has its own strengths and weaknesses， and the space of all possible mechanisms is VAST， but I rarely see discussion of NEW mechanisms。 And this book is a shining example of some genuinely new and innovative proposals for new mechanisms， and exploring what a world with them might look like。 I'm intrigued by the first two mechanisms， common ownership self-assessment tax and quadratic voting， mildly interested in the third （a new approach to visa sponsorship）， and very skeptical of the fourth and fifth。 One of the big problems with society's current mechanisms is that they neglect public goods - things everyone benefits from， but nobody is directly responsible for creating。 Eg， see climate change。 And I'm really excited about mechanisms like quadratic voting， because they might actually be able to help solve this problem！ But despite the ideas being a bit hit and miss， this book still deserves 5 stars and is thoroughly worth reading。 This is an incredibly important problem， and the first book I've read that boldly proposes interesting and unfamiliar mechanisms， and I hope it's the first of many more！ 。。。more
Ami Iida
，
it's the very radical markets❗❗ it's the very radical markets❗❗ 。。。more
Bartosz Pranczke
，
What a great food for thought this book is。 Very rarely a book dominates my thinking for weeks like Radical Markets managed to do。 The book covers topics that we seldom challange in a serious but peaceful way like the taxation system（how to make it more fair but also limit inequalities）， voting （is there a better system than democracy）， migration， monopolies and the use of data by corporations。 The books is worthy 5 stars not because the solutions it gives are perfect （they are not）， but because What a great food for thought this book is。 Very rarely a book dominates my thinking for weeks like Radical Markets managed to do。 The book covers topics that we seldom challange in a serious but peaceful way like the taxation system（how to make it more fair but also limit inequalities）， voting （is there a better system than democracy）， migration， monopolies and the use of data by corporations。 The books is worthy 5 stars not because the solutions it gives are perfect （they are not）， but because it provides enough details and context to nudge you into thinking about the fundamentals of the society we live in。 Your own thinking is worth all the stars。 Do not just read the book， use it as a starting point for your own thinking。 I'd love a society that can have a productive discussion about such topics， not just fights and dogmas。 。。。more
Daniel Hageman
，
The subtitle here could be more than a bit misleading。 These 'radical' ideas are precisely the sort that should be capturing the market place of conversation， I only wish I knew more on the subject to opine about their plausibility in practice。 The subtitle here could be more than a bit misleading。 These 'radical' ideas are precisely the sort that should be capturing the market place of conversation， I only wish I knew more on the subject to opine about their plausibility in practice。 。。。more
Bolelang
，
Great suggestions。 The question is whether it is easy to implement them。 The other is whether after implementation will they produce the predicted results。On the brighter side， it is a good read that stretches one's mind to areas that have not been explored in society。 A must-read for all of us。 Great suggestions。 The question is whether it is easy to implement them。 The other is whether after implementation will they produce the predicted results。On the brighter side， it is a good read that stretches one's mind to areas that have not been explored in society。 A must-read for all of us。 。。。more
Stephen Hemingway
，
I haven't finished this， but so far I find it outstanding。 I know that the proposals seem somewhat idealistic， but ideas like quadratic voting and Common Ownership Self-assessed Tax have the potential to make society much more productive。 It's possible that these ideas won't ever be implemented in their pure form， but if politicians can have their eyes opened to the faults which exist in the current system they might inch towards some of the solutions described here。 I haven't finished this， but so far I find it outstanding。 I know that the proposals seem somewhat idealistic， but ideas like quadratic voting and Common Ownership Self-assessed Tax have the potential to make society much more productive。 It's possible that these ideas won't ever be implemented in their pure form， but if politicians can have their eyes opened to the faults which exist in the current system they might inch towards some of the solutions described here。 。。。more
Andrew
，
I found Radical Markets to be a worthwhile book。 It explores how we might decentralize power in key areas of our society where the centralization of power （monopoly） has created problems。 The book is fundamentally egalitarian。 If you are interested in how to create a more egalitarian society， then this is a book for you。 One major concept I am taking away from this book is that if you are egalitarian， then you should logically be anti-monopoly across most if not all dimensions of life。 I appreci I found Radical Markets to be a worthwhile book。 It explores how we might decentralize power in key areas of our society where the centralization of power （monopoly） has created problems。 The book is fundamentally egalitarian。 If you are interested in how to create a more egalitarian society， then this is a book for you。 One major concept I am taking away from this book is that if you are egalitarian， then you should logically be anti-monopoly across most if not all dimensions of life。 I appreciate the structure of the book。 Each section started with a fictitious vignette to describe what the world might look like after adopting that section's ideas。 From there， it explained the overall concept。 Each section also took time to discuss counter arguments。 I will not get into the ideas I liked， because I like a good amount of them， and I might as well not spoil it。 However I do want to briefly touch on a few critiques:（view spoiler）[The book discusses how we would largely eliminate private property。 However， it does not really engage in a philosophical argument around why this is an ethical thing to do。I am interested in how the COST system would work with perishables。 Do I have to pay a tax on an apple I have already eaten？ If I don't specify a value， does that mean people can simply take my perishables from me？The argument that a COST system would increase community and civic engagement is counter-intuitive to me。 It seems like you would make people even more economically driven。I was very disappointed to hear the author patented the quadratic voting method described in the book。 Or at least its digital incarnation for measuring opinions。 I don't know if they plan to enforce this patent， but I know I am not receiving a social dividend。 It also seems very close to patenting math。How do we determine what to hold a quadratic voting session on？ The VIP system described relies on bringing immigrants in and paying them less than minimum wage。 Would they be paid enough to survive in an economy with prices like ours？While the data labor chapter eventually convinced me why addressing this problem is an important issue， the initial vignette was terrifying。The idea that computers can plan you proposed at the end of the book would slowly erode diversity of thought。 Even if it were technically possible， which it might not be， I don't like the idea。（hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Ozzie Gooen
，
I like what they are aiming for。 Unsure about the specific mentioned proposals， but hope that this is the start of a much more significant body of work。
Qwerty88
，
in 50 pages the authors manage to share their incorrect understandings of the game Monopoly， the "Tragedy of the Commons"， Sun Yat-Sen's role in the 1911 Chinese Revolution， and the founding of the ROC & PRC。 It takes a special kind of unawareness to speak so glibly about buying land to build a pipeline across the Canadian Rockies。I wonder if they wish they had spoken more about blockchain， or if they are glad they dodged being lumped in with that batch of books。I'll skim the rest for the futuri in 50 pages the authors manage to share their incorrect understandings of the game Monopoly， the "Tragedy of the Commons"， Sun Yat-Sen's role in the 1911 Chinese Revolution， and the founding of the ROC & PRC。 It takes a special kind of unawareness to speak so glibly about buying land to build a pipeline across the Canadian Rockies。I wonder if they wish they had spoken more about blockchain， or if they are glad they dodged being lumped in with that batch of books。I'll skim the rest for the futurism components， but they've lost credibility with me on their concepts。 Yeah， two rich white guys solving the world's problems。 。。。more
Josh Jacobs
，
Quadratic voting sounds interesting。
Richard Marney
，
Original thinking， brilliant reasoning， but questionable practicality。 The meaning of the word “radical” used in the book is the 19th century British sense of the term and the book’s message does not disappoint。 Turning the economy into a constant auction in order to optimize “allocative efficiency” for factors of production by allowing agents who are prepared to pay the market price and hence logically should be able to maximize returns acquire ownership is one proposal。 Coming home and finding Original thinking， brilliant reasoning， but questionable practicality。 The meaning of the word “radical” used in the book is the 19th century British sense of the term and the book’s message does not disappoint。 Turning the economy into a constant auction in order to optimize “allocative efficiency” for factors of production by allowing agents who are prepared to pay the market price and hence logically should be able to maximize returns acquire ownership is one proposal。 Coming home and finding your house has been purchased out from under you for use as an guest house is perhaps a more extreme example than intended by the authors， but you get the idea。 The theoretical message is monopolistic control of assets （non-compliance with allocative efficiency） is an impediment to economic optimization and the auctions thrust these into the world of perfectly competitive markets。Another proposal is to have “radical elections”， where citizens have a limited quantity of “voice credits” that allow them to increase their votes on certain issues of greater interest so that those with stronger preferences might influence outcomes in proportion to the strength of their preferences。 Intriguing ideas。 Unlikely to see the light of day。 。。。more
Matthew Rohn
，
Some interesting ideas but way too long for what it's doing and that length not only makes the book drag but makes a lot of the ideas' flaws more apparent rather than well addressed Some interesting ideas but way too long for what it's doing and that length not only makes the book drag but makes a lot of the ideas' flaws more apparent rather than well addressed 。。。more
Robert
，
Smart， original ideas， but ultimately also written in a sterile style with questionable structure。
Liam Crismani
，
Great book。 Posner and Weyl discuss 5 new things we could try to implement in societies to make them fairer and richer。 Not just another utopian ideal but practicable changes。
Shilpa Rao
，