The Corruption of Capitalism: Why Rentiers Thrive and Work Does Not Pay

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Guy Standing, best-selling author of The Precariat, reveals the devastating effects of the construction of a global market economy. The Corruption of Capitalism shows why, in the interests of democracy and our common wealth, the rise of rentier capitalism must be resisted. If it is not, we risk dire social and political consequences. The book reveals the extent to which global capitalism has been rigged in favour of rent-seekers to the detriment of workers - not just those in low-paid and precarious employment, but the professionals and entrepreneurs we like to think of as the drivers of our economy. The implications of the Age of Rentier Capitalism go beyond the economic sphere as the plutocracy fund and influence political parties, while media ownership is concentrated in the hands of a few powerful individuals.The Corruption of Capitalism shows why, in the interests of democracy and our common wealth, the rise of rentier capitalism must be resisted. If it is not, we risk dire social and political consequences.

Guy Standing is Research Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.He was previously Professor of Economic Security at the University of Bath and Professor of Labour Economics at Monash University in Australia, and was director of the Socio-Economic Security Programme of the International Labour Organisation, in the United Nations. He is a co-founder and honorary co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network.His books include The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class (2011), A Precariat Charter: From Denizens to Citizens (2014), Work after Globalization: Building Occupational Citizenship (2009) and Basic Income: A Transformative Policy for India (2015).

"The Basic Income is an idea whose time has come, and Guy Standing has pioneered our understanding of it - not just of the concept but of the challenges it is designed to meet: rapid automation and the emergence of a precarious workforce for whom wages derived from work will never be enough. As we move into an age where work and leisure become blurred, and work dissociated from incomes, Standing's analysis is vital." - Paul Mason; "Is it possible to make capitalism work for the many rather than the few? In this thoughtful book, Guy Standing focuses on the central problem of modern capitalism - the tendency of great wealth to transform itself into political power that corrupts the political process and generates laws and regulations favouring the wealthy - and suggests useful and important solutions." - Robert Reich, Labor Secretary to President Clinton, 1993-97; "Guy Standing's incisive critique of the corruption of rentier capitalism and his description of the potential of the rising precariat should put politicians and ruling elites on the alert." - John McDonnell, shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer