Why Capitalists Need Communists

The Politics of Flourishing
By Charles Seaford
7^th March
£19.99 | Softcover | 978-3-319-98754-5 

A dynamic call to arms for integrated ethical capitalism that will secure the future of Britain’s economy 

Brexit, the rise of populist politics and cries for radical reform grace our headlines on a daily basis. Britain faces huge challenges: inequality, public services under constant pressure, climate change — and in the long term the impacts of automation and artificial intelligence. At the same time, the political and economic elite seem to have reached an impasse: there is a sense that things can only get worse. In Why Capitalists Need Communists, Charles Seaford demonstrates that this need not be, that radical, progressive change is perfectly possible and that the polarisation and nostalgia afflicting us is not inevitable.

Based on interviews with experts in the fields of politics, business and finance — from MPs Liam Bryne and Liz Truss, to business managers like Mike Barry (Director of Marks and Spencer), professors including Jules Goddard (London Business School), civil society leaders like Frances O’ Grady (General Secretary of the TUC) and international diplomats including Ma Hui (Minister, Chinese Embassy) — Seaford methodically explores and demonstrates that tackling the challenges will take planning, redistribution and re-fashioned business and finance and puts forward his new ideology, one which confirms that we really can create the conditions for more people to flourish.

With Britain standing at a crossroads, Why Capitalists Need Communists meets the challenges of the moment and offers a convincing blueprint to overcome them, making this a must-read for anyone invested in our future.

-ENDS-

About the author
Based in London, Charles Seaford is Director of An Economy that Works, an alliance of businesses promoting polices to advance sustainability, social justice and wellbeing, and a consultant to the World Future Council. He was formerly Head of the Centre for Wellbeing at NEF where he led projects on wellbeing, indicators, housing and industrial policy. Before that he was an advisor at the Sustainable Development Commission and an organisational change consultant. He co-founded Prospect magazine, has an MBA from London Business School and a BA from Oxford. As well as numerous papers for the New Economics Foundation, his most recent publications include: Is Wellbeing a useful concept for progressives? (Centre for Wellbeing in Public Policy, University of Sheffield, 2015, working paper), What implications does well-being science have for economic policy? (in T. Hamalainen and J. Michaelson ed), Well-being and Beyond (Edward Elgar, 2014), Measuring what Matters (in F. Huppert and C. Cooper eds), and Interventions and Policies to Enhance Well-being (Wiley Blackwell, 2014, co-author).

For more information or to get in touch with the author please contact:
Rebecca Krahenbuhl – Communications Manager, Palgrave Macmillan
rebecca.krahenbuhl@palgrave.com, +44 020 7014 6634