THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE GREEDY. WHY WE’VE LOST FAITH IN CAPITALISM – SAVILIAN MARTIN VANDER WEYER TALK. INTRODUCED AND CHAIRED BY SAVILIAN DAVID YOUNG.

From the Industrial Revolution to the internet, capitalism has been a great engine of human progress. But now it stands accused of allowing the greedy few to run riot over the rest of society, exploiting workers and suppliers and recklessly damaging the planet in pursuit of profit. Where did these accusations come from – and are they true?

In this lively critique, Spectator business editor Martin Vander Weyer argues that capitalism has indeed lost its moral compass, has lost public trust and is in urgent need of repair.

But this is no far-left analysis seeking to champion a thinly veiled Marxist platform. Written from the point of view of a deep admirer of entrepreneurship and private-sector investment as a proven path to innovation and prosperity, The Good, the Bad and the Greedy argues that businesses always operate in a social context and that a ‘good’ business in a moral sense can also, in a perfect world, be a business that richly rewards its creators and backers.

From the writer whom Boris Johnson called ‘the most oracular and entertaining business commentator’ in London, this thoughtful critique of 21st-century capitalism formulates core principles that separate the good from the bad and the greedy and warns that the system must be reformed and faith in it restored – before the next generation commit the ultimate act of self-harm by rejecting capitalism in favour of something worse.

Martin Vander Weyer is the weekly ‘Any Other Business’ columnist of The Spectator and a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph. He also leads The Spectator’s Economic Innovator of the Year Awards for UK entrepreneurs. While writing this book, he was an Academic Visitor at St Antony’s College, Oxford.

Before turning to journalism, he was an investment banker in London, Brussels and the Far East. He has previously published Falling Eagle: The Decline of Barclays Bank (2000); Closing Balances: Business Obituaries from the Daily Telegraph (2006); Fortune’s Spear (2011); Any Other Business: Life In and Out of the City (2014); and January Poet (2020).

“We have a problem: we know capitalism works, but we also know most people think it doesn’t. Being pro-capitalism isn’t fashionable but it is right. How do we sort this out? This timely, thoughtful and witty book offers some excellent answers.”  Merryn Somerset Webb, editor-in-chief of MoneyWeek and Financial Times columnist.

“Martin Vander Weyer has written a magisterial analysis of how modern capitalism has lost its soul. With public support for free-market capitalism evaporating, we need to restore the sense of purpose and obligation that the greatest companies once possessed but which has been lost in a jumble of management-speak, mission statements and cost controls. The Good, the Bad and the Greedy is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand why a system that has delivered unprecedented prosperity has also become so unpopular – and who wants to start figuring out what we might do about it.”

Matthew Lynn, Daily Telegraph columnist

“Martin Vander Weyer makes a clear case that capitalism is not dead – but is often broken by broken people.”  Lord Browne of Madingley, former chief executive of BP