Joseph Stiglitz: A New Social Contract

Bright Minds: from the John Adams Institute

Every week we point out that we get the likes of Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz to grace an Amsterdam stage and impart his wisdom to our audiences. Well, it’s time. In this episode, Joseph Stiglitz came to the DeLaMar Theater in the Dutch capital in November of 2019, to talk about his book, People, Power, and Profits.

In People, Power, and Profits, Stiglitz states that the U.S. got three things wrong in the past several decades: economics (too much faith in markets), politics (influence of money) and values (forgetting that government is here to serve all its citizens). He explains that the U.S. is in need of some serious reform and that government and democracy must be freed from the grasp of wealthy corporate forces in finance and other sectors.
Stiglitz doesn’t just criticize – he also comes with solutions. He shows how a decent middle-class life can once again be attainable for all by making sure that markets work for people and not the other way around. And he also talks about the rise of something called Progessive Capitalism.
After an initial lecture, Mr. Stiglitz is joined by Dutch journalist, Sheila Sitalsing, and Alexander Rinnooy Kan, Professor of Economics and Business at the University of Amsterdam. The evening was presented in collaboration with Athenaeum Uitgeverij.

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