In this Stone Inequality Book Talk, philosopher Ingrid Robeyns will discuss her recent book Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth.
About the book: "How much money is too much? Is it ethical, and democratic, for an individual to amass a limitless amount of wealth, and then spend it however they choose? Many of us feel that the answer to that is no—but what can we do about it? Ingrid Robeyns has long written and argued for the principle she calls "limitarianism"—or the need to limit extreme wealth. This idea is gaining momentum in the mainstream – with calls to "tax the rich" and slogans like "every billionaire is a policy failure"—but what does it mean in practice? Robeyns explains the key reasons to support the case against extreme wealth: it keeps the poor poor and inequalities growing; it’s often dirty money; it undermines democracy; it’s one of the leading causes of climate change; nobody actually deserves to be a millionaire; there are better things to do with excess money; and the rich will benefit, too. This will be the first authoritative trade book to unpack the concept of a cap on wealth, where to draw the line, how to collect the excess and what to do with the money. In the process, Robeyns will ignite an urgent debate about wealth, one that calls into question the very forces we live by (capitalism and neoliberalism) and invites us to a radical reimagining of our world."
Ingrid Robeyns is a Belgian-Dutch philosopher and economist. She works as a professor at the Ethics Institute of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, where she holds the chair in Ethics of Institutions and directs the NWO-VICI project Visions for the Future. She is also an affiliate visiting professor at the Center for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) at the LSE in London, England. Early 2024 she published her first non-fiction book in English, Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth, which will appear in 10 languages. For more information on her work as a scholar click here, and as a writer click here.
LOCATION:Malkin Penthouse STATUS:CONFIRMED DTSTART:20250211T170000Z DTEND:20250211T183000Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR