Capitalism has seemingly conquered the world. Market economies are now the “only game in town.” However, at the same time, this system that has created so much wealth finds itself on the verge of interlocking crises of inequality, environmental degradation, and geopolitical competition. The Berggruen Institute “Future of Capitalism” program confronts these challenges by trying to better understand how a global capitalism can be reshaped and regulated at all levels of governance: regional, national, and international. Our program is focused around two interlocking themes: pre-distribution and multi-level economic policy making.
The pre-distribution agenda asks how we can get ahead of changes in technology and social structure to make sure that states and publics have ownership of wealth producing assets at their inception. We have explored various forms of rethinking ownership including sovereign wealth funds, publicly supported individual savings institutions, public retirement institutions, and cooperative enterprise ownership. We have worked with policy makers to envision ways that publics can retain stakes in common goods that are now being commercialized by private actors.
Our multilevel governance research asks how we can adapt existing institutions and establish new mechanisms to build regulatory and fiscal systems that are flexible and comprehensive enough to govern global capitalism on the international, national, and regional scale. We have been active in campaigns to help extend Federal monetary authority to state governments and to re-imagine global monetary orders.
Some of our partners have included, the Aspen Institute, the St. Louis Federal Reserve, the Georgetown Center for Retirement Initiatives, and the Institute for the Future. Together, we strive to build an economy that is both productive and inclusive. One that makes sure that productivity and wealth go to all stakeholders rather than a lucky few.
