Is capitalism broken, or just evolving? As AI reshapes industries, climate change fuels instability, and inequality widens, the system faces unprecedented pressure. But capitalism’s critics aren’t new – they’ve been questioning its foundations for centuries.

Pulitzer Prize finalist John Cassidy (The New Yorker, FT, NYRB) joins political economist and leading voice on global finance Ann Pettifor at The Conduit to unpack the boldest critiques of capitalism, from 19th-century Luddites to today’s degrowth movement. Together, they will examine how thinkers like Karl Marx, Joan Robinson, and J.C. Kumarappa shaped economic debate—and what their ideas mean for the future of global markets.

Blending history, biography, and economic theory, Cassidy doesn’t just look back – he pushes us to ask: where do we go from here?

Event Schedule

12:45pm: House open

1pm: Event begins

2:15pm: Event ends

Speakers:

John Cassidy is a journalist, author, and staff writer at The New Yorker, where he has covered economics and politics since 1995. He writes The Financial Page column and has published in-depth articles on topics ranging from Keynesian economics and globalization to Karl Marx and the degrowth movement. A frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books, Cassidy is the author of How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities and Dot.Con: How America Lost Its Mind and Money in the Internet Era. His work explores the intersection of economics, history, and public policy, offering sharp analysis of financial crises, market dynamics, and capitalism’s evolution. Originally from Leeds, West Yorkshire, Cassidy studied at Oxford, Columbia, and NYU. He previously served as an editor at The Sunday Times and deputy editor at the New York Post. He now lives in Brooklyn with his family and is currently working on a new book about capitalism and its critics.

Ann Pettifor is a political economist, author, and public speaker specializing in monetary policy, sovereign debt, and global financial systems. She is the author of The Case for the Green New Deal and The Production of Money, both widely translated. Known for predicting the 2008 financial crisis, she led the Jubilee 2000 campaign, which helped secure $100 billion in debt relief for developing nations. As Director of PRIME, she promotes Keynesian economic policies. She holds advisory roles at leading research institutions and has advised the UK Labour Party. Based in London, she remains an active voice in economic and climate policy debates.