Branko Milanovic. Caplitasim, Alone: The Future of the System That Rules the World (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2019, 287p)

Year 2025, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 157 - 163, 30.10.2025

Evren Gülser

Abstract

Branko Milanović’in Capitalism, Alone: The Future of the System That Rules the World adlı eseri, kapitalizmin neden ve nasıl dünyanın tek baskın ekonomik sistemi haline geldiğini irdeleyerek, geleceğini şekillendiren gerilimleri ele alıyor. Milanović, Batı’daki Liberal Meritokratik Kapitalizm ile Çin örneğinde ortaya çıkan Politik Kapitalizm’i karşılaştırarak her iki sistemin içsel çelişkilerini titizlikle inceliyor. Bu çalışma, yazarın temel argümanlarını özetliyor, katkılarını vurguluyor ve kitabın sınırlılıklarını tartışıyor.

Keywords

Politik Ekonomi , Liberal Meritokratik Kapitalizm , Politik Kapitalizm , Küresel Eşitsizlik , Küreselleşme

Branko Milanovic. Caplitasim, Alone: The Future of the System That Rules the World (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2019, 287p)

Abstract

Branko Milanović’s Capitalism, Alone: The Future of the System That Rules the World (2019) examines why, and how capitalism has become the world’s only dominant economic system and explores the tensions that now shape its future. Milanović contrasts Liberal Meritocratic Capitalism in the West with Political Capitalism, exemplified by China, and carefully dissects the internal contradictions of each. This review outlines some of the author’s main arguments, highlights the book’s contributions, and considers its limitations.

Keywords

Political Economy , Liberal Meritocratic Capitalism , Political Capitalism , Global Inequality , Globalization

Thanks

Special thanks to Hasan Tekgüç, who guided me through the book from beginning to end, first by encouraging me to read it and later by providing comments on the final draft.

References

• Bayer, Patrick., Ross, Stephen, L., ve Topa, Giorgio (2008). Place of work and place of residence: Informal hiring networks and labor market outcomes. Journal of political Economy, 116(6), 1150-1196. https://doi.org/10.1086/595975.
• Dale, Stacy. B., Krueger, Alan. B. (2002). Estimating the payoff to attending a more selective college: An application of selection on observables and unobservables. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 117(4), 1491-1527. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355302320935089.
• Eliason, Marcus, Hensvik, Lena, Kramarz, Francis., & Skans, Oscar. N. (2023). Social connections and the sorting of workers to firms. Journal of Econometrics, 233(2), 468-506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2021.12.018.
• Markovits, Daniel. (2019). The Meritocracy Trap: How America's Foundational Myth Feeds Inequality, Dismantles the Middle Class, and Devours the Elite. Pinguin Press: UK.
• Milanović, Branko. (2019). Capitalism, alone: The future of the system that rules the world. Harvard University Press: US.
• Pomeranz, Keneth. (2009). The great divergence: China, Europe, and the making of the modern world economy. In The Great Divergence. Princeton University Press: US.
• Rawls, John. (1971). The Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harward University Press: US.
• Rivera, Lauren. A. (2012). Hiring as Cultural Matching: The Case of Elite Professional Service Firms. American Sociological Review, 77(6), 999-1022. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122412463213.