Cohesive Capitalism - About
A multi-disciplinary initiative to develop a new economic paradigm
that serves the common interest
Light decorations in a dark area. Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash
The Programme on Cohesive Capitalism is a major new multidisciplinary initiative to investigate new politico-economic paradigms, institutions and policies that could serve the common interest. Led by Professor Tim Besley and Daniel Chandler, and housed in STICERD and the Department of Economics, it will bring together world-class thinkers in political philosophy and the social sciences to address fundamental questions about the kind of world we want and what is needed to bring it about.
The motivation for the Programme is a recognition of discontent about how the economic and political system is working. Concerns include slow wage and productivity growth, rising inequality and social division, and a breakdown of trust between citizens and their representatives. Addressing these problems means rethinking the prevailing neoliberal economic paradigm that has shaped economic policy on both the left and right since the 1980s.
History demonstrates that progress is possible. In the period following World War II, many governments made enormous advances in providing public services, promoting freedoms and ensuring that the benefits of markets were widely shared. This was helped by a strong commitment to open democratic systems underpinned by the rule of law. This model wasn't perfect and the challenge now is to develop a new political economy that learns from the past and meets the distinctive challenges of the present.
The Programme will contribute to this effort through a combination of original research, public engagement and curriculum development. It builds on LSE's longstanding commitment to developing and communicating new ideas and policies to promote cohesion, well-being, productivity, resilience, security, freedom and opportunity.
Funding
The Programme on Cohesive Capitalism has been made possible thanks to a transformational gift from the Open Society Foundations, as part of its Ideas and Fellowships Collaborative.