Algorithms and artificial intelligence increasingly drive our lives, cognitive inputs supplant physical inputs in the workplace, and big philanthropies rather than governments tackle many societal problems. To examine any one of these interrelated trends alone is to miss a seismic shift in world order. By homing in on the confluence of algorithmic capitalism, cognitive capitalism, and philanthropic capitalism, this tightly argued book offers a novel interpretation of an unnoticed and understudied transformation. The three forces form a trialectic, a system that lacks effective controls and is spreading globally. Conducted on four continents, the research shows how runaway capitalism is making work and daily life ever-more precarious and sparking anti-precarity movements. Tracing these metamorphoses both in the global North and global South, the author identifies plausible scenarios for blunting the sharp edges of runaway capitalism.

Based on hard empirical data and qualitative case studies in the global North and South, Runaway Capitalism is aimed at a wide readership. Written in vivid prose, it is appropriate for university students, researchers, policy intellectuals, and a general audience interested in how to address major perils in geopolitics and economics.

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James H. Mittelman is Distinguished Research Professor and University Professor Emeritus at American University.