Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth

How much is too much? e10 million

We all notice when the poor get poorer- when there are more rough sleepers and food bank queues start to grow. But if the rich become richer, there is nothing much to see in public and, for most of us, daily life doesn’t change. Or at least, not immediately.

In this game-changing intervention, leading philosopher and economist Ingrid Robeyns exposes the true extent of our wealth problem, which has spent the past fifty years silently spiralling out of control. In moral, political, economic, social, environmental and psychological terms, she shows, extreme wealth is not only unjustifiable but harmful to us all – the rich included.

In place of our current system, Robeyns offers a breathtakingly clear alternative- limitarianism. The answer to so many of the problems posed by neoliberal capitalism – and the opportunity for a vastly better world – lies in placing a hard limit on the wealth that any one person can accumulate. Because nobody deserves to be a millionaire. Not even you.

Review: The best case I’ve read for putting an upper limit on the accumulation of wealth. Even the super-rich might be glad if there was a finishing line! — Richard Wilkinson
You might find yourself, as I did, underlining a sentence or three on every page, and adding exclamation points in the margin — Tim Adams * Observer *
Valuable, intriguing, provocative … Robeyns poses a question that very rarely gets asked in mainstream politics … How much is too much? * Guardian *
She’s done the maths. We need Limitarianism. Urgently * Irish Examiner *
Provocative … begs an interesting debate about society’s future * The Times *
A landmark … gripping, riveting, vivid … We need to embrace, as Robeyns so compellingly argues, limits on income and wealth. * Inequality.org *
Powerful – a must-read — Thomas Piketty

Format: Hardback
Pages: 336
Imprint: Allen Lane
Publication date: 12/03/2024