Rethinking freedom, fairness, and the economic order

📢 To ensure fair access, seats for this event will be released in two waves:

The first 60 seats are available now; the second 60 seats will be released on August 11th.

Across much of the world, a growing number of people feel that today’s economic model is not working in their interest. Productivity is stagnating. Inequality continues to rise. And despite the rhetoric of “free markets,” many of the most important decisions—about investment, innovation, and access—are shaped not by competition, but by a complex relationship between governments, financial institutions, and large corporations.

British political economist and author Grace Blakeley argues that this relationship lies at the heart of today’s political economy. Drawing on a broad body of contemporary economic research, she suggests that we are not living in an age of market freedom—but in a system of economic planning, where decisions are made without democratic input or accountability.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Blakeley explores the long arc of capitalism’s development since the 20th century: the decline of antitrust enforcement, the rise of corporate concentration, the expansion of state intervention not to restrain markets—but to support and protect them. She also considers what it would mean to reintroduce democratic voice into this system, and to ask not just how the economy is managed, but for whom.

Whether you agree or disagree with her conclusions, Blakeley’s work offers an essential opportunity to examine the foundations of our economic order—and the practical reforms that could shape a more resilient and inclusive future.