• Runaway Train: The Perilous and Pernicious Path of Private Capital Worldwide

    Author(s):
    Empower (view group)
    Date:
    2021
    Subject(s):
    Economics, Human rights, Markets--Social aspects
    Item Type:
    Book
    Tag(s):
    capitalism, Private Capital, private equity, private finance, private markets, Economic criticism, Sociology of markets
    Permanent URL:
    https://doi.org/10.17613/6ksz-1874
    Abstract:
    The increase, expansion, and acceleration of private capital are both causes and symptoms of the decay of capitalism as it silently spreads across new markets and technologies and seeps into unregulated crevices, obfuscating sources of investment or their effects on society. After conducting dozens of stakeholder interviews and reviewing nearly a thousand sources over six months, at Empower we conclude that there is no single definition, official source, or even common understanding of private capital. It is quintessentially opaque. What is clear, however, is that private capital is present, pernicious, and — on its current runaway course — perilous. In this book we aim to catch up with the runaway train of advanced capitalism that propels private capital forward. We explain where private capital comes from, its salient trends, and worrisome characteristics. We document its pervasiveness and insidiousness worldwide. We explore opportunities for transparency and accountability across the investment chain. And we offer recommendations for our intended audience — corporate accountability advocates and other civil society stakeholders of corporations — as we attempt collectively to contain if not reverse the shift of capital from public markets under public scrutiny into private markets beyond our influence. If we are to prevent the decay and deepening of capitalism from further affecting human rights, the environment, and the common good and reassert public decision-making over our economic systems, we must join forces across the frontiers that separate us. To this end, this book also speaks to researchers and scholars, advocates and campaigners, funders, journalists, investors and pensioners, and even like-minded regulators and politicians.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Book     Show details
    Pub. Date:
    May 2021
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    1 year ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial

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