Reich to Judt: Get a Brain

In early December, I posted on Tony Judt's stinging essay on the future of capitalism in the New York Review of Books, which used Robert Reich's Supercapitalism as a jumping-off point (see Tony Judt: Innovation Ain't Always Progress). Reich has responded in the latest issue of NYRB. He calls for "a more effective barrier between the economy and politics, between capitalism and democracy." He also says "We will need to practice democratic citizenship with as much zeal as we practice consumerism, and elect leaders who inspire us to do so."

Judt gets the last word, notable mostly for its disdain for Reich's suggestions. Dinged by Reich for retreating into "the reassuring fatalism of the old left narrative," Judt responds that he is past that, and it is no longer clear what now.

The brief, sharp debate is here: Supercapitalism: An Exchange.

Michael Fitzgerald

Michael Fitzgerald writes about innovation and other big ideas in business for publications like the New York Times, The Economist, Fast Company, Inc. and CIO. He’s worked as a writer or editor at Red Herring, ZDNet, TechTV and Computerworld, and has received numerous awards as a writer and editor. Most recently, his piece on the hacker collective the l0pht won the 2008 award for best trade piece from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. He was also a 2007 Templeton-Cambridge Journalism Fellow in Science and Religion.

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