Power and Progress

UPDATED WITH A NEW PREFACE
LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES AND SCHRODERS BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR
SHORTLISTED FOR THE LIONEL GELBER PRIZE
A FINANCIAL TIMES TECHNOLOGY BOOK OF THE YEAR
‘The blueprint we need for the challenges ahead’ Shoshana Zuboff
‘If you are not already an addict of Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson’s previous books, Power and Progress is guaranteed to make you one’ Jared Diamond
‘A breathtaking tour of the history and future of technology’ Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo
A bold new interpretation of why technology benefits the elites – and how we must reshape the path of innovation to create true shared prosperity.
A thousand years of history make one thing clear: progress is not automatic but depends on the choices we make. Much of the wealth generated by agricultural advances during the Middle Ages was captured by the Church while the peasants starved. The first hundred years of industrialization delivered stagnant incomes for workers, while making a few people rich. Throughout the world today, digital technologies and artificial intelligence increase inequality and undermine democracy. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Power and Progress demonstrates that the path of technology was once – and can again be – brought under control. With their breakthrough economic theory and manifesto for a better society, Acemoglu and Johnson provide the vision to reshape how we innovate so we can create real prosperity for all.