Psychopath Economics is a book about the logic of economic power. It argues that today’s system is psychopathic, in that it is dominated by an elite – the so-called 1% – that cares little about consequences, other than the continuation of its dominance.
The book argues that, being psychopathic, the elite and the neoliberal economy it has shaped are ultimately self-destructive, because they exploit human and natural capital to their natural limits, thus threatening to destroy the economic and environmental foundations of modern society.
Drawing on the work of experts and commentators from a range of fields – including economics, anthropology, history and social psychology – this book looks at the role of belief systems and the psychopathic logic of power in the rise and fall of civilisations.
One of the book’s core arguments is that, when elites feel remote from everyone else and are left unchallenged, they can drive their societies to destruction. Today’s elite shows every sign of repeating this cycle. The book argues that only by attacking the systems and assets that further the elite’s control – specifically financial assets, debts and intellectual property – will ordinary people have any chance of taking back power and altering today’s societies’ long-term cycle of decline.
In this way, Psychopath Economics is my contribution to the momentum for change.
Copies of the book can be pre-ordered via the crowdfunding platform, StartJoin, at startjoin.com/psychoeconomix. An introductory video about the book is also available here.