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.

About the Authors

Simon Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Sloan School at MIT, where he is also head of the Global Economics and Management group. Previously chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, he has worked on global economic crises and recoveries for thirty years. Johnson has published more than 300 high-impact pieces in leading publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Atlantic, and Financial Times. He is the co-author (with Jonathan Gruber) of Jump-Starting America, and (with James Kwak) of White House Burning and the national bestseller 13 Bankers. He works with entrepreneurs, elected officials, and civil society organizations around the world.

Daron Acemoglu is Institute Professor of Economics at MIT, researching the historical origins of prosperity, poverty, and the effects of new technologies on economic growth, employment, and inequality. He is the recipient of several awards and honours, including the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded to economists under forty judged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge (2005); the BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award in economics, finance, and management for his lifetime contributions (2016), and the Kiel Institute's Global Economy Prize in economics (2019). He is the co-author (with James Robinson) of The Narrow Corridor and the New York Times bestseller Why Nations Fail.