Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-263) and index.

The prevailing view -- The five building blocks of capitalism -- Freedom and power -- The new property -- The new monopoly -- The new contracts -- The new bankruptcy -- The enforcement mechanism -- Summary : the market mechanism as a whole -- The meritocratic myth -- The hidden mechanism of ceo pay -- The subterfuge of Wall Street pay -- The declining bargaining power of the middle -- The rise of the working poor -- The rise of the non-working rich -- Reprise -- The threat to capitalism -- The decline of countervailing power -- Restoring countervailing power -- Ending upward distribution -- Reinventing the corporation -- When robots take over -- The citizen's bequest -- New rules.

Perhaps no one is better acquainted with the intersection of finance and politics than Robert B. Reich, and now he reveals the cycles of power and influence that have perpetuated a new American oligarchy, a shrinking middle class, and the greatest income inequality and wealth disparity in eighty years. He makes clear how centrally problematic our veneration of the "free market" is, and how it has masked the power of the moneyed interests to tilt the market to their benefit. He exposes the falsehoods that have been bolstered by the corruption of our democracy by big corporations and the revolving door between Washington and Wall Street -- that all workers are paid what they're "worth," a higher minimum wage equals fewer jobs, corporations must serve shareholders before employees. Ever the pragmatist, Reich sees hope for reversing our slide toward inequality and diminished opportunity by shoring up the countervailing power of everyone else. Here is a revelatory indictment of our economic status quo and an empowering call to civic action.-