Capitalism: Can we prosper without growth?

Participants

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim

Former President of Mauritius

Anand Giridharadas

Bestselling author, journalist and political commentator

Jason Hickel

Anthropologist at the London School of Economics

Ghida Fakhry

Doha Debates Moderator

Govinda Clayton

Doha Debates Connector, Senior Researcher in Peace Processes at ETH Zurich

Nelufar Hedayat

Doha Debates correspondent & host of Course Correction and #DearWorldLive

Deep Dive

Resources for educators

Our educational programs and resources draw upon the Majlis, the specific cultural tradition of Arab problem-solving venues, and engage in communal reasoning and productive dialogue. Learn how to have better conversations about capitalism with our customizable lesson plans.

View and download lesson plans

Is capitalism built for today’s challenges, or is it due for sweeping changes?

Jason Hickel, an anthropologist and author of The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and Its Solutions, focuses on inequality and ecological economics. He argues that capitalism’s growth is a killer, the corrupt engine behind climate destruction and ecological collapse. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, the former president of Mauritius and an adviser at the Global Network for Africa’s Prosperity, defends capitalism from the practical side of how capitalistic growth transformed Mauritius into a country with greater resources for more people. Anand Giridharadas, a Time magazine editor and the author of Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, paints a picture of the stark difference between capitalism in concept and capitalism in practice.

This debate was held at Northwestern University in Qatar on October 23, 2019.