1619: “Capitalism,” by Matthew Desmond

Why the richest 1 percent of Americans owns 40 percent of the country’s wealth

Hi Book Clubbers! Hope you had a good weekend. We’re already in Week 9. We have our third discussion coming up soon. Here’s our schedule for your reference.

This week, let’s read “Capitalism,” by Matthew Desmond. The essay argues that slavery, encoded in the U.S. Constitution and bolstered by the cotton industry and the removal of Native Americans, led directly to America’s “brutal” form of capitalism. Prof. Desmond writes: “America has evolved into one of the world’s most inequitable societies. Many of the political systems, legal arrangements, cultural beliefs, and economic structures that uphold and promote this level of inequality trace their roots back to slavery and its aftermath.”

This week

1. Read “Capitalism,” by Matthew Desmond.

2. Recommended: Share something you learned from this essay with someone in your life. Then tell us about it. How did the conversation go?

Also, please feel free to reach out. All you need to do is hit reply. Thank you and have a great week!