A blueprint for reimagining capitalism in the post-Covid era, from the Editor-in-Chief of MoneyWeek Merryn Somerset Webb
A blueprint for reimagining capitalism in the post-Covid era, from the Editor-in-Chief of MoneyWeek Merryn Somerset Webb
Should companies care about climate change? Should they be vanquishing the gender pay gap? Should they be advancing human rights in their supply chains? And if we think they should - can we, as ordinary people, bring about these sorts of changes?
The answer is, technically, yes. In the UK, the majority of us now own shares in listed companies - whether that be through a stocks and shares ISA, a self-invested portfolio or a workplace pension scheme. What few people know is that every share comes with a vote in company decisions, over everything from executive pay to corporate strategy. The technology exists to allow us to vote - all we need to do is learn how to use it. In Share Power, Merryn Somerset Webb, Editor-in-Chief of MoneyWeek, takes us deep into the world of corporate capitalism - from the privatisation of state-owned companies in the 1980s to the financial crash of 2008 and the growth of the modern multinational - to show us how capitalism went wrong and how, with six simple recommendations, every one of us now has the power to make it work for us.Merryn Somerset Webb makes a convincing case for public markets and greater shareholder democracy, shifting the balance of power from asset managers back to individual equity owners. A blueprint for reimagining capitalism in the post-Covid era.
Lionel Barber, author and former editor of The Financial TimesThis book is a lively, lucid, bracing and brilliantly forthright love letter to everyone who believes in the principles of democratic capitalism. It should be essential material for anyone who has a pension or investment account, or is a student of economics - and is a must-read challenge for the City of London and corporate leaders today.
Gillian Tett, Financial Times columnist and author of Anthro-VisionHow should we "reform" capitalism? Merryn Somerset Webb, one of our best financial journalists, is a powerful and persuasive advocate of "shareholder democracy". With 11 million people owning shares, directly or indirectly, she argues it is time for the individual owners of Corporate UK to assert their rights and empower themselves. Her manifesto explains how this can be done and capitalism transformed.
Norman Lamont, former Chancellor of the ExchequerMerryn is one of the clearest thinkers and communicators in finance. In this brilliant and concise book she explains why many people are disillusioned with capitalism; why they're wrong to be; and how we can make it even better and fairer than it already is. A must read.
John Stepek, executive editor of MoneyWeekHurrah for Merryn Somerset Webb who tells it as it is! She points to a choice: 'do you want to be as rich as you dare, or do you want to see the world a better place? For capitalism is like bleach; the more concentrated it is, the nastier it tastes. She takes no side, and gives practical advice to the votaries of both inclinations. Lesson no 1: votaries must vote!
Jonathan Ruffer, investor and philanthropistMerryn Somerset Webb is an award-winning financial commentator and Senior Columnist at Bloomberg. She is the former Editor-in-Chief of Moneyweek, the UK's best-selling financial magazine, and was a Contributing Editor and weekly columnist at the Financial Times. Somerset Webb is also a non-executive director of several UK listed investment trusts and a regular media commentator and speaker on all things financial. She lives in Edinburgh.
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