Techno-feudalism
Yanis Varoufakis
Penguin Random House
Pp 304, Rs 799
In this book, economist Yanis Varoufakis argues that capitalism is dead and a new economic era has begun. Insane sums of money that were supposed to re-float our economies in the wake of the financial crisis and the pandemic have ended up supercharging big tech’s hold over every aspect of the economy. Capitalism’s twin pillars—markets and profit— have been replaced with big tech’s platforms and rents.
A Theory of Everyone
Michael Muthukrishna
Hachette
Pp 448, Rs 799
Playing on the phrase ‘a theory of everything’ in physics, Michael Muthukrishna’s book offers a unified theory of human behaviour, culture and society—a theory of everyone. He draws on the most recent research across the sciences, humanities and the emerging field of cultural evolution to paint a panoramic picture of who we are and exactly what makes human beings different from all other forms of life on the planet.
The Diary of a CEO
Steven Bartlett
Penguin Random House
Pp 358, Rs 799
This is not a book about business strategy. This is a book about something more permanent. At the very heart of all the success and failure that the author has been exposed to —both his own entrepreneurial journey and through the thousands of interviews he has conducted on his podcast—are a set of principles that can stand the test of time, apply to any industry and be used by anyone who is search of building something great.
Concealing Caste
K Satyanarayana & Joel Lee
Oxford University Press
Pp 154, Rs 1,895
The caste system is supposed to be inescapable—you cannot change the caste into which you are born. But are there ways to elude the system? Concealing Caste tells the stories of women and men in India who, though born into communities stigmatised as ‘untouchable,’ are perceived by others as ‘high caste.’ Like the literature on racial passing in the American context, the stories and essays reveal the inner workings of a vicious social order.
