Capitalism in an Age of Conflict w/ Charles Hecker
London
W2 1QJ
How profound is the pressure on global political and economic alliances? Join Charles Hecker, author of Zero Sum, in a panel discussion with Emma Nelson, Marta Lorimer, Simon Bergman and Tanya Costello on the theme of Capitalism in an Age of Conflict.
The universe, we’re told, is expanding. And for decades, the world of business expanded with it. Starting in the late 20th century – and kicked into high gear with the end of the Cold War – globalisation was one of the hottest watchwords in geopolitics and economics. But nothing can expand forever. Is globalisation on the verge of a major and disruptive contraction? Will global economic and political alliances fragment even more over the next few years? How fragile is is the global economy and what are its greatest threats? On the national level, will economic nationalism and trade wars bring higher inflation and slower growth? And will the once-porous borders of the past once again become solid, black lines? What did international companies learn – or fail to learn – after thirty years of doing business in Russia, once a darling of globalisation?
About the book
When the hammer and sickle came down in late 1991, Russia’s feverish new market opened for business. From banking to breweries, sectors emerged out of nowhere, in a country that had never had a functioning economy. For the next three turbulent decades, a wild, proto-capitalist free-for-all transformed Russian society.
Then, in 2022, Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The market started to collapse; Western firms fled Moscow’s skyscrapers. No country this large had ever remade itself so dizzyingly – now, just as dramatically, it was over. The intervening decades had seen phenomenal successes and crushing failures; the creation and destruction of enormous fortunes. How did it all happen?
Zero Sum brings to life the complex, vivid colour of one of the greatest experiments in the history of global commerce. What have businesses learnt—or failed to learn—from this adventure, both about Russia and about dynamics between countries and companies in the face of relentless change?
About the author
Charles Hecker has spent forty years travelling and working in the Soviet Union and Russia. He has worked as a journalist and a geopolitical risk consultant and has lived in Miami and Moscow. He currently resides in East London. A fluent Russian speaker, he holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University.
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