Escape From Capitalism: Economics is Political, and Other Liberating Truths (Penguin House, 2026).
Join us for an evening of discussion with Clara Mattei, author of Escape from Capitalism: Economics is Political & Other Liberating Truths (Penguin House, 2026). Clara will be in conversation with Peter Bloom (University of Essex), Camila Vergara (University of Essex), and Olimpia Burchiellaro (University of Essex).
Economics is sold as pure and apolitical: scientific, neutral, exact. This urgent book exposes its true role: to convince us there’s no alternative to capitalism. We live in a world dominated by the dogma that austerity is necessary, unemployment natural, endless wars inevitable and central banks all-powerful. It doesn’t have to be this way. In her bold, ground-breaking manifesto, economist Clara E. Mattei tears the mask off our economic system. She unpacks key concepts like growth, inflation, unemployment and balanced budgets to show how they’re weaponized to enforce market dependence, not freedom, stripping us of the power to shape the democratic decisions that govern our daily lives. Enduring problems such as poverty and inequality are not accidents or bugs in the economy, but core features – justified with pseudoscientific models to support a system that unfairly rewards people with the most resources. Why should we accept this? Capitalism, Mattei argues, isn’t inevitable, scientific, or natural – it’s a relatively young system that can be replaced. Inspired by a lineage of political resistance, Escape from Capitalism calls for us to challenge the broken economics of our times, and pave the way towards liberation.
Please check ticket link for speaker bios.
The event is organized by the COVER Research Centre.