Alternatives to capitalism
There are frequent discussions (including at this year’s Festival) on how our current economic system should be reformed and improved to address global challenges. But, should we be thinking more radically about the problems with capitalism? Can we imagine an alternative way of organising our societies?
Meet our speakers and chair
Grace Blakeley (@graceblakeley, @graceblakeley.substack.com) is an author, journalist, and political commentator. She attended the University of Oxford where she graduated with a first-class honours degree in philosophy, economics, and politics. She has written for the Guardian, Tribune and the New Statesman among others, and appears regularly on television and radio, including on ITV Good Morning Britain, TalkTV and Jeremy Vine on Channel Five.
Abby Innes (@abbyinnes.bsky.social) is Associate Professor of Political Economy in the European Institute at LSE. She is the author of Czechoslovakia: The Short Goodbye (Yale University Press, 2001) and Late Soviet Britain: Why Materialist Utopias Fail (Cambridge University Press, 2023). She has published widely on issues of party-state development and state capture in Central Europe, and, more recently, on the political economy of the neoliberal state in the UK. Her work has appeared in The Review of International Political Economy, Comparative Politics, The Journal of Common Market Studies, East European Politics and Societies and Current History, The London Review of Books and numerous LSE blogs.
Ryan Shorthouse (@RyanShorthouse) is the Founder and Executive Chair of Bright Blue. He was Chief Executive from 2014-2023. Under his leadership, Bright Blue has grown significantly in size, reputation and impact. The organisation was shortlisted for the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 UK social policy think tank of the year and UK environment and energy think tank of the year in the prestigious annual Prospect Magazine awards. Ryan was appointed a Commissioner of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). He is also a Senior Visiting Fellow at King’s College London and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Bath.
Richard Davies is an economist and author. He teaches courses on economics and data science in the School of Public Policy at LSE. Richard is the Director of the UK’s Economics Observatory and the LSE’s Growth Co-Lab, a joint project with Harvard University providing advice to governments on inclusive growth. He is the author of Extreme Economies, and Making Sense of the Modern Economy.
More about this event
This event is part of the LSE Festival: Visions for the Future running from Monday 16 to Saturday 21 June 2025, with a series of events exploring the threats and opportunities of the near and distant future, and what a better world could look like. Booking for all Festival events will open on Monday 19 May.
Hashtag for this event: #LSEFestival
Join our mailing list
Sign up to receive email updates from LSE Events including the latest news and event announcements.
Podcast & video
A podcast of this event is available to download from Alternatives to capitalism
A video of this event is available to watch at Alternatives to capitalism
Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.
Many speakers at LSE events also write for
, which present research and critical commentary accessibly for a public audience. Follow
, the
, the
,
and the
to learn more about the debates our events series present.
For events that are livestreamed, automated live captions are available. Please note that this feature uses Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology, or machine generated transcription and is not 100% accurate.
Photographs taken on behalf of LSE are often used on our social media accounts, website and publications. At events, photographs could include broad shots of the audience and lecture theatre, of speakers during the talk, and of audience members as they participate in the Q&A.
If you are photographed participating in an event Q&A but would not like your photograph to be stored for future use, please contact events@lse.ac.uk.
Please contact the Press Office if you would like to request a press seat or have a media query about this event, email
. Please note that press seats are usually allocated at least 24 hours before each event.
We aim to make all LSE events available as a podcast subject to receiving permission from the speaker/s to do this, and subject to no technical problems with the recording of the event. Podcasts are normally available 1 week after the event.
of past events can be found online
Follow LSE public events on X for the latest updates on all our events and ticket releases.
Livestreams and archive videos of past lectures are shared on our YouTube channel while event podcasts can be found on the LSE Player.
Event updates and other information about what’s happening at LSE can be found on our Facebook page and for live photos from events and around campus, follow us on Instagram.
Attending our events in-person or online? Join the conversation using #LSEEvents.
If you are planning to attend this event and would like details on how to get here and what time to arrive, as well as on accessibility and special requirements, please refer to
. LSE aims to ensure that people have equal access to these public events, but please contact the events organiser as far as possible in advance if you have any access requirements so that arrangements, where possible, can be made. If the event is ticketed, please ensure you get in touch in advance of the ticket release date.
Access Guides to all our venues can be viewed online
.
LSE has now introduced wireless for guests and visitors in association with 'The Cloud', also in use at many other locations across the UK. If you are on campus visiting for the day or attending a conference or event, you can connect your device to wireless. See more information and create an account at Join the Cloud.
Visitors from other participating institutions are encouraged to use
. If you are having trouble connecting to eduroam, please contact your home institution for assistance.
The Cloud is only intended for guest and visitor access to wifi. Existing LSE staff and students are encouraged to use
instead.
LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of The London School of Economics and Political Science.
From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing on the day of the event.
LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Join the LSE Events mailing list
