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6Nov

Great global transformation: national market liberalism in a multipolar world

Hosted by the International Inequalities Institute
In-person and online public event (Old Theatre, Old Building)
Thursday 6 November 2025 6.30pm - 8pm

Join us for this talk by Branko Milanovic about his new book, The Great Global Transformation: National Market Liberalism in a Multipolar World.

Global neoliberalism is on its last legs, while a new international economic order is taking hold. Trade blocs, tariff wars, economic sanctions, and national champions are in; nationalism, anti-immigration movements and the far-right are on the rise. Liberalism is being rejected by the civic realm, as the status quo of the past fifty years crumbles. What remains in its wake? Drawing on original research, economist Branko Milanovic reveals the seismic shifts that are shaping our world. He details the facts: how the rising economic power of Asia is creating a new global ‘middle class’ in the greatest reshuffle of incomes since the Industrial Revolution. He explores our fears: why are we becoming increasingly unhappy, when the world is becoming richer and more equal? And he shows us the fight ahead: as plutocracy returns, global war threatens, and a new system silently shapes our nations, driving malcontent to breaking point.

Meet our speaker and chair

Branko Milanovic (@BrankoMilan) is a research professor at the Graduate Center at City University of New York (CUNY), Senior Scholar at the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality at CUNY, and Visiting Professor at the International Inequalities Institute at LSE. Milanovic’s main area of work is income inequality, in individual countries and globally, including in pre-industrial societies.

Kirsten Sehnbruch is a Distinguished Policy Fellow at the International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Previously, she was a Research Fellow at the Universidad de Chile, Director of the Institute for Public Policy at the Universidad Diego Portales (Chile), and a Senior Lecturer at the University of California, at Berkeley.

More about this event

The (@LSEInequalities) at LSE brings together experts from many LSE departments and centres to lead critical and cutting-edge research to understand why inequalities are escalating in numerous arenas across the world, and to develop critical tools to address these challenges.

Join us on campus or register to watch the event online at LSE Live. LSE Live is the home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at LSE, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on LSE's YouTube channel.

This event is part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2025, taking place from 18 October to 8 November with events across the UK.

Hashtag for this event: #LSEEvents

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