Power and profit: stresses and futures of market economies

The famous epithet that “the old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters”, is most often attributed to the Marxist thinker and revolutionary Antonio Gramsci. It seems especially relevant to our time and to the man that we are honouring, as we search for an understanding of the changes that are going on around us. We face intense environmental crises. Economic policy ideas, which appeared sound, are now being questioned. Institutions are under challenge. Will our social support systems survive and will the poor benefit?

It is a time for radical and deep thinking of the kind that our colleague Meghnad Desai, who sadly passed away in July 2025, was a master. This event will honour his memory by bringing together a group of leading thinkers to debate the future of market economies and to offer their thoughts on the main challenges that lie ahead.

Meet our speakers and chair

Montek Singh Ahluwalia is a distinguished Indian economist and civil servant, recognized for his role in India's economic reforms since the mid-1980s and as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. He was at the World Bank before joining the Indian government, where he served as the Finance Secretary and Special Secretary to the Prime Minister. Ahluwalia also led the IMF's Independent Evaluation Office and authored the book Backstage: The Story of India's High Growth Years.

Francesco Caselli is the Norman Sosnow Professor of Economics at LSE. His work includes contributions to the understanding of convergence and cross-country income differentials, and he is the author of the book Technology Differences over Space and Time. He was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 2010, and he is also a fellow of the Econometric Society (2019).

Stephen Nickell is currently Honorary Fellow of Nuffield College. He was also a member of the UK Budget Responsibility Committee from 2010 to 2016. He has held Economics Professorships at both LSE and Oxford and was President of the Royal Economic Society from 2000 to 2003. He was a member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee from 2000 to 2006. He is a Fellow of both the Econometric Society and the British Academy.

Mary Kaldor is Professor Emeritus of Global Governance and Director of the Conflict Research Programme at LSE. She has pioneered the concepts of new wars and global civil society. Her elaboration of the real-world implementation of human security has directly influenced European and national governments.

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