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Anti-Fascist Economics

In Defence of Affordability, Dignity and Democracy

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Anti-Fascist Economics

By: Isabella Weber
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What would it mean to create an economics that guarantees dignity for all?

For decades, we were told that free markets would safeguard democracy. Instead, we are now living in an age of emergencies as the cost of living rises, democratic institutions weaken and the far right gains ground across the world. But it doesn't have to be this way. Drawing on history, political economy and her own experience at the centre of recent inflation debates, economist Isabella Weber argues that the rise of today's authoritarian movements is not an accident. It is rooted in an economic order that has treated livelihoods as expendable while elevating markets above democratic choice.

This book offers a bold alternative. Recovering the forgotten post-war ambition of an economics committed to ‘never again’, Weber argues that governments should secure affordable essentials, guarantee dignified work and build resilient economies capable of confronting climate change, technological disruption and geopolitical conflict. In place of market fundamentalism, she sets out a practical programme for an economy organised around human dignity rather than profit fundamentalism.

Both a clear-eyed diagnosis of our age and an inspiring blueprint for renewal, Anti-Fascist Economics shows that the future of democracy depends on choosing an economy that serves all of us.

© Isabella Weber 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

 Economics Elections & Political Process Politics & Government Theory
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Critic Reviews

Democracy cannot flourish without an economic reset. Anti-Fascist Economics is a powerful book as the failure of neoliberalism has paved the way for the rise of neonationalism and authoritarianism. A must-read (Thomas Piketty)
Isabella Weber’s excellent new book makes an urgent case that defending democracy is, at its heart, an economic question. Recognizing that markets alone cannot secure a dignified life for all, she cuts through the false dichotomy between taming inflation and protecting livelihoods to offer a bold alternative: an economics of essentials that treats access to housing, food, energy, and care as the material foundation of freedom—and of democracy itself. Anti-Fascist Economics is a well-written and necessary book for anyone who believes the economy must deliver for the benefit of all (Mariana Mazzucato)
For all their problems, our troubled times have one merit: they force us to challenge orthodoxy, reconnect with history, and invent new models for the future. In this page-turning book, blending the history of ideas with economic analysis, Isabella Weber maps out her vision for a new economic model centred on the conditions for a dignified life. A must-read (Gabriel Zucman)
One of the twenty-first century’s most exciting economic thinkers comes down from the mountain with a program to restore democracy that will resonate on every continent—a wonderful book by a marvelous mind (Zachary Carter)
In Anti-Fascist Economics, Isabella Weber restores to economics its role in promoting dignity, arguing that markets should serve humans rather than rule over them. Written with the rigour of the scholar and the passion of the activist, the book is historically nuanced, showing how fascism was enabled by the collusion between economic elites and a hierarchical mindset hostile to democratic development, with free-market dogmatism degenerating into the rule of the fittest. But it is also forward-looking, and, strangely, hopeful. Anti-Fascist Economics shows us the path not just away from all too familiar horror but toward a feasible, different, better world (Lea Ypi)
When inflation woke from its decades-long slumber in 2021, Isabella Weber exploded onto the scene with a fearless critique of mainstream economics. Now she’s back with an unapologetic account of what’s at stake for humanity and democracy if we fail to learn the lessons of the past. Drawing on history and evidence, she shows why the fight against inflation and the fight against fascism turn out to be the same fight, and what it will take to defeat both threats (Stephanie Kelton)
This great book from the extraordinary Isabella Weber sets a course for positive economic change and will do so for many years. Indeed the effects are already being felt, from New York City to Germany and many points between. There has been nothing quite so clear, on-point, and powerful for at least a generation (James K. Galbraith)
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