The Market Economy Manifesto

Scholars and the public are increasingly exploring alternatives to the prevailing capitalist economic system. This discourse was initially sparked by the Great Financial Crisis and has since accelerated due to escalating environmental challenges. Today, it is further intensified by ongoing disruptions to the international economic order. This book makes a groundbreaking contribution to this debate. This “Market Economy Manifesto” presents a vision of a market economy that operates outside capitalist frameworks and principles, while grounded in fundamentals such as ethical commitments, personal responsibility, entrepreneurship, and competition. It articulates thirty concise theses that define the institutional scaffolds of an ethical and ecological market economy, covering all economic sectors, from entrepreneurship to public finance and international trade. Each thesis is elaborated in a section devoted to the scientific foundations, supported by references to contemporary economic research, establishing the Manifesto’s vision as “realistic” while acknowledging the political obstacles to its implementation. Accordingly, a third chapter offers proposals for navigating these constraints through specific regulatory and fiscal policies that are achievable within the current socio-economic context. The book aims to bridge the political divide between the right and left by proposing common ground that addresses citizens' concerns, which have contributed to the rise of populism, while upholding a progressive agenda focused on eco-social change. This work is intended for a diverse audience, including concerned citizens invested in economic policy and societal transformation. It also challenges members of the economics profession to engage in discussions about a radical reformation of capitalism.