Edge of Chaos

Around the world, people angry at stagnant wages and growing inequality have rebelled against established governments and turned to political extremes - from the revolutions of the Arab Spring to Brexit and the election of Donald Trump. Liberal democracy, history's greatest engine of growth, now struggles to overcome unprecedented economic headwinds - whether it's aging populations, scarce resources, or unsustainable debt burdens. Hobbled by short-term thinking and ideological dogma, democracies risk falling prey to nationalism and protectionism that will deliver declining living standards.InEdge of Chaos, prize-winning economist Dambisa Moyo shows why economic growth is essential to global stability, and why liberal democracies are failing to produce it today. Rather than turning away from democracy, she argues, we must fundamentally reform it. Calling for an aggressive retooling of our political system, Moyo proposes new constraints on both elected officials and voters, including: extending politicians' terms so as to better match economic cycles, increasing minimum qualifications for candiates, introducing mandatory voting, and implementing a weighted voting system to empower the most knowledgeable and engaged citizens.A sobering diagnosis of the scale, scope, and urgency of our political and economic ills, Edge of Chaos presents a radical blueprint for change in order to galvanize economic growth and ensure the survival of democracy in the twenty-first century.