It’s been about a quarter since Capital Evolution hit the shelves, and I thought it would be worth stepping back to take stock of what Elizabeth and I have been doing to get the book’s ideas out into the world. It’s felt like a lot — and seeing it all written down confirms that is indeed the case!
From the start, our goal was to make sure that the ideas in the book — Dynamic Capitalism and the concepts around it — didn’t stay on the page. We wanted to get them in front of as many people as possible: business leaders, policymakers, students, investors, and anyone thinking seriously about the future of the American economy.
In Print and Online
The conversation around Capital Evolution has shown up in some incredible places. We wrote an op-ed for The New York Times arguing that copying China’s economic playbook is a terrible idea for the U.S. We had a piece in the Los Angeles Times with Congressman Ro Khanna on reviving America’s innovation economy. Forbes featured our framework for global leadership in a system of Dynamic Capitalism. The International Economy published our essay “The Frankenstein Economy,” which distills the book’s core argument about how neoliberalism’s creation has turned on its creator. And we’ve been covered in Fortune, Inc., the Washington Independent Review of Books, and many others.
On the Air
We’ve appeared on dozens and dozens of podcasts (full list here), reaching audiences across business, technology, investing, and public policy. Highlights include the Conscious Millionaire Show, Michael Covel’s Trend Following, School for Startups Radio, Keen on America with Andrew Keen, and The Full Ratchet. Each conversation has been different — some focused on venture capital and AI, others on inequality and the middle class — but they all come back to the same question: how do we build an economy that works for more people?
In Person
In-person events, while more time-consuming and often involving travel, have been by far the most rewarding part of our book-promotion efforts. We kicked things off with a launch party at my wife’s bookstore, Composition Shop, that set the tone for everything that followed. We packed the house at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C., with over 120 people for a conversation that could have gone on all night (special thanks to Lori Montgomery, former Politics editor for The Washington Post for moderating). There were many others as well, including a memorable event at the Tattered Cover here in Denver (I spent many days at Tattered as a kid - it was special to be back to host an author event there). Those were only two of a bunch of bookstore events we’ve hosted since launching. And we’ve done a series of corporate events and private discussions with organizations including JP Morgan, KPMG, Cooley, CapRock, MichaelBest, CU Boulder, and the Colorado School of Mines — conversations with executives, investors, attorneys, and students who are grappling with questions related to the future of our economy every day. These events spurred not just interesting discussions, but also pushed us to think more deeply about our work, challenge our ideas, and provided the opportunity for others to take up the mantle of Dynamic Capitalism.
Looking Ahead
The ideas in the book seem very durable, and we continue to have events scheduled as questions around the future of capitalism remain extremely relevant in today’s political and social environment. The conversations we’re having aren’t partisan. They’re practical. And they give me real optimism that the evolution we describe in the book is already underway.