• Age: 12 to 18
• Grade: 7 to 12

There is no alternative to free-market capitalism. At least that’s what we’ve been told since the 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher first declared the debate over. Politicians daily declare it, journalists parrot it, talk show hosts acquiesce to it, rich people gloat about it, and regular people simply assume it.

Fired Up about Capitalism forcefully argues that this is nothing but a myth. Tom Malleson exposes the reality of contemporary capitalism–from the widening inequality between the 1% and the rest of society, to ecological devastation–and demonstrates that in fact there are many alternatives. By demonstrating a wide range of examples of alternatives from around the world, from the short-term and practical to the long-term and ambitious, Malleson shows that replacing contemporary capitalism is not pie-in-the-sky utopia, but a real possibility as long as enough of us fight back against injustice and insist that a better world is possible.

Tom Malleson is Assistant Professor in the Social Justice and Peace Studies program at King’s University College at Western University. He is a long-time anti-authoritarian activist and organizer and has worked with migrant justice, anti-poverty, global justice, anti-war, and solidarity economy groups. He is co-editor ofWhose Streets: The Toronto G20 and the Challenges of Summit Protest.

Tom Malleson's profile page