Hanauer Rejects Neoliberal Model, Says Higher Wages Power Growth

The dirty secret of capitalism -- and a new way forward | Nick Hanauer — TED

TED

Economic growth is driven by worker inclusion and reciprocity rather than capital accumulation, invalidating the neoliberal dogma that greed creates prosperity.

AI-assisted summary of The dirty secret of capitalism -- and a new way forward | Nick Hanauer — original source. Check the original for full context.

Source published:

Key ideas

  • Over the past 30 years in the US, the top 1% gained $21 trillion while the bottom 50% lost $900 billion, driven by neoliberal economic orthodoxies that justify wage suppression and inequality. (0:13)
  • Empirical evidence from Seattle's $15 minimum wage contradicted neoliberal equilibrium models: restaurant employment boomed because higher disposable wages fueled local demand. (4:33)
  • A new multidisciplinary economic paradigm posits that economies are evolutionary ecosystems where reciprocity and broad inclusion—not capital and selfish competition—drive sustainable growth. (10:21)
  • Nick Hanauer argues that systemic legislative change yields far greater leverage than individual charity, noting the $15 minimum wage movement impacted roughly 30 million workers. (16:03)

Detailed notes

## Background This talk was delivered by entrepreneur Nick Hanauer, published on YouTube by the official TED channel on October 18, 2019. According to the page description, Hanauer dismantles the morally corrosive and scientifically flawed dogma that 'greed is good,' arguing that rising inequality and political instability stem from decades of bad economic theory and presenting an alternative model centered on reciprocity and cooperation.

## TL;DR Speaking as an unapologetic ultra-capitalist from the top 0.01 percent, Nick Hanauer argues that neoliberal economics is fundamentally backwards because human prosperity is driven by cooperation, reciprocity, and inclusion rather than capital, competition, and selfishness. He systematically dismantles core neoliberal orthodoxies—such as the assumptions that markets are self-balancing equilibrium systems, that compensation equals economic value, and that humans are selfish utility-maximizers. Instead, Hanauer outlines a new framework where economies are treated as tended gardens rather than wild jungles, corporate purpose serves all stakeholders rather than merely enriching shareholders, and economic rules are recognized as deliberate human choices. In a brief concluding Q&A, Hanauer explains that systemic legislative change yields far greater leverage than private philanthropy alone, citing the fight for a $15 minimum wage that impacted millions of workers.

## Atmosphere & style The presentation is punchy, candid, and intellectually invigorating, driven by Hanauer's provocative self-awareness as an elite insider turning on the very doctrines that enriched him. Balancing sharp wit with moral urgency, the delivery moves seamlessly between dismantling academic orthodoxies and championing an optimistic, human-centered vision of society. The brief post-talk exchange adds a pragmatic, grounded edge as Hanauer humorously and decisively defends policy leverage over mere personal philanthropy.

## Bulletin - [00:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=13s) Over the past 30 years in the US, the top 1% gained $21 trillion while the bottom 50% lost $900 billion, driven by neoliberal economic orthodoxies that justify wage suppression and inequality. - [04:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=273s) Empirical evidence from Seattle's $15 minimum wage contradicted neoliberal equilibrium models: restaurant employment boomed because higher disposable wages fueled local demand. - [10:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=621s) A new multidisciplinary economic paradigm posits that economies are evolutionary ecosystems where reciprocity and broad inclusion—not capital and selfish competition—drive sustainable growth. - [16:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=963s) Nick Hanauer argues that systemic legislative change yields far greater leverage than individual charity, noting the $15 minimum wage movement impacted roughly 30 million workers.

## Key takeaways - [00:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=13s) Neoliberal economic prescriptions claiming higher taxes and wages destroy jobs have served the interests of billionaires rather than the public good. - [00:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=13s) Three decades of neoliberal policy resulted in the top 1% becoming $21 trillion richer while the bottom 50% became $900 billion poorer and middle-class wages stagnated. - [02:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=171s) Neoliberal economics is fundamentally backwards: economic growth is driven by people, the public good by reciprocity, and prosperity by cooperation. - [04:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=273s) The assumption that market economies are efficient equilibrium systems where higher wages automatically destroy jobs is empirically disproven. - [04:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=273s) Workers are not paid according to their intrinsic economic worth, but according to their bargaining power relative to employers. - [07:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=433s) The behavioral model of Homo economicus incorrectly treats humans as purely selfish and utility-maximizing, ignoring humanity's evolutionary superpower of reciprocity. - [07:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=433s) The claim that 'greed is good' is scientifically false; being rapacious does not make someone a capitalist, but rather a sociopath. - [10:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=621s) Market capitalism operates as an evolutionary positive feedback loop where innovation solves human problems and consumer demand acts as the selection mechanism. - [10:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=621s) Market competition occurs primarily between highly cooperative groups and teams, making internal collaboration essential to business success. - [12:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=760s) Economies are gardens rather than jungles: markets are powerful problem-solving technologies, but they require social norms and democratic regulation to prevent systemic crises. - [13:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=813s) Economic inclusion is not a charitable luxury; actively including more people in more ways is the direct cause of growth in market economies. - [13:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=813s) Shareholder primacy is an economic grift; corporations must be structured to serve the collective welfare of workers, customers, communities, and shareholders. - [13:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=813s) Economic laws are constructed social choices and narratives rather than unchangeable laws of physics. - [16:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=963s) Philanthropy and individual voluntary sacrifices cannot substitute for systemic legislative change that compels all wealthy actors to pay fair taxes and wages.

## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=13s) The Dirty Secret of Modern Economics

Nick Hanauer introduces himself not merely as an ordinary participant in the market, but as an unapologetic ultra-capitalist. Having spent 30 years in business across three dozen companies and helping generate tens of billions of dollars in market value, he sits firmly in the top 0.01 percent of earners. He jokes about why wealthy capitalists like him have never had it better, asking if the rich are simply smarter, working harder, taller, or better looking than they were three decades ago. The reality, he explains, comes down to how the economics profession has shifted: while economists once served the broader public interest, in the neoliberal era they have functionally worked on behalf of billionaires and massive corporations.

Whenever society considers standard public remedies—such as taxing the rich, regulating corporate giants, or bumping up workers' wages—neoliberal orthodox economists issue dire warnings. They insist that raising taxes inevitably strangles growth, regulation breeds inefficiency, and raising wages kills off jobs. Hanauer observes that following these prescriptions has skewed the economy into extreme inequality:

> “Well, as a consequence of that thinking, over the last 30 years, in the USA alone, the top one percent has grown 21 trillion dollars richer while the bottom 50 percent have grown 900 billion dollars poorer, a pattern of widening inequality that has largely repeated itself across the world.”

Even as middle-class workers endure roughly 40 years of stagnant wages, economists continue to insist that the cure for the dislocations of austerity and globalization is simply deeper austerity and more globalization.

- **Hanauer’s credentials**: 30-year career, founded or funded ~36 companies, generated tens of billions in market value, member of the top 0.01%. - **Wealth shift in the US over 30 years**: Top 1% gained $21 trillion; bottom 50% lost $900 billion. - **Wage stagnation**: Middle-class wages have remained essentially flat for about 40 years.

---

[02:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=171s) Why Neoliberal Theory Is Backwards

Hanauer argues that economics rightfully earned its title as the "dismal science"—not because it is cold, but because despite its intricate mathematical modeling, it is not actually a science at all. A growing cadre of academics and practitioners has realized that neoliberal theory is not just mistaken, but dangerously backwards, directly fueling modern inequality and political unrest. The core mechanics of human society have been completely inverted by the dominant paradigm:

> “What we now know is that the economics that made me so rich isn't just wrong, it's backwards, because it turns out it isn't capital that creates economic growth, it's people; and it isn't self-interest that promotes the public good, it's reciprocity; and it isn't competition that produces our prosperity, it's cooperation.”

A socioeconomic framework that fails to be just or inclusive cannot sustain the broad social cooperation necessary for a modern society to function. To correct course, Hanauer insists we must examine and dismantle the objectively false assumptions underlying neoliberalism.

---

[04:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=273s) False Assumptions: Equilibrium and Value

Hanauer breaks down the first two flawed dogmas of neoliberal doctrine:

1. **The Market as an Efficient Equilibrium System**: Neoliberal theory assumes that the economy operates like a balanced scale, meaning if one variable like wages goes up, another like employment must fall. Hanauer points to his home city of Seattle, which in 2014 passed the first $15 minimum wage in the nation. Neoliberals raised an alarm, claiming restaurants would shutter and thousands of low-wage workers would be laid off. Instead, unemployment dropped significantly and the city's restaurant industry boomed. Raising wages did not kill jobs; it gave low-wage restaurant workers enough disposable income to dine out at restaurants themselves.

2. **Price Always Equals Value**: This assumption claims that whatever someone is paid matches the economic value they produce—implying that an executive earning $50 million a year creates 1,000 times the value of a worker earning $50,000. Hanauer calls this out as convenient executive self-justification:

> “People are not paid what they are worth. They are paid what they have the power to negotiate, and wages' falling share of GDP is not because workers have become less productive but because employers have become more powerful.”

By ignoring the profound power asymmetry between labor and capital, neoliberal economics acts not as objective science, but as a protection racket for the wealthy.

---

[07:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=433s) The Pernicious Myth of *Homo Economicus*

The third and most damaging premise is the behavioral model of *Homo economicus*—the assumption that human beings are perfectly rational, thoroughly selfish, utility-maximizing actors. Hanauer asks whether anyone honestly believes that every kind gesture across their lifetime was an attempt to maximize personal utility, or that a soldier diving on a grenade to save comrades is merely serving narrow self-interest. Empirical science demonstrates that humans are fundamentally cooperative and reciprocal.

Yet, neoliberalism used the assumption of universal selfishness to build its central moral narrative: if humans are purely selfish, and society is prosperous, then greed must be what creates prosperity. This logic produced the doctrine that greed is good, widening inequality is efficient, and corporate directors should care solely about maximizing shareholder value.

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: The Neoliberal Logic of Selfishness vs Reality accDescr: Flowchart contrasting the flawed neoliberal deduction of greed with the empirical reality of cooperation and reciprocity.

subgraph Neoliberal ["The Neoliberal Fallacy"] A["Flawed Premise:<br/>Humans are purely selfish & rational"] --> B["Observed Prosperity in the World"] B --> C["False Conclusion:<br/>Selfishness creates prosperity ('Greed is Good')"] C --> D["Corporate Purpose:<br/>Enrich shareholders above all else"] end

subgraph Reality ["Empirical Science & New Economics"] E["Empirical Fact:<br/>Humans are cooperative, reciprocal, moral"] --> F["True Driver:<br/>Reciprocity is humanity's superpower"] F --> G["Sustainable Prosperity:<br/>Built on inclusion and teamwork"] end ```

Hanauer highlights how changing the premise flips the entire conclusion:

> “So at the heart of this new economics is a story about ourselves that grants us permission to be our best selves, and, unlike the old economics, this is a story that is virtuous and also has the virtue of being true.”

---

[10:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=621s) How Prosperity Actually Evolves

Hanauer makes clear that this new economic model is not his own personal invention. Rather, it is being constructed by researchers across evolutionary biology, complexity theory, anthropology, psychology, and economics. In this emerging paradigm, market capitalism functions as an evolutionary, positive feedback system:

1. **Innovation** provides the solutions to human problems. 2. **Consumer Demand** acts as the selection mechanism determining which innovations are useful. 3. Solving problems generates prosperity, which in turn leads to more complex problems and solutions. 4. Managing that technical complexity requires deeper levels of social and economic cooperation to create specialized products.

While competition plays a clear role, Hanauer notes that market competition occurs between *cooperative groups*—teams within firms, networks of suppliers, and entire nations. In business, assembling a collaborative team that harnesses everyone's talents beats relying on "a bunch of selfish jerks."

---

[12:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=760s) New Rules of Thumb: Gardens and Inclusion

To transition away from neoliberal orthodoxy and build an equitable, durable society, the new economics provides foundational rules of thumb:

1. **Economies are gardens, not jungles**: While markets are the most powerful social engine ever created for solving problems, they cannot self-regulate toward the common good. Left untended by social norms and democratic governance, they run wild and generate systemic crises—with the 2008 financial crash and accelerating climate change serving as clear proofs. 2. **Inclusion creates economic growth**: Rather than viewing inclusion as a social luxury or an inefficient handout, the new framework recognizes that broad participation directly fuels economic vitality.

Hanauer underscores that markets require active stewardship:

> “First is that successful economies are not jungles, they're gardens, which is to say that markets, like gardens, must be tended, that the market is the greatest social technology ever invented for solving human problems, but unconstrained by social norms or democratic regulation, markets inevitably create more problems than they solve.”

[13:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=813s) Rethinking the Corporation, Greed, and Economic Law

Continuing his breakdown of foundational economic ideas, Nick Hanauer rejects the common notion that shared prosperity is merely an expensive luxury to be afforded only after economic growth has already occurred. Instead, he insists that human participation is the primary engine of prosperity. As Hanauer puts it: “Including more people in more ways is what causes economic growth in market economies.”

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Neoliberalism versus New Economics accDescr: A comparison showing the shift from neoliberal shareholder primacy and greed to a stakeholder-driven cooperative economy.

subgraph Neoliberal["Neoliberal Model"] N1["Assumption: Greed is good"] --> N2["Shareholder Primacy:<br>Enrich executives & investors"] N2 --> N3["Treated as unchangeable natural law"] end

subgraph NewEcon["New Economics Model"] E1["Principle: Cooperation & reciprocity"] --> E2["Stakeholder Welfare:<br>Workers, customers, community, shareholders"] E2 --> E3["Understood as social norms & political choices"] end ```

Moving to his third principle, Hanauer targets the corporate boardroom, calling shareholder primacy “the greatest grift in contemporary economic life.” He argues that the orthodox claim that an executive's sole responsibility is maximizing shareholder value and padding executive compensation is hollow. Rather, a credible economic model must demand that business institutions serve the collective welfare of every group invested in their success—including workers, consumers, local communities, and shareholders alike.

His fourth rule directly repudiates the iconic Wall Street dogma that greed is inherently good. To Hanauer, unchecked avarice is a destructive pathology rather than an engine of progress: “Being rapacious doesn't make you a capitalist, it makes you a sociopath.” He emphasizes that because modern economies rely overwhelmingly on large-scale human cooperation, sociopathic behavior harms business performance just as severely as it fractures civil society.

Finally, Hanauer addresses the perceived permanence of economic systems. Unlike the immutable laws of physics, the rules governing an economy are human choices rather than mathematical inevitabilities. Neoliberalism has disguised itself as natural law, yet it rests on constructed social narratives and pseudoscience. Hanauer concludes his talk by reminding the audience of their agency: “And here's the good news: if we want a new economics, all we have to do is choose to have it.”

- **Principle 3:** The primary purpose of a corporation must be elevating the welfare of all stakeholders—workers, customers, communities, and shareholders—rather than purely extracting value for shareholders. - **Principle 4:** High-performing market economies depend fundamentally on trust and cooperation at scale, making rapacious greed a liability. - **Principle 5:** Economic laws are social constructs and moral choices, not immutable physical constants.

---

[16:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=963s) Q&A: Why Giving Away Wealth Isn't Enough

Following the talk, the moderator poses a familiar challenge to Hanauer: if he finds the contemporary economic structure so objectionable, why doesn't he simply give away his vast personal fortune and join the 99 percent? Hanauer acknowledges the frequent critique, noting that critics regularly demand to know why he does not voluntarily pay higher personal tax rates or unilaterally raise pay across his companies.

Hanauer explains that purely individual philanthropy or unilateral action fails to solve systemic problems because it lacks leverage. Instead, he found an approach that achieves systemic impact: “The problem is, it doesn't make that much difference, and I have discovered a strategy that works literally a hundred thousand times better—which is to use my money to build narratives and to pass laws that will require all the other rich people to pay taxes and pay their workers better.”

As concrete evidence of this systemic approach, Hanauer points to the national campaign for a $15 minimum wage, an initiative he helped seed and champion. While one wealthy individual raising wages at a handful of enterprises changes only a few hundred or thousand lives, the legislative campaign altered standard wage floors across cities and states, ultimately impacting 30 million workers. The moderator closes the session with a joke, offering that if Hanauer ever changes his mind about giving away his fortune directly, they can readily find people willing to take it off his hands.

- **Scale of legislative reform:** The $15 minimum wage policy initiative Hanauer backed has reached and benefited approximately 30 million American workers. - **Systemic leverage vs. individual charity:** Hanauer emphasizes using private capital to reshape public narratives and enact binding public policy rather than relying on piecemeal philanthropic gestures.

## Notable quotes > [13:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=813s) Being rapacious doesn't make you a capitalist, it makes you a sociopath. — Nick Hanauer

> [04:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=273s) People are not paid what they are worth. They are paid what they have the power to negotiate, and wages' falling share of GDP is not because workers have become less productive but because employers have become more powerful. — Nick Hanauer

> [13:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=813s) Including more people in more ways is what causes economic growth in market economies. — Nick Hanauer

## Mentioned Nick Hanauer, Seattle, TED, Wall Street

## Video description Visit http://TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, subtitles, translations, personalized Talk recommendations and more.

Rising inequality and growing political instability are the direct result of decades of bad economic theory, says entrepreneur Nick Hanauer. In a visionary talk, he dismantles the mantra that "greed is good" -- an idea he describes as not only morally corrosive, but also scientifically wrong -- and lays out a new theory of economics powered by reciprocity and cooperation.

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You're welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request here: https://media-requests.ted.com/

Follow TED on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks Like TED on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TED

Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/TED

[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs)

中文简报

哈诺尔摒弃新自由主义模式，称提高工资能推动增长 经济增长由劳动者的包容与互惠推动，而非资本积累，这推翻了贪婪创造繁荣的新自由主义教条。 尼克·哈诺尔以位列顶层0.01%且直言不讳的超级资本家身份指出，新自由主义经济学从根本上就本末倒置，因为人类繁荣是由合作、互惠与包容推动的，而非资本、竞争与自私。他系统性地驳斥了新自由主义的核心正统观念——例如市场是自我平衡的均衡系统、薪酬等同于经济价值，以及人类是自私的效用最大化者等假设。相反，哈诺尔勾勒出一个全新的框架：经济应被视作有人照料的花园而非蛮荒丛林，企业的宗旨是服务所有利益相关者而非仅让股东致富，经济规则应被视为人类深思熟虑的选择。在简短的问答环节中，哈诺尔解释说，与单纯的私人慈善相比，系统性的立法变革具有大得多的杠杆效应，并以影响了数百万劳动者的争取15美元最低工资运动为例进行了说明。 在过去30年间，受合理化压制工资与不平等现象的新自由主义经济正统观念影响，美国顶层1%群体的财富增加了21万亿美元，而底层50%群体的财富则缩水了9000亿美元。 (0:13) 西雅图推行15美元最低工资的实证经验与新自由主义的均衡模型相矛盾：由于更高的可支配收入拉动了当地需求，餐馆就业人数反而激增。 (4:33) 一种全新的跨学科经济范式主张，经济是演化型生态系统，推动可持续增长的是互惠与广泛包容，而非资本与自私竞争。 (10:21) 尼克·哈诺尔认为，系统性的立法变革比个人慈善具有大得多的杠杆效应，并指出15美元最低工资运动影响了大约3000万名劳动者。 (16:03)

Reading summary

Nick Hanauer argues that neoliberal economic theory is fundamentally backwards, falsely claiming that capital accumulation and self-interest drive prosperity rather than human cooperation and inclusion. Drawing on his business background, he asserts that reversing extreme inequality requires abandoning orthodox market dogmas and actively structuring economies through democratic policy. Neoliberal Economics and the Inequality Divide (0:13) Hanauer, an investor in the top 0.01 percent of earners who has backed approximately three dozen companies, contends that mainstream economics has shifted from serving the public interest to providing intellectual cover for corporate and billionaire wealth. Neoliberal orthodoxy maintains that taxing high earners strangles growth, business regulation creates inefficiency, and increasing wages destroys employment. Hanauer points out that after roughly three decades of these policies in the United States, the top 1 percent gained 21 trillion dollars while the bottom 50 percent lost 900 billion dollars, alongside approximately 40 years of middle-class wage stagnation. Dismantling Equilibrium, Value, and Self-Interest Myths (4:33) Hanauer challenges three core pillars of neoliberal doctrine. First, he rejects the assumption that economies function as self-correcting equilibrium systems where wage hikes inevitably trigger unemployment. To counter this, he highlights Seattle’s 2014 adoption of a 15-dollar minimum wage, which was followed by falling unemployment and growth in the local restaurant industry as low-wage workers gained disposable income. Second, he disputes the idea that wages reflect true economic value, arguing that pay levels reflect bargaining leverage and that labor's declining share of gross domestic product results from employer power rather than diminished worker productivity. Third, Hanauer repudiates the behavioral model of Homo economicus, which assumes individuals are rational, utility-maximizing actors driven exclusively by narrow self-interest. Citing research across anthropology, psychology, and evolutionary biology, he argues that human beings are fundamentally cooperative and reciprocal. By treating self-interest as the universal behavioral norm, neoliberal theory arrived at the flawed conclusion that greed produces prosperity, ultimately institutionalizing shareholder primacy at the expense of social cohesion. Evolutionary Economics and the Garden Framework (10:21) In contrast to neoliberal models, Hanauer presents market capitalism as an evolutionary system where innovation solves human problems, consumer demand selects useful solutions, and economic competition occurs between cooperative teams and organizations. Under this framework, high-performing economies are understood as gardens rather than self-regulating jungles: without active stewardship and democratic boundaries, unmanaged markets inevitably generate severe crises, such as the 2008 financial crash and accelerating climate change. To guide this approach, Hanauer outlines core principles: market inclusion directly accelerates economic growth; corporate directors must balance the interests of workers, customers, and communities rather than maximizing shareholder extraction alone; unchecked greed acts as a social liability; and economic rules are deliberate human choices rather than immutable natural laws. Systemic Political Leverage Versus Philanthropy (16:03) Addressing why he does not simply give away his private fortune, Hanauer argues that unilateral charity cannot resolve structural imbalances. While an individual employer paying higher wages alters only hundreds or thousands of livelihoods, using private capital to reshape public narratives and enact legislation creates systemic leverage. As an example, he notes that supporting the legislative campaign for a 15-dollar minimum wage helped alter statutory wage floors across various cities and states, ultimately benefiting an estimated 30 million American workers. Hanauer concludes that because economic frameworks are human constructs rather than physical laws, societies possess the agency to abandon neoliberal orthodoxy in favor of rules that deliberately prioritize broad-based participation and collective welfare.

精炼阅读摘要

身为身价位列全美前0.01%的资深投资人，Nick Hanauer主张新自由主义经济学并非客观科学，而是颠倒了经济运行真相并服务于巨富阶层的保护伞；他认为经济增长的真实根基并非资本与自私，而是广泛包容、社会互惠与大规模人类协作。 新自由主义教条与不平等危机的加剧 (0:13) Hanauer根据其创立或投资约36家企业的30年从业经历指出，经济学界在过去数十年间逐渐沦为亿万富翁和大型垄断企业的代言人。每当公众讨论向富人征税、监管企业巨头或提高最低工资时，正统经济学家总是警告此类措施将扼杀经济增长、制造低效并摧毁就业岗位。然而Hanauer指出，正是这种逻辑导致了极端的财富分化：在过去30年里，仅美国前1%的富裕阶层财富便激增了21万亿美元，而处于底层50%的人口财富却缩水了9000亿美元；与此同时，中产阶级薪酬陷入了长达约40年的停滞。 面对财政紧缩与全球化造成的社会撕裂，传统经济学开出的药方却仍是进一步推行紧缩与全球化。Hanauer指出，这一范式将经济运作的因果关系彻底颠倒：推动经济增长的根本力量是人而非资本；促进公共利益的核心动力是互惠而非利己；促成长期繁荣的关键机制是大规模合作而非单纯的弱肉强食。一个缺乏公平与包容的体系，将无法维持现代社会运转所必需的协作基础。 瓦解新自由主义的三大错误假说 (4:33) Hanauer详细拆解了支撑新自由主义的三大核心假设。其一是所谓“市场是高效均衡系统”的论调，该假定认为提高工资等变量必然迫使就业等另一变量下降。Hanauer以其家乡西雅图在2014年通过全美首个15美元最低时薪法案为例：当时正统理论警告餐饮业将崩溃且劳工将遭解雇，但法案实施后当地失业率大幅下降，餐饮业反而迎来繁荣，因为工资增长让底层劳工获得了真正的消费能力。 其二是“价格等于产出价值”的定价教条，即假定千万年薪高管创造的价值必然是普通工人的数百倍。Hanauer驳斥称，劳动者的报酬取决于其议价权力而非创造的价值；工资在GDP中所占比例持续下降，并非劳工生产率降低，而是资方权力过度膨胀的结果。最后，Hanauer抨击了将人类视为绝对自私、冷血效用最大化机器的“理性经济人”模型。他指出多学科经验研究证明人类天生具有互惠与合作倾向，新自由主义借自私假说推导出的“贪婪即美德”和“股东价值最大化”，在科学层面上完全属于伪科学叙事。 繁荣的演进规律与“花园式”经济治理 (10:21) Hanauer结合演化生物学、复杂性理论与心理学等跨学科成果指出，市场资本主义本质上是一个演化性的正反馈系统：创新提供解决人类问题的方案，消费者需求扮演筛选机制，而成功解决问题则积累社会繁荣并催生更复杂的挑战，从而需要更深度的专业分工与社会合作来应对。在真实商业世界中，市场竞争本质上是各个“高效协作团队”之间的竞争，而非一群利己之徒的单打独斗。 基于这一视角，Hanauer提出健康经济是“花园”而非“丛林”。市场固然是人类迄今解决问题最有效的社会工具，但如果不受社会规范与民主法律的修剪和管理，就会像野蛮生长的植物一样失控，2008年全球金融危机与气候变暖便是明证。此外，经济包容性并非经济增长后才能负担的奢侈品；让更多人以更多元的方式参与经济生活，本身就是驱动市场繁荣的首要引擎。 颠覆股东至上主义与推动制度变革 (13:33) 在公司治理与制度层面，Hanauer将“股东利益至上”斥为当代经济生活中的骗局，主张企业必须为员工、客户、所在社区及股东等全部利益相关者的共同福祉负责。他强调掠夺性的贪婪不是资本主义，而是一种反社会的病态心理，它破坏了支撑现代复杂经济所必需的信任基础。Hanauer提醒公众，经济规则绝非不可动摇的物理定律，而是人类构建的社会规范与道德抉择，社会完全有权力重新选择制度框架。 针对外界对其为何不直接散尽家财的质疑，Hanauer回应称单纯的个人慈善缺乏系统性杠杆，无法根除制度弊病。他选择运用财富资助公共议题叙事重塑并推动全国性立法，例如其深度参与推动的15美元最低时薪运动，已切实改善了约3000万美国劳工的收入底线。Hanauer强调，唯有通过构建强制富裕阶层纳税并提高劳工待遇的法律体系，才能达成结构性的社会变革。 Hanauer的论证展示了新经济学范式如何试图借助演化论与跨学科实证，解构新自由主义构建的市场神话并为监管与劳工权益正名。然而，如何在打破“股东至上”惯性的同时，建立具有法律刚性的利益相关者问责制度，并抵御既得利益群体的政治反弹，仍是这一理论转向面临的关键现实挑战。

Detailed notes — zh

## Background 该视频于2019年10月18日由TED官方频道在YouTube平台发布。视频页面介绍指出，企业家Nick Hanauer在演讲中阐述了日益加剧的不平等与政治动荡源于数十年错误的经济学理论，他打破了“贪婪即美德”这一在道德与科学上皆属错误的信条，并提出了一套以互惠和合作为核心的新经济学理论。 ## TL;DR 身处全美收入前0.01%的资深资本家Nick Hanauer直言，新自由主义经济学并非客观科学，而是为巨头与富豪谋利的辩护工具。他逐一驳斥了市场自然均衡、价格等同价值以及自私理性人三大假设，结合西雅图推行15美元最低时薪等现实案例，证明人类的繁荣源于互惠合作与广泛包容。Hanauer进而提出了将经济视作受监管花园、推动利益相关者福祉等五大新经济学法则，呼吁全社会主动选择更公正的制度；并在问答中强调，运用财富撬动立法改革比单纯散尽家财的影响力高出数十万倍。 ## Atmosphere & style 整场演讲呈现出一种尖锐而极具说服力的“阶级叛徒”式自白风格。Hanauer语气幽默辛辣且充满自信，熟练地用戏谑的自嘲打破观众对超级富豪的刻板印象，随后话锋一转，以冷静缜密的逻辑向新自由主义教条猛烈开火。现场反响极为热烈，他的妙语连珠频频引发全场的会心笑声与如雷掌声；从揭露制度弊病的愤慨到展望合作未来的振奋，整个过程洋溢着理性批判与改革激情的双重张力。 ## Bulletin - [00:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=13s) 知名风险投资人 Nick Hanauer 指出，新自由主义经济学并非客观科学，而是为亿万富翁和大企业服务的制度性保护伞；过去30年间全美前1%富人财富增加21万亿美元，而底层50%人群财富却缩水9000亿美元。 - [04:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=245s) 西雅图推行15美元最低时薪打破了“加薪必然导致失业”的传统均衡假设，当地餐饮业反而因为工薪阶层购买力上升而更加繁荣。 - [10:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=601s) 现代演化与复杂性理论证实，驱动经济持续繁荣的核心是人际合作与互惠网络，而非“自私自利”与“贪婪是美德”。 - [14:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=868s) 经济学法则本质上是社会建构与人为选择，制度变革的效能远超个人慈善，通过立法推动加税与提高底薪才能实现系统性改变。 ## Key takeaways - [00:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=13s) Nick Hanauer 自亮前0.01%超级资本家身份，指出富人财富暴增并非因其更聪明拼命，而是归因于偏袒资本的经济学叙事。 - [00:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=13s) 新自由主义经济学长期以“加税扼杀增长、监管导致低效、提薪消灭就业”恐吓公众，导致中产阶级实际薪资停滞约40年。 - [04:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=245s) 假设一的破产：市场不是静态的机械均衡系统，西雅图提高最低时薪不仅未引发企业倒闭潮，失业率反而下降、餐饮业迎来繁荣。 - [04:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=245s) 假设二的破产：价格不等于价值，薪酬高低反映的是劳资双方谈判权力的失衡，而非工人的实际生产力贡献。 - [04:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=245s) 假设三的破产：极端自私且完全理性的“经济人”模型反科学且反常识，以此合理化贪婪和贫富分化在道德与事实上皆站不住脚。 - [10:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=601s) 资本主义的演化机制在于创新解决人类问题、消费者需求筛选有效方案，两者的正反馈推动技术复杂度不断提升。 - [10:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=601s) 现代商业竞争本质上是团队与协作网络之间的竞争，包容多样化人才的合作团队远比孤立自私的个体更具生产力。 - [12:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=745s) 新经济学法则一：经济体系不是弱肉强食的荒野丛林，而是需要社会规范与民主有效监管精心打理的生态花园。 - [13:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=813s) 新经济学法则二：包容性并非富裕后的奢侈品，广泛吸纳民众参与并提高全员购买力本身就是经济增长的发动机。 - [13:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=813s) 新经济学法则三：企业根本使命是提升包括客户、员工、社区及股东在内的全体利益相关者福祉，而非仅仅让股东敛财。 - [14:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=868s) 新经济学法则四：贪婪不是美德，贪得无厌在高度依赖大规模协作的现代经济中属于破坏商业与社会的反社会行为。 - [14:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=868s) 新经济学法则五：经济学规律不同于物理定律，它本质上是社会制度与叙事选择，社会完全有权选择走向繁荣可持续的新模式。 - [16:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=963s) 制度变革胜于个人慈善：运用资本重塑公共叙事并推动立法强制富人纳税、提升底薪，其社会收益比个人捐赠高出数十万倍。 ## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=13s) 资本家的“肮脏秘密”与失灵的经济学 Nick Hanauer 自亮身份：他是一名不折不扣的资本家。在长达30年的资本主义生涯中，他创办、投资了三十多家公司，累计创造了数百亿美元的市场价值，这使他稳稳跻身全美收入最高的前0.01%之列。他调侃道，像他这样的富豪资本家如今比以往任何时候都要富有，但他今天登台是为了揭开这背后的成功秘诀——富豪们究竟是如何年复一年地攫取越来越大份额的经济蛋糕的？难道是因为今天的富人比30年前更聪明、工作更拼命，还是长得更高、更英俊？ Nick Hanauer 笑着否认了这些自欺欺人的假设，指出核心原因只有一个：经济学。他直言不讳地揭露了一个“肮脏的秘密”：曾几何时，经济学界是在为公众利益服务的，然而在当下的新自由主义（Neoliberalism）时代，经济学者们实际上只为巨型企业和亿万富翁效力。他直接指出这种体制性偏见： > “There was a time in which the economics profession worked in the public interest, but in the neoliberal era, today, they work only for big corporations and billionaires, and that is creating a little bit of a problem.”（曾几何时，经济学界是在为公众利益服务的，但在如今的新自由主义时代，他们只为大企业和亿万富翁卖命，而这正在制造不小的麻烦。） 在政策层面，社会原本可以选择对富人增税、监管垄断企业或提高工人工资，这些做法在历史上屡试不爽。然而，新自由主义经济学家总是跳出来恐吓公众，称这些政策将是灾难性的错误，因为“加税必然扼杀增长，政府监管必然导致低效，提高工资必然消灭就业”。正是在这种理论体系的主导下，过去30年间仅在美国，最富有的1%人群财富暴增了21万亿美元，而处于底层50%的人群财富却缩水了9000亿美元。这种贫富两极分化的剧毒模式正在全球蔓延。面对中产阶级长达40年未见起色的停滞工资，以及紧缩政策与全球化造成的社会阵痛，新自由主义经济学开出的唯一药方，居然是“更大力度的紧缩和更激进的全球化”。Nick Hanauer 认为，现存的经济学早已偏离科学，社会必须构建一套全新的经济学理论。 - Nick Hanauer 个人背景：拥有30年商业生涯，涉足30多家公司，创造数百亿美元市值，收入位于全美前0.01%。 - 过去30年美国财富分化数据：前1%富人财富增加21万亿美元，底层50%人群财富缩水9000亿美元。 - 普通家庭困境：中产阶级实际薪资已停滞约40年。 --- ### [04:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=245s) 拆解新自由主义的三大虚假假设 Nick Hanauer 强调，被冠以“沉闷科学（dismal science）”之名的当代经济学，尽管堆砌了大量炫目的数学公式，本质上根本称不上科学。越来越多的学者和从业人员已经认识到，新自由主义经济学理论错得离谱，其赖以立论的三大核心假设在客观事实面前根本站不住脚。 ```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: 新自由主义三大虚假假设与现实对比 accDescr: 对比新自由主义理论在市场均衡、价值定价及人性假设上的错误认知与现实经验的反差。 subgraph NeoLiberal["新自由主义虚假假设"] A1["假设1：市场是高效的均衡系统"] B1["假设2：价格完全等于价值"] C1["假设3：经济人假设 (自私自利/理性最大化)"] end subgraph Reality["客观现实与科学经验"] A2["西雅图提高最低工资：<br>餐饮业不垮反荣，失业率下降"] B2["工资取决于谈判权力：<br>劳动份额缩水是由于资本话语权过大"] C2["人类天生具有道德与互惠本能：<br>利他与合作才是繁荣之源"] end A1 -.->|"西雅图实例证伪"| A2 B1 -.->|"权力失衡证伪"| B2 C1 -.->|"演化与行为科学证伪"| C2 ``` 第一大假设是“市场是一个高效的均衡系统（equilibrium system）”。按照该逻辑，经济体系就像跷跷板，如果工资等要素成本上升，就业等指标就必然下降。Nick Hanauer 拿自己的家乡西雅图作为打脸的典型证据：2014年西雅图在全美率先通过了15美元最低时薪法案，当时新自由主义学者纷纷警告劳动力涨价会导致企业减少雇佣，导致低薪员工大批失业、餐馆大批倒闭。然而现实完全相反，西雅图的失业率大幅下降，餐饮业迎来空前繁荣。原因很简单：经济体系中根本没有静态的均衡。当餐馆老板必须支付足够的薪水，让餐馆工人自己也下得起馆子时，餐饮市场不仅不会萎缩，反而会蓬勃发展。 第二大假设是“价格永远等于价值”。按照这种叙述，如果一个员工年薪5万美元，而CEO年薪5000万美元，那仅仅是因为CEO创造的价值是普通员工的1000倍。Nick Hanauer 痛斥这种假设纯属无稽之谈： > “People are not paid what they are worth. They are paid what they have the power to negotiate, and wages' falling share of GDP is not because workers have become less productive but because employers have become more powerful.”（人们拿到的薪酬并非取决于他们自身的价值，而是取决于他们的谈判能力；工资在GDP中所占份额的下降，并不是因为工人生产率降低了，而是因为雇主的话语权变得空前强大。） 新自由主义假装资本与劳工之间巨大的权力失衡不存在，从而让这种理论彻底沦为了专为超级富豪服务的“保护伞保护费（protection racket）”。 第三大假设——也是最具危害性的一条——是关于人性的“经济人（homo economicus）”行为模型。该模型断定人类生来彻底自私、绝对理性且不知疲倦地追求自身利益最大化。Nick Hanauer 质问道，如果这套理论成立，难道人类一生中每一次善待他人、战士扑向手榴弹掩护战友，都只是在计算自身效用最大化吗？这种假定既反常识，也反科学。然而，正是这种将“自私”奉为圭臬的冷酷假定，推演出了“数十亿自私行为会奇迹般转化为公共繁荣”的荒谬神话，进而得出了“贪婪即美德（greed is good）”、贫富差距拉大是高效率、企业唯一目标就是为股东敛财的毒瘤结论。 --- ### [10:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=601s) 繁荣的真正来源：复杂性与合作网络 Nick Hanauer 进一步阐明，现代前沿的演化理论、复杂性理论、心理学和人类学等跨学科研究已经证实，人类本质上是高度合作、讲求互惠并且具有道德直觉的生物。推动人类经济繁荣的超级力量从来都不是自私，而是天生的互惠精神与合作能力。 他解释说，这套新经济学并非他个人的凭空捏造，而是全球顶尖学者正在合力构建的全新框架。从演化视角来看，市场资本主义是一个庞大的演化系统： ```mermaid flowchart LR accTitle: 市场资本主义的演化正反馈循环 accDescr: 创新解决人类问题，需求挑选有用创新，两者正反馈推动技术复杂度与合作水平不断上升。 subgraph PositiveLoop["演化正反馈循环"] Inn["技术与制度创新<br>(解决人类问题)"] Dem["有效消费需求<br>(市场筛选有用创新)"] Inn -->|"创造产品与价值"| Dem Dem -->|"筛选并刺激再投资"| Inn end PositiveLoop --> Growth["繁荣度与技术复杂度提升"] Growth --> Coop["需要更高维度的<br>社会与经济深度合作"] ``` 在这一机制下，繁荣来源于“日益增长的创新”与“日益增长的消费者需求”之间的正反馈循环。创新是人类解决自身问题的过程，而消费者需求则是市场筛选有效创新的机制；人类解决的问题越多，社会就越繁荣。但随着繁荣程度提高，面临的问题和解决方案会变得更加复杂，而应对高度复杂的现代专门化分工，就必须依赖更高层级的社会与经济合作。 传统经济学虽然正确地看到了竞争的重要性，却未能洞察到： > “...anyone who has ever run a successful business knows that building a cooperative team by including the talents of everyone is almost always a better strategy than just a bunch of selfish jerks.”（……任何经营过成功企业的人都知道，包容所有人的才华、组建一支充满合作精神的团队，几乎总是比仅仅凑齐一群自私自利的混蛋要明智得多。） 现代经济中的竞争，实质上是高度协作的群体之间的竞争——是公司与公司、企业网络与企业网络、国家与国家之间的协作能力竞赛，而不是孤立个体的互害博弈。 --- ### [12:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=745s) 走向新经济学：构建繁荣的花园 为了彻底告别新自由主义的桎梏，打造一个可持续、更繁荣且更公平的社会，Nick Hanauer 提出新经济学包含五条核心准则。在本段演讲中，他率先深入阐述了前两条准则： 1. **经济体不是弱肉强食的丛林，而是需要精心呵护的花园（Economies are not jungles, they're gardens）**：市场是人类为了解决自身问题而发明的最伟大的“社会技术”，但它绝非能够自然维持良性运转的荒野。正如花园若不加以修剪打理就会杂草丛生，市场如果失去了社会规范的约束和民主制度的有效监管，其制造的问题往往会比它解决的问题还要多。2008年的全球金融海啸以及日益严峻的气候变化危机，就是自由放任的市场沦为灾难的典型铁证。 2. **包容性本身就是经济增长的引擎（Inclusion creates economic growth）**：新自由主义长期将社会包容和保障视为富裕之后才能享用的昂贵奢侈品，但新经济学揭示出，广泛吸纳民众参与、提升全员收入与购买力，正是经济能够持续演进和扩张的前提本身。 ### [13:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=813s) 包容性增长与企业的真正使命 关于包容性与增长的关系，传统观念认为包容性是一种只有在经济增长后才能负担得起的“奢侈品”，Nick Hanauer 直截了当地指出这种观点不仅完全错误，而且本末倒置。经济的本质就是人本身，在市场经济中，以更多样化的方式让更多的人参与进来，正是推动经济增长的根本原因。 ```mermaid flowchart LR accTitle: 新旧经济学关于企业与增长的逻辑对比 accDescr: 对比新自由主义将包容视为附庸、追求股东至上的旧观念，与新经济学将包容视为增长引擎、服务全体利益相关者的新法则。 subgraph Old["新自由主义旧叙事"] O1["先实现经济增长"] --> O2["有余力才考虑包容"] O3["企业唯一目的"] --> O4["让股东与高管中饱私囊"] end subgraph New["新经济学法则"] N1["包容更多人参与"] --> N2["驱动经济持续增长"] N3["企业根本使命"] --> N4["提升全体利益相关者福祉"] end ``` 紧接着，Nick 提出了重塑经济体系的第三条原则：企业的目的绝非仅仅是让股东发财。他抨击当代经济生活中最大的骗局，就是新自由主义所灌输的偏见——即公司的唯一目的以及高管的唯一职责，就是让自己和股东中饱私囊。新经济学必须而且完全有能力坚持：企业的使命是提升所有利益相关者的福祉，这不仅包括股东，还涵盖了客户、员工以及整个社区。正如 Nick 所言：“The greatest grift in contemporary economic life is the neoliberal idea that the only purpose of the corporation and the only responsibility of executives is to enrich themselves and shareholders.” - 推动市场经济增长的真正动能，在于让更多人以更广泛的方式融入经济活动。 - 现代企业必须服务于所有利益相关者：顾客、工人、社区与股东共享发展成果。 ### [14:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=868s) 贪婪不是美德：经济法则是一种社会选择 在阐述第四条规则时，Nick 旗帜鲜明地打破了“贪婪是美德”（greed is good）的神话，强调贪婪绝非好品质。他幽默而辛辣地指出，贪得无厌并不能让你成为一名资本家，只会让你变成一个反社会人格者。这句话引来了全场观众的笑声与热烈掌声。在当今高度依赖大规模合作的现代经济体系中，反社会行为对商业造成的损害与对社会的破坏同样致命。 最后，Nick 阐明了第五条核心法则：与物理定律不同，经济学法则本质上是一种人类的选择。新自由主义经济学长期以来将自己包装成不可动摇的自然法则，但事实上，它不过是建立在伪科学之上的社会规范与人为建构的叙事。如果人类真正渴望一个更公平、更繁荣、更具可持续性的经济体，渴望运转良好的民主制度与公民社会，就必须拥抱一套崭新的经济学。而最振奋人心的事实正在于选择权掌握在我们自己手中。正如 Nick 宣告的那样：“Unlike the laws of physics, the laws of economics are a choice.” - 贪婪不仅在道德上腐蚀人心，在大规模协作的经济体中也是对商业极为有害的破坏力量。 - 经济学规律并非客观自然法则，而是人为构建的社会规范。 - 只要全社会下定决心做出选择，就能够建立起一套全新的经济模式。 ### [16:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=963s) 问答环节：与其散尽家财，不如撬动制度变革 在演讲结束后的问答环节中，主持人抛出了一个许多人都好奇的问题：“如果你对现行的经济体制如此不满，为什么不直接把所有钱都捐出去，加入那 99% 的普通人群体呢？” Nick 笑着承认，自己确实经常面对这类质问——比如“既然你这么在乎税收，为什么自己不多交点税？既然你这么在乎工资，为什么不多给员工发点钱？”他坦言自己当然可以这么做，但个人慈善行为并不能带来根本性的改变。相比之下，他找到了一种成效高出“数十万倍”的策略：运用自己的财富去重塑社会叙事，推动立法，从而强制要求所有富人缴纳合理的税款，并要求所有企业向员工支付更优厚的薪酬。 Nick 以自己发起推动的“15美元最低时薪”运动为例，说明这一举措如今已经直接改善了 3,000 万名工人的生计，制度层面的改变远比散尽家财更具效力。主持人随后打趣道，如果 Nick 改变主意想捐钱，随时能帮他找到接受者，全场在欢笑与掌声中圆满落幕。针对自身财富的使用逻辑，Nick 清晰地回应道：“The problem is, it doesn't make that much difference, and I have discovered a strategy that works literally a hundred thousand times better -- which is to use my money to build narratives and to pass laws that will require all the other rich people to pay taxes and pay their workers better.” - 个人自愿放弃财富无法解决系统性不平等，甚至无法产生实质影响。 - 利用资本推动公众叙事与立法改革，能够强制整体阶层共同承担社会责任。 - Nick 参与倡导的 15 美元最低时薪法案，已在全美惠及超过 3,000 万名劳工。 ## Notable quotes > [14:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=868s) Unlike the laws of physics, the laws of economics are a choice. — Nick Hanauer > [04:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=245s) People are not paid what they are worth. They are paid what they have the power to negotiate, and wages' falling share of GDP is not because workers have become less productive but because employers have become more powerful. — Nick Hanauer > [13:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=813s) The greatest grift in contemporary economic life is the neoliberal idea that the only purpose of the corporation and the only responsibility of executives is to enrich themselves and shareholders. — Nick Hanauer > [10:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=601s) ...anyone who has ever run a successful business knows that building a cooperative team by including the talents of everyone is almost always a better strategy than just a bunch of selfish jerks. — Nick Hanauer > [00:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs&t=13s) There was a time in which the economics profession worked in the public interest, but in the neoliberal era, today, they work only for big corporations and billionaires, and that is creating a little bit of a problem. — Nick Hanauer ## Mentioned Nick Hanauer, TED, 西雅图 (Seattle) ## Video description Visit http://TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, subtitles, translations, personalized Talk recommendations and more. Rising inequality and growing political instability are the direct result of decades of bad economic theory, says entrepreneur Nick Hanauer. In a visionary talk, he dismantles the mantra that "greed is good" -- an idea he describes as not only morally corrosive, but also scientifically wrong -- and lays out a new theory of economics powered by reciprocity and cooperation. The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You're welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request here: https://media-requests.ted.com/ Follow TED on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks Like TED on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TED Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/TED [Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3KE_H27bs)

Source quotes

[14:28] Nick Hanauer: Unlike the laws of physics, the laws of economics are a choice. [4:05] Nick Hanauer: People are not paid what they are worth. They are paid what they have the power to negotiate, and wages' falling share of GDP is not because workers have become less productive but because employers have become more powerful. [13:33] Nick Hanauer: The greatest grift in contemporary economic life is the neoliberal idea that the only purpose of the corporation and the only responsibility of executives is to enrich themselves and shareholders. [10:01] Nick Hanauer: ...anyone who has ever run a successful business knows that building a cooperative team by including the talents of everyone is almost always a better strategy than just a bunch of selfish jerks. [0:13] Nick Hanauer: There was a time in which the economics profession worked in the public interest, but in the neoliberal era, today, they work only for big corporations and billionaires, and that is creating a little bit of a problem.

Source quotes

[13:33] Nick Hanauer: Being rapacious doesn't make you a capitalist, it makes you a sociopath. [4:33] Nick Hanauer: People are not paid what they are worth. They are paid what they have the power to negotiate, and wages' falling share of GDP is not because workers have become less productive but because employers have become more powerful. [13:33] Nick Hanauer: Including more people in more ways is what causes economic growth in market economies.

Original transcript

[0:13] I am a capitalist, [0:17] and after a 30-year career in capitalism [0:20] spanning three dozen companies, [0:22] generating tens of billions of dollars in market value, [0:26] I'm not just in the top one percent, I'm in the top .01 percent of all earners. [0:33] Today, I have come to share the secrets of our success, [0:36] because rich capitalists like me have never been richer. [0:40] So the question is, how do we do it? [0:44] How do we manage to grab [0:45] an ever-increasing share of the economic pie every year? [0:50] Is it that rich people are smarter than we were 30 years ago? [0:55] Is it that we're working harder than we once did? [0:59] Are we taller, better looking? [1:03] Sadly, no. [1:05] It all comes down to just one thing: [1:08] economics. [1:10] Because, here's the dirty secret. [1:12] There was a time in which the economics profession [1:15] worked in the public interest, [1:16] but in the neoliberal era, [1:18] today, [1:20] they work only for big corporations [1:22] and billionaires, [1:24] and that is creating a little bit of a problem. [1:27] We could choose to enact economic policies [1:31] that raise taxes on the rich, [1:34] regulate powerful corporations or raise wages for workers. [1:38] We have done it before. [1:39] But neoliberal economists would warn [1:42] that all of these policies would be a terrible mistake, [1:46] because raising taxes always kills economic growth, [1:50] and any form of government regulation [1:52] is inefficient, [1:54] and raising wages always kills jobs. [1:57] Well, as a consequence of that thinking, [2:00] over the last 30 years, in the USA alone, [2:04] the top one percent has grown 21 trillion dollars richer [2:09] while the bottom 50 percent have grown 900 billion dollars poorer, [2:14] a pattern of widening inequality that has largely repeated itself [2:18] across the world. [2:19] And yet, as middle class families struggle to get by [2:24] on wages that have not budged in about 40 years, [2:28] neoliberal economists continue to warn that the only reasonable response [2:32] to the painful dislocations of austerity and globalization [2:36] is even more austerity and globalization. [2:40] So, what is a society to do? [2:44] Well, it's super clear to me what we need to do. [2:47] We need a new economics. [2:51] So, economics has been described as the dismal science, [2:55] and for good reason, because as much as it is taught today, [2:58] it isn't a science at all, [3:00] in spite of all of the dazzling mathematics. [3:03] In fact, a growing number of academics and practitioners [3:06] have concluded that neoliberal economic theory is dangerously wrong [3:12] and that today's growing crises of rising inequality [3:16] and growing political instability [3:17] are the direct result of decades of bad economic theory. [3:23] What we now know is that the economics that made me so rich isn't just wrong, [3:29] it's backwards, [3:31] because it turns out [3:33] it isn't capital that creates economic growth, [3:36] it's people; [3:39] and it isn't self-interest that promotes the public good, [3:44] it's reciprocity; [3:46] and it isn't competition that produces our prosperity, [3:50] it's cooperation. [3:53] What we can now see is that an economics that is neither just nor inclusive [3:58] can never sustain the high levels of social cooperation [4:02] necessary to enable a modern society to thrive. [4:05] So where did we go wrong? [4:09] Well, it turns out that it's become painfully obvious [4:13] that the fundamental assumptions that undergird neoliberal economic theory [4:19] are just objectively false, [4:22] and so today first I want to take you through some of those mistaken assumptions [4:26] and then after describe where the science suggests prosperity actually comes from. [4:33] So, neoliberal economic assumption number one is [4:37] that the market is an efficient equilibrium system, [4:42] which basically means that if one thing in the economy, like wages, goes up, [4:48] another thing in the economy, like jobs, must go down. [4:53] So for example, in Seattle, where I live, [4:56] when in 2014 we passed our nation's first 15 dollar minimum wage, [5:02] the neoliberals freaked out over their precious equilibrium. [5:07] "If you raise the price of labor," they warned, [5:10] "businesses will purchase less of it. [5:12] Thousands of low-wage workers will lose their jobs. [5:14] The restaurants will close." [5:16] Except ... [5:19] they didn't. [5:20] The unemployment rate fell dramatically. [5:25] The restaurant business in Seattle boomed. [5:28] Why? [5:30] Because there is no equilibrium. [5:33] Because raising wages doesn't kill jobs, it creates them; [5:36] because, for instance, [5:38] when restaurant owners are suddenly required to pay restaurant workers enough [5:43] so that now even they can afford to eat in restaurants, [5:47] it doesn't shrink the restaurant business, [5:49] it grows it, obviously. [5:53] (Applause) [5:54] Thank you. [5:58] The second assumption is [6:01] that the price of something is always equal to its value, [6:06] which basically means that if you earn 50,000 dollars a year [6:10] and I earn 50 million dollars a year, [6:13] that's because I produce a thousand times as much value as you. [6:18] Now, [6:20] it will not surprise you to learn [6:23] that this is a very comforting assumption [6:25] if you're a CEO paying yourself 50 million dollars a year [6:28] but paying your workers poverty wages. [6:31] But please, take it from somebody who has run dozens of businesses: [6:35] this is nonsense. [6:38] People are not paid what they are worth. [6:40] They are paid what they have the power to negotiate, [6:43] and wages' falling share of GDP [6:46] is not because workers have become less productive [6:50] but because employers have become more powerful. [6:54] And -- [6:55] (Applause) [6:59] And by pretending that the giant imbalance in power between capital and labor [7:04] doesn't exist, [7:06] neoliberal economic theory became essentially [7:10] a protection racket for the rich. [7:13] The third assumption, and by far the most pernicious, [7:16] is a behavioral model [7:17] that describes human beings as something called "homo economicus," [7:21] which basically means that we are all perfectly selfish, [7:26] perfectly rational and relentlessly self-maximizing. [7:31] But just ask yourselves, [7:33] is it plausible that every single time for your entire life, [7:37] when you did something nice for somebody else, [7:39] all you were doing was maximizing your own utility? [7:42] Is it plausible that when a soldier jumps on a grenade to defend fellow soldiers, [7:46] they're just promoting their narrow self-interest? [7:49] If you think that's nuts, [7:51] contrary to any reasonable moral intuition, [7:54] that's because it is [7:56] and, according to the latest science, [7:58] not true. [7:59] But it is this behavioral model [8:02] which is at the cold, cruel heart of neoliberal economics, [8:05] and it is as morally corrosive [8:09] as it is scientifically wrong [8:11] because, if we accept at face value [8:16] that humans are fundamentally selfish, [8:19] and then we look around the world [8:22] at all of the unambiguous prosperity in it, [8:26] then it follows logically, [8:28] then it must be true by definition, [8:30] that billions of individual acts of selfishness [8:34] magically transubstantiate into prosperity and the common good. [8:38] If we humans are merely selfish maximizers, [8:41] then selfishness is the cause of our prosperity. [8:46] Under this economic logic, [8:48] greed is good, [8:51] widening inequality is efficient, [8:54] and the only purpose of the corporation [8:56] can be to enrich shareholders, [8:58] because to do otherwise would be to slow economic growth [9:02] and harm the economy overall. [9:05] And it is this gospel of selfishness [9:08] which forms the ideological cornerstone of neoliberal economics, [9:13] a way of thinking which has produced economic policies [9:16] which have enabled me and my rich buddies in the top one percent [9:20] to grab virtually all of the benefits of growth over the last 40 years. [9:25] But, [9:26] if instead [9:29] we accept the latest empirical research, [9:32] real science, which correctly describes human beings [9:36] as highly cooperative, [9:39] reciprocal [9:40] and intuitively moral creatures, [9:43] then it follows logically [9:46] that it must be cooperation [9:48] and not selfishness [9:50] that is the cause of our prosperity, [9:52] and it isn't our self-interest [9:54] but rather our inherent reciprocity [9:58] that is humanity's economic superpower. [10:01] So at the heart of this new economics [10:06] is a story about ourselves that grants us permission to be our best selves, [10:11] and, unlike the old economics, [10:14] this is a story that is virtuous [10:16] and also has the virtue of being true. [10:21] Now, [10:22] I want to emphasize that this new economics [10:25] is not something I have personally imagined or invented. [10:27] Its theories and models are being developed and refined [10:30] in universities around the world [10:32] building on some of the best new research in economics, [10:36] complexity theory, evolutionary theory, [10:37] psychology, anthropology and other disciplines. [10:41] And although this new economics does not yet have its own textbook [10:45] or even a commonly agreed upon name, [10:48] in broad strokes [10:50] its explanation of where prosperity comes from goes something like this. [10:55] So, market capitalism is an evolutionary system [11:00] in which prosperity emerges [11:02] through a positive feedback loop [11:04] between increasing amounts of innovation and increasing amounts of consumer demand. [11:09] Innovation is the process by which we solve human problems, [11:14] consumer demand is the mechanism through which the market selects [11:17] for useful innovations, [11:20] and as we solve more problems, we become more prosperous. [11:23] But as we become more prosperous, [11:27] our problems and solutions [11:29] become more complex, [11:32] and this increasing technical complexity [11:35] requires ever higher levels of social and economic cooperation [11:39] in order to produce the more highly specialized products [11:42] that define a modern economy. [11:48] Now, the old economics is correct, of course, [11:52] that competition plays a crucial role in how markets work, [11:56] but what it fails to see [11:58] is that it is largely a competition between highly cooperative groups -- [12:03] competition between firms, competition between networks of firms, [12:07] competition between nations -- [12:10] and anyone who has ever run a successful business knows [12:14] that building a cooperative team by including the talents of everyone [12:19] is almost always a better strategy than just a bunch of selfish jerks. [12:25] So how do we leave neoliberalism behind [12:32] and build a more sustainable, more prosperous [12:37] and more equitable society? [12:40] The new economics suggests just five rules of thumb. [12:44] First is that successful economies are not jungles, they're gardens, [12:51] which is to say that markets, [12:55] like gardens, must be tended, [12:59] that the market is the greatest social technology ever invented [13:03] for solving human problems, [13:05] but unconstrained by social norms or democratic regulation, [13:10] markets inevitably create more problems than they solve. [13:14] Climate change, [13:15] the great financial crisis of 2008 [13:17] are two easy examples. [13:19] The second rule is [13:23] that inclusion creates economic growth. [13:28] So the neoliberal idea [13:30] that inclusion is this fancy luxury [13:33] to be afforded if and when we have growth is both wrong and backwards. [13:39] The economy is people. [13:42] Including more people in more ways [13:44] is what causes economic growth in market economies. [13:49] The third principle [13:51] is the purpose of the corporation is not merely to enrich shareholders. [13:58] The greatest grift in contemporary economic life [14:01] is the neoliberal idea that the only purpose of the corporation [14:04] and the only responsibility of executives [14:07] is to enrich themselves and shareholders. [14:11] The new economics must and can insist [14:17] that the purpose of the corporation [14:19] is to improve the welfare of all stakeholders: [14:22] customers, workers, [14:24] community and shareholders alike. [14:28] Rule four: [14:30] greed is not good. [14:34] Being rapacious doesn't make you a capitalist, [14:38] it makes you a sociopath. [14:40] (Laughter) [14:42] (Applause) [14:47] And in an economy as dependent upon cooperation at scale as ours, [14:52] sociopathy is as bad for business as it is for society. [14:57] And fifth and finally, [15:00] unlike the laws of physics, [15:03] the laws of economics are a choice. [15:08] Now, neoliberal economic theory [15:10] has sold itself to you as unchangeable natural law, [15:15] when in fact it's social norms and constructed narratives [15:19] based on pseudoscience. [15:21] If we truly want a more equitable, [15:25] more prosperous and more sustainable economy, [15:29] if we want high-functioning democracies [15:31] and civil society, [15:34] we must have a new economics. [15:36] And here's the good news: [15:38] if we want a new economics, [15:40] all we have to do is choose to have it. [15:44] Thank you. [15:46] (Applause) [16:03] Moderator: So Nick, I'm sure you get this question a lot. [16:08] If you're so unhappy with the economic system, [16:11] why not just give all your money away and join the 99 percent? [16:16] Nick Hanauer: Yeah, no, yes, right. [16:19] You get that a lot. You get that a lot. [16:20] "If you care so much about taxes, why don't you pay more, [16:23] and if you care so much about wages, why don't you pay more?" [16:26] And I could do that. [16:29] The problem is, [16:30] it doesn't make that much difference, [16:32] and I have discovered a strategy [16:34] that works literally a hundred thousand times better -- [16:37] Moderator: OK. [16:38] NH: which is to use my money to build narratives and to pass laws [16:41] that will require all the other rich people [16:43] to pay taxes and pay their workers better. [16:46] (Applause) [16:47] And so, for example, [16:49] the 15-dollar minimum wage that we cooked up [16:52] has now affected 30 million workers. [16:54] So that works better. [16:55] Moderator: That's great. [16:57] If you change your mind, we'll find some takers for you. [16:59] NH: OK. Thank you. Moderator: Thank you very much.