{"id":169458,"date":"2024-06-12T11:23:06","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T09:23:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=169458"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:23","slug":"robert-durs-book-club-wonders-is-capitalism-obsolete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2024\/06\/12\/robert-durs-book-club-wonders-is-capitalism-obsolete\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Dur\u2019s book club wonders: Is capitalism obsolete?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Economist Robert Dur started a book club with a group of ten students. Once a fortnight, they met to discuss Giacomo Corneo\u2019s book Is Capitalism Obsolete? \u201cIt\u2019s one of the most fun things I\u2019ve done in years\u201d, Dur says of the book club.<\/p>\n

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Robert Dur.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLeroy Verbeet<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The idea for a book club started with a student in the second year of the Bachelor Economics. That year, economist Robert Dur was teaching one of the main courses. In the second week, once the course was properly underway, Narmin Bayramova asked him for a book recommendation. She found the supplied course materials \u2018somewhat limited\u2019 and wanted to read more widely on the subject. Dur recommended Policy and Choice <\/em>by William Congdon, Jeffrey Kling and Sendhil Mullainathan, a book on public policy, about how policies change when people are not assumed to be quite so rational, contrary to long-held economic beliefs.<\/p>\n

She finished that book within a week. Next, she wanted to read more about the big systems, about big questions. She wanted to know whether we shouldn\u2019t replace the current economic system with something better. \u201cIs Capitalism Obsolete?<\/em> by Giacomo Corneo came to mind. Talking to the student, we came up with the idea to start a book club and read the book together\u201d, Dur says.<\/p>\n\t

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Last book read (nearly finished):<\/strong> We have never been so romantic <\/em>by philosopher and journalist Hans Kennepohl<\/p>\n

Primary motivation:<\/strong> To open up my mind<\/p>\n

Number of books per year:<\/strong> Not enough<\/p>\n

Favourite genre:<\/strong> Non-fiction<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Fifty pages<\/h2>

The study association Aeclipse posted an invitation on Instagram and in its WhatsApp group. The book club started out with fifteen students. They booked a room at the university once a fortnight on Thursdays, from five to seven. Each meeting focused on two chapters, about fifty pages of preparation.<\/p>\n

The aim was to collect a few questions for the author at the end of each session, which they could put to the author himself in a video call on the last day of the book club sessions. \u201cI was just one of the participants\u201d, Dur repeated several times. \u201cI took a laid-back attitude and didn\u2019t lecture. Everyone had a chance to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t