book recommendation: winners take all, by anand giridharadas
Winners Take All - the elite charade of changing the world, is not a new book, but it is as relevant today as when it was published back in 2018. The book changed how I think about my work and the world. It should be required reading for anyone working at the intersection of brand and social change.
Anand Giridharadas, photo by Mackenzie Stroh
Winners Take All explores the dynamics between philanthropy, capitalism, and social change. Giridharadas is that rare person who can challenge everything you believe in, and you will love him for it.
He made me rethink if businesses truly can be forces for good, and under which conditions they can (and cannot).
He made me appreciate the role of government in addressing complex social issues. I now actually think a career in public service/government could be a worthy career switch at some point.
It’s filled to the brim with great quotes and real world examples of ethical dillemas.
I wanted to write up some of the lessons learned from the book and encourage anyone to read it in full.
Who is Anand Giridharadas?
If you’ve not heard of Anand Giridharadas, it’s worth diving into his work online. Giridharadas is an American journalist focussed on democracy, and the various threats to it.
He is a former columnist for The New York Times. He is the author of four books: India Calling: An Intimate Portrait of a Nation's Remaking (2011), The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas (2014), Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World (2018), and The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy (2022).
He is also the husband of Priya Parker, famed thought leader on hosting. It was through her that I actually discovered Giridharadas’ work.
Giridharadas is no stranger to the world of wealth and influence he writes about. His father was a director at McKinsey, and he followed in his footsteps as a consultant for a short-lived 2 year stint, before becoming a journalist. It’s likely that his time at McKinsey was formative for Giridharadas, though probably not in the way his superiors had wanted it to be, judging by the turn his career and his views have taken since then.
He is willing to challenge his own beliefs, and so should we all.
What is the core message of Winners Take all?
Giridharadas argues that the wealthy and powerful, often through philanthropy and corporate social responsibility initiatives, seek to address social issues without fundamentally challenging the structures that perpetuate those very issues.
Many of us have bought into the theory that market world has a unique ability to address social woes effectively, which Giridharadas points out is like thinking “arsonists make the best firefighters”.
He argues that this allows elites to maintain their privilege and influence while appearing altruistic and socially conscious.
This might sound like your normal anti-capitalist schtick, but Giridharadas illustrates it through frank conversations with people who represent different sides of this story. He speaks to talented, purpose-driven young people who end up at consultancy firms like McKinsey, Bain and Boston Consultancy group, because they bought into the belief that the market is the place for world-changing, and market types are the ideal world-changers.
He also speaks to bankers, social entrepreneurs, the head of a large philanthropic organisation, and, representing government, even Bill Clinton himself.
The depth of those conversations, and the willingness of people to open up about their doubts, astonished me. It wasn’t until the end of the book, when Giridharadas explains that he got access to these people through participation in a fellowship at the Aspen Institute, that I understood that these interviews where made possible by a deeper previous relationship.
What I learned from Winners Take All
As a brand builder who has bought into the idea that the market can act as a force for good, this book challenged many of my beliefs, and I enjoyed it. There are many lessons in the book, but for me, these four stood out.
1. Market world solutions to complex problems often address the symptom, not the cause.
We’ve created an environment of toxic positivity where we demand of ourselves and others to focus on solutions, not problems.
An example from the book that hit home with me was an app developed in the US that helps people on small irregular incomes (often workingin the gig economy) spread out their income throughout the month, helping them to manage fluctuations in their income and expenses.
Here is a solution to a problem for sure, but is it the right problem to solve? Isn’t the real problem that the big players in the gig economy now have power over a workforce of millions of people that they consider as independent contractors, with zero job security and benefits? And that the future of work is heading more and more into that direction? By building an unstable income management app, are we actually undermining the need for government policy? Are we reinforcing the perception that government is weak and silicon valley has the solutions?
Many of the clients I work for operate in a similar space, where the government is not stepping in, and they are solving issues for the common good.
Are we doing work that should actually be addressed by the government? Are we undermining civic action?
These questions will keep me sharp.
2. Win-win is a fallacy
When companies make profit while helping people, we all win right? Not so fast, Giridharadas argues. The win, very often, is bigger for one party than the other.
When you work in this space, you end up compartmentalizing things to cope with the reality of the difference you are trying to make.
3. We should always be allowed question philanthropy
I have rolled my eyes and sighed, annoyed by people questioning the philanthropy of for instance Bill Gates. Giridharadas showed me that’s not the right attitude.
Much wealth has been acquired creating more inequality. While tech companies grow rich, the poor get poorer. Yet, in the public view, it has become acceptable and even laudable for the wealthy to give away the profits they made from a bad practice. And those who question that practice are shushed.
Giridharadas traces this idea back to Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish-American industrialist, who made the argument in his essay “Wealth” that he should be able to make the most money in whatever way he saw fit, and then be in a position to do the most good with it.
Today, we take a Robin Hood-style approach. Without questioning the way the wealth is made, nothing will change. For the people who choose how to spend the money for good still hold an incredible amount of power. They will ensure that it won’t be spent to undermine their privilege.
4. Thought leaders are not well positioned to question the systems they want to change
Giridharadas points out the difference between public intellectuals and thought leaders. The public intellectuals are safe to offer critique because it does not bite the hand that feeds, but they are poorly funded. Thought leaders work through the market to productize their ideas.
That describes me in some sense. In a very subtle way, I do self-censor. I think about what people think - and I adjust.
He shares an example of a thought leader who advocates for safer workspaces for women. Over the years she learnt that if you want to talk about the structural power of sexism, first make people think of their daughters. Older men would then be moved to understand because they want their daughters to have every opportunity. Though effective, she felt this also shrank the problem somehow. After all - the men did not feel that their coworker deserved every opportunity. It wasn’t challenging people to look at their own priviledge.
Yet the thought leader is dependent on the market forces to build their careers, thus they have to cut some moral corners.
All the questions raised by this 2018 book are still relevant today. His latest, the Persuaders, is an insider account of activists, politicians, educators, and everyday citizens who are on the ground working to change minds, bridge divisions, and fight for democracy. It’s next on our reading list
Find all of Giridharadas’ books, essays, and newsletter sign up link on his website.
Do you have a book that changed how you look at your work and the world? Let us know at hello@brandthechange.org, we’d love to put it on our reading list.
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