Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World

Anand Giridharadas’s 2018 nonfiction book Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World is an exposé of the practices by which wealthy, elite individuals from the world of business have taken charge of efforts to improve the well-being of non-elites. The book’s fundamental argument is that these practices are often self-serving and that instead of helping the less fortunate, they uphold and even increase the wealth, power, and status of elites. Giridharadas, a journalist, reveals the range of individuals connected to the elite world, whose stories provide various vantage points to critique the “charade” of elite-driven change.

This guide uses the 2018 Alfred A. Knopf edition of Winners Take All.

Summary

In the Prologue, Giridharadas summarizes the book’s main argument: that elite-led efforts to promote social change are used to uphold the status quo and to increase elites’ gains. He depicts this critique against the backdrop of data showing that despite the elites’ supposed good works, inequality is rampant in the US, wages for the average person have stagnated, and the wealth gap between the top 10% of individuals and the remaining 90% is wider than ever.

In Chapter 1, “But How Is the World Changed?,” Giridharadas begins his primary method of argument, which involves using the stories of individuals connected to the elite world to critique that world. He tells the story of Hilary Cohen, an idealistic college student who is interested in doing work that inspires genuine social change. As a young graduate, Cohen is initially swayed by the rhetoric of corporations like Goldman Sachs and the consulting group McKinsey, who promise to be committed to solutions that are both business-friendly and the most effective way of enacting change. After working as a consultant for McKinsey, Cohen becomes more skeptical of such promises. However, she continues to work in the elite world, ultimately accepting a position with the Obama Foundation.

Chapter 2, “Win-Win,” examines a fundamental aspect of business-world thinking, particularly as it applies to elite efforts to enact social change. Giridharadas argues that elites are beholden to “win-win” thinking, which insists that the only good solutions to social problems are those that lead to profits or other gains in addition to tangible good for individuals. Solutions that offer direct aid to individuals without the expectation of profits are characterized as “win-lose.” Thus, the only solutions elites will consider are those that lead to gains. For instance, entrepreneur Stacy Asher started an initiative called Portfolios with a Purpose, in which elites played a fantasy-football-style stock-picking game, and the proceeds went to people in need—while also bumping up the value of stocks to which the elites had connections.

In Chapter 3, “Rebel-Kings in Worrisome Berets,” Giridharadas examines how elite leaders can cast themselves simultaneously as experts on solving social issues and as mavericks going against the grain of tradition. He argues that such leaders from the world of business claim to disrupt traditional business practices to more effectively foster good in the world, but they practice empty rhetoric and ultimately support the status quo. In particular, he studies a luxurious conference known as the Summit at Sea. At the summit, Shervin Pishevar, a venture capitalist known for supporting companies like Uber and Airbnb, makes self-congratulatory claims about how these companies have disrupted entrenched business ideas—even while the companies face lawsuits related to discrimination, mistreatment of workers, and other issues.

Chapter 4, “The Critic and the Thought Leader,” examines the related topic of thought leadership. Elites promote thought leaders like Harvard Business School sociologist Amy Cuddy as experts whose ideas can fundamentally shape social change. However, Giridharadas notes, their ideas are often not open for free debate and in many cases are biased by elites’ expectations and preferences.

Chapter 5, “Arsonists Make the Best Firefighters,” shares the stories of individuals with unique backgrounds who became involved in the world of elite-led social change. One is billionaire George Soros, who grew up in fascist-led Hungary and throughout his business career has been devoted to fighting injustice and oppression. Nevertheless, he began an Economic Advancement Program after being convinced that a market-led approach to fostering social change had merit. He appointed Sean Hinton, a former musicologist and economic liaison in Mongolia, to head the program. Throughout his work as a consultant and the head of Soros’ program, Hinton remained uneasy about the market-led approach to problem solving.

“Generosity and Justice,” the sixth chapter of Winners Take All, tells the story of another “outsider,” Darren Walker. Born into poverty and disadvantage, Walker overcame many challenges and was eventually appointed president of the Ford Foundation. As an executive of one of the world’s largest and most influential philanthropic agencies, Walker found himself at odds with the practices of modern philanthropy, which since the time of Andrew Carnegie has favored elites even as it claims to give back to less fortunate individuals.

In Chapter 7, “All That Works in the Modern World,” Giridharadas examines how the elite, market-driven approach to solving social problems has infiltrated government as well. Examining the cases of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and others, Giridharadas questions the influence and intentions of the market-driven approach in the political realm.

Winners Take All closes with an Epilogue that considers where critics of the market-driven, elite approach to problem solving might find alternatives. Some have looked to the concept of B Corporations as a way to certify that businesses have the public’s best interests in mind. Others argue that solutions to elites’ control must be found entirely outside the business world.