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A review by books_ergo_sum
The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson
reflective
5.0
Yes, this book is a memoir about a City London finance trader. No, I haven’t been hacked lol
Listen—I *firmly believe* that if us lefties finally get popular support for a wealth tax on the super rich (like, a 2% wealth tax on assets over 10 million) in order to increase equality in our countries (and stave off an early 20th century-looking authoritarian situation or the Brazilification of our economies)… it’s not going to be because of a speech by Bernie Sanders or a 1,000 page book by Thomas Piketty.
It’s going to be because of a YouTube video by this author, Gary Stevenson.
Because he made millions of dollars a year as a Foreign Exchange trader for CitiBank, betting that rising inequality would cause asset prices (like housing) to rise, living standards to fall, and global economies to collapse.
Until it ate him up inside.
And then he had to fight to leave his job so that he could legally tell the world what’s happening.
And now—talk about building class solidarity—his interviews with both lefty outlets (like Novara Media) and finance bro outlets (like Business Insider) get millions of views. Could you imagine if the 6’5” blue-eyed finance guys started voting left??
I’ve seen him compare his memoir to Candide by Voltaire. And it was satirical (finance bros are nuts). I’d also compare it to Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Because it was about going into the belly of the beast, where the beast is global finance instead of Belgian colonialism.
This is such a unique voice in lefty politics. And it’s a good reminder that, if we’re going to fix the problem of global finance—we have to listen to the people most intimately familiar with it.
Listen—I *firmly believe* that if us lefties finally get popular support for a wealth tax on the super rich (like, a 2% wealth tax on assets over 10 million) in order to increase equality in our countries (and stave off an early 20th century-looking authoritarian situation or the Brazilification of our economies)… it’s not going to be because of a speech by Bernie Sanders or a 1,000 page book by Thomas Piketty.
It’s going to be because of a YouTube video by this author, Gary Stevenson.
Because he made millions of dollars a year as a Foreign Exchange trader for CitiBank, betting that rising inequality would cause asset prices (like housing) to rise, living standards to fall, and global economies to collapse.
Until it ate him up inside.
And then he had to fight to leave his job so that he could legally tell the world what’s happening.
And now—talk about building class solidarity—his interviews with both lefty outlets (like Novara Media) and finance bro outlets (like Business Insider) get millions of views. Could you imagine if the 6’5” blue-eyed finance guys started voting left??
I’ve seen him compare his memoir to Candide by Voltaire. And it was satirical (finance bros are nuts). I’d also compare it to Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Because it was about going into the belly of the beast, where the beast is global finance instead of Belgian colonialism.
This is such a unique voice in lefty politics. And it’s a good reminder that, if we’re going to fix the problem of global finance—we have to listen to the people most intimately familiar with it.