Greed, page 34
Much of this book is fictional, including most of the characters. I took some liberties in terms of the locations in Berlin. The crisis scenario I’ve sketched out could take a different form – a whole variety of factors could potentially trigger a chain of reactions and sweep through our political and economic systems.
What are very much applied in the real world, however, are the established socio-political and economic concepts I present, including the subsidiarity principle, equilibrium, expected utility hypotheses, comparative advantage, decision theory and game theory.
Naturally, the theories and findings of many other scientists, philosophers, politicians and other public figures have fed into this book. Their names would take up several pages, so I wish simply to acknowledge their overall contribution here.
I’d like to thank the team at Blanvalet/Transworld and everyone at Gaeb literary agency. Without you a book like this would not have been possible.
But my extra special thanks go to you, my dear reader, for daring to enrol in this adventure. If you liked the book and think others might too, then do please pass on your recommendation.
Marc Elsberg
Vienna, July 2020
marcelsberg.com
Q&A with Marc Elsberg
What do you see as the biggest threat to our society?
Growing factions within societies and the global community. They make the conciliation necessary to fight major threats like COVID-19, the looming climate catastrophe and conflict management increasingly difficult, if not impossible.
Greed is about unleashed capitalism. How can a topic like this be made into a thriller?
Every topic can be turned into a thriller. I think the truly ground-breaking point here is the scientific solution I am able to present. Some might do that in a non-fiction book. I wrap it up into a thriller.
What inspired you to write this novel?
The development of the world’s societies during the last decades, on one hand. On the other hand, the ground-breaking work of a few scientists – physicists and mathematicians – at the London Mathematical Laboratory. They are shaking the foundations of our political and economic paradigms, and show the underlying mechanisms of a constructive solution.
Greed is fiction. Could it become reality?
The events in Greed mirror real life even more now than when I wrote it, as I anticipated. Even before COVID-19 struck, these events were a reality in many places. Worldwide conflicts had been on the rise, internationally and nationally. Just think of the US–Chinese trade war, Brexit, or popular uprisings such as Occupy, Podemos in Spain, the Umbrella movement in Hong Kong and the Yellow Vest movement in France. And now, due to the coronavirus, we face the worst economic crisis in decades – exactly the scenario in Greed.
In what way is Greed a global novel?
The concepts presented offer a new perspective on dealing with some of the world’s most important challenges. They concern everyone on this planet.
THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING
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Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published in Great Britain in 2020 by Black Swan
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Published by arrangement with Literary Agency Michael Gaeb
Copyright © Marc Elsberg 2020
Translation copyright © Simon Pare 2020
Cover textures: Shutterstock
Marc Elsberg has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781473555266
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Marc Elsberg, Greed
