Is It Possible to Restart the Future?

Abstract

Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake’s recent book Restarting the Future: How to Fix the Intangible Economy has been translated into Russian by Alexey Rezvov and was published by the Gaidar Institute Press in 2025. This book follows up themes from their previous Capitalism without Capital: The Rise of the Intangible Economy, which appeared in Russian translation in 2024. The new work offers a timely and original analysis of contemporary economic problems. What hinders sustainable economic development? Why are private investments stagnating? What needs to change in the financing system for cutting-edge sectors in light of the specifics of the modern technological base? How compatible are innovations with the protection of intellectual property rights? How should we respond to the challenges of catch-up development within the context of the “intangible economy”? All these questions are raised in the book and are discussed in the article presented here. Many of the book’s assessments and conclusions are debatable, and at times Haskel and Westlake merely outline problems and contradictions, leaving ample room for further reflection and independent conclusions.