'It takes scholarly courage and knowledge to upend Adam Smith, but this is what Krzysztof Pelc has done in this profound and brilliant study' Robert Skidelsky

'Turning both economics and conventional wisdom on their held, Pelc describes a world in which those who shun self-interest may actually end up being most successful – and most fulfilled' David Pilling, author of The Growth Delusion

We’ve learned that the way to get ahead is through strong will, grit and naked ambition. The belief that self-interest makes the world go round has served us well: it has helped make societies more affluent. More and more often however, financial success comes down to being seen as passionate, not a grim determination to be successful for the sake of success itself.

In Beyond Self-Interest, Krzysztof Pelc argues that those who prosper increasingly do so by spurning prosperity, or by convincing others that they are pursuing passion, purpose, love of craft – anything but their own self-advancement. From the Puritans, who followed a religious calling and yet made a killing; to the fastest-growing firms of today, who claim to be ‘changing to the world’ through ‘doing what they love’, declaring passion over profit is a profitable move.

A bold, incisive and original work that draws on three centuries of intellectual thought, Beyond Self-Interest is a book to upend how we relate to capitalism. What if the true driver of market society is not the appearance of self-interest, but its opposite?