A new book by Michael Megalli
Capitalism isn’t dying. It’s unfinished.
Unfinished Business—a bracing case that the real economic story of our time isn’t decline. It’s a story we haven’t finished writing yet.
You’ve heard that we’re living in late-stage capitalism—that the system is in decline, and something better is coming if we just wait.
What if the frustration you feel isn’t a death rattle, but a growing pain?
Unfinished Businessmakes a bracing case that the real economic story of our time isn’t decline. It’s the gap between the prosperous, vibrant, just economy that’s possible and the corporatist one we’ve inherited.
The argument, in one breath
The system we have was designed for production.It was never designed for participation.
And resolving that unfinished business is the most important work of our time.
This is a book for anyone who senses that our economic future isn’t fixed—and that the next chapter is ours to write.
The book
What’s inside
The book is short and moves fast. It’s organized in three parts.
The Trap.
Why the two dominant stories about capitalism—that it's exploitation, or that it's liberation—both keep us stuck. And what's actually broken underneath them.
The Game.
The things you were never taught about how business and markets actually work, and why literacy and fluency matter more now than ever.
The Invitation.
Why this is the early stage of something, not the late stage of something else—and what it would take to write a new story together.
Go deeper
Want to develop your business literacy now?Join Michael for “What is Business?”, a plain-language course at indie.biz designed for people who were never taught how business actually works.
Read first
Read the first chapters, free.
The Introduction and Chapter 1, sent to your inbox. No newsletter you didn’t ask for—just the sample, and the occasional note from Michael when there’s something worth sharing.
Introduction + Chapter 1 · PDF
Praise
“Honest, urgent, and full of practical hope.”
The author
Michael Megalli
Michael Megalli has spent twenty-five years working with some of the biggest companies in the world and some of the smallest. He teaches Entrepreneurial Marketing at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, runs the strategic brand consultancy Djinn Dept, and founded indie.biz, a platform for people building independent businesses. He lives in Seattle.
He wrote Unfinished Businessbecause, after years of teaching and building, he became convinced that the frustration so many people feel with the current economy isn’t a sign that the system is dying. It’s a sign that it isn’t finished yet—and that the next chapter belongs to the people willing to build it.
Michael is developing in-person and online workshops on the ideas in the book, and is available for speaking engagements. Reach him at hello@indie.biz.
Members of the press: view the press kit.
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