Lecturer from Thirsk, North Yorkshire, launches book on capitalism

The subject of Dr David Atkinson's book is: How do you achieve social and economic justice in a country facing a cost-of-living crisis on the back of a worldwide pandemic and war in Ukraine?

In Reimagining Capitalism, Dr Atkinson examines the role played by Government, big business and the establishment and questions whether they are too interlocked to bring new thinking to the table.

Dr Atkinson lives in Thirsk and lectures in Management and Organisation at York St John University.

An RAF engineer for 20 years and former restaurateur, he describes himself as “openly autistic” and his work in the field of neurodiversity recently led to him being named “Inspiration of the Year” at the recent British Ex-Forces in Business Awards.

“Many feel the current system, regardless of who is in power, simply doesn’t have the answers required for the set of challenges we face, that perhaps Government, the establishment and business barons are too closely interlocked and we need a re-boot,” said Dr Atkinson.

“I feel my wide range of personal experiences coupled with an openly autistic mindset helps me to explore and provoke critique from unexpected angles whilst maintaining academic rigour. I hope this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in how capitalism works.”

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It was Dr Atkinson’s pioneering work in the field of unlocking the talent of neurodiverse people that led to his local MP and Government Minister Kevin Hollinrake contacting him and agreeing to attend the book launch which was held at York St John University.

Mr Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton since 2015, is Minister for Small Business, Enterprise and Markets.

In welcoming Dr Atkinson’s thought-provoking new book, he said competition is vital for markets to prosper and Government has a role to play in ensuring competition is fair.