Win-win solutions are a fantasy: in reality, progress creates both winners and losers

It’s no secret that the biggest gains in the growing global economy are reaped by the extremely wealthy. And from philanthropy to tech initiatives, plenty of the world’s billionaires claim to have solutions to combat the escalating inequality. But while members of the winning class might believe their own arguments, the US writer Anand Giridharadas says they’re a naive fantasy: regardless of good intentions, those with power cannot elevate others unless they also give up something. In this animated excerpt from a lecture at the Royal Society of Arts in London, Giridharadas explains why, even if so-called ‘win-win solutions’ might sometimes apply in commerce and trade, they don’t make society more equal.