What Are Markets For?

by Philip Roscoe

Overview

A new perspective on the role of the market, and its future place in society.

Markets are apparently straightforward: they connect buyers to sellers. But their operation is complex, depending on places, things, networks and performances. Belief in markets is a cultural and political ideology. They are a means of governance in modern society, linked to individualistic self-responsibility.

But markets also have a darker side. Not everything should be for sale. Markets wield political power; they benefit those who already have resources; they impair collective action; they can be exploitative. As well as asking what markets are for, this book asks who they are for and what needs to change if they are to enable us to thrive in the 21st century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529244182
Publisher:	Bristol University Press
Publication date:	06/01/2026
Series:	What Is It For?
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160

About the Author

Philip Roscoe is Professor in Management at the University of St Andrews. His research takes a sociological approach to markets and finance. A former journalist, he was one of the first BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Thinkers. His previous book, How to Build a Stock Exchange, was published by Bristol University Press in 2023.
Philip Roscoe is Professor in Management at the University of St Andrews. His research takes a sociological approach to markets and finance. A former journalist, he was one of the first BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Thinkers.

Table of Contents

1. Who Goes to the Market?

2. Markets, History, and Technology

3. The ‘End of History’

4. Histories of Accumulation

5. Crisis and the End of an Era

6. Markets and the Law

7. What Should Not Be for Sale?

8. Market Design

9. Civilizing Markets