The capitalist model was developed in the 19th century and recent events have shown the difficulties of adapting this to the demands of the 21st century, in which human and social capital are of far greater importance than physical capital. In Going off the Rails, John Plender shows how corporate scandals, inflated boardroom pay, corporate governance disciplines and outmoded accountancy conventions have stretched the Anglo-American model to its limit and what the effects of this might be on globalisation and the capital markets.

John Plender is a senior editorial writer and columnist at the Financial Times and a regular current affairs broadcaster for the BBC and Channel Four. John has served on the UK government's Company Law Review steering group, and consults on corporate governance for the International Finance Corporation, the private sector lending and investing arm of the World Bank. In 1994 John Plender received the Wincott Award, Britain's premier prize for financial journalism.