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Nobel laureate Philippe Aghion to give a public lecture on creative destruction at CERGE-EI

10 April, 2026

CERGE-EI will mark one of the highlights of its 35th anniversary year with a public lecture by Nobel laureate Philippe Aghion, one of the world’s leading economists on innovation, growth, and the future of capitalism.

As part of the Distinguished Speakers Series, CERGE-EI will welcome Philippe Aghion, affiliated with Collège de France, INSEAD, and the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a member of CERGE-EI’s ESC, for a lecture titled The Power of Creative Destruction: Rethinking Capitalism.

The event will explore one of the most influential ideas in modern economics: creative destruction, a term popularized by Joseph Schumpeter to describe the process by which innovation continuously transforms the economy from within. New technologies, firms, and business models replace older ones, driving productivity, long-term growth, and rising living standards. At the same time, this process can bring disruption, as capital and labor move away from declining sectors toward emerging industries.

Drawing on this concept, Aghion will argue that innovation remains the central engine of prosperity in capitalist economies — but that capitalism in its current form must be rethought if it is to remain socially and politically sustainable.

His lecture will examine the tensions that accompany innovation, including widening inequality, growing market concentration, and the tendency of successful firms to use their dominance to block future competitors. This, Aghion suggests, lies at the heart of a central contradiction of capitalism: innovators are motivated by the prospect of success and temporary monopoly rents, yet once they become dominant, they may try to prevent the very competition and disruption that made their rise possible.

Rather than rejecting capitalism, Aghion advocates reshaping it. He describes capitalism as a “formidable engine of prosperity” and an indispensable source of innovation, while warning that market forces cannot simply be left to operate unchecked. Left unregulated, he argues, capitalist systems can produce damaging side effects, from exploding inequality and fractured societies to failures in confronting climate change.

Aghion’s proposed answer is a new synthesis that combines the innovative dynamism of the United States with the stronger social protections associated with Europe, particularly the Danish model of “flexicurity.” The goal is an economy that is both more innovative and more inclusive.

The lecture will also address the implications of artificial intelligence, which Aghion sees as both a promise and a risk. As with earlier waves of innovation, AI has the potential to boost prosperity, but only if supported by effective public policy in areas such as competition, education, and social protection.

Another theme of the talk will be the role of the state and civil society in shaping markets. Aghion argues that a laissez-faire approach is not enough to deliver socially desirable outcomes, whether in limiting corporate entrenchment, supporting social mobility, or steering economies toward green innovation. He proposes what he calls a “magic triangle” of the state, the market, and civil society: the state invests in education and science, the market drives competition and entrepreneurship, and civil society acts as a watchdog against collusion between economic and political power.

The lecture fits squarely into CERGE-EI’s anniversary theme, 35 Years of Ideas That Matter. Throughout 2026, the institution is celebrating not only its record of rigorous academic research, but also its identity as a community where ideas are openly exchanged, curiosity is encouraged, and people support one another across disciplines and roles.

As a joint workplace of Charles University and the Czech Academy of Sciences, CERGE-EI has, over the past 35 years, built an international community of students, alumni, scholars, and partners who have contributed to economic research and policymaking around the world. The anniversary programme is intended to reflect that legacy while opening new conversations about the challenges shaping the future.

Those wishing to attend Aghion’s lecture in person are asked to register in advance, as capacity is limited. The event will also be streamed live on the CERGE-EI YouTube channel, with no registration required for online viewers.