In the following interview, Adrienne Buller reflects on a number of timeless yet relevant questions tied to the crisis-prone and contradictory nature of capitalist democracies, as an author and policy researcher at a progressive think tank in London. She begins by stressing just how sharp and deepening the contrasts between the political ideals and the material realities of liberal-capitalist societies really are in the present times. Political equality and democratic action, in particular, are turning into hollow promises given the increasing concentration of both wealth and power in the hands of so few. These trends intensify the economic domination and exploitation of the remaining population, amidst a looming ecological crisis. But they also fuel their political dispossession, as large corporations and vested interests become ever more powerful. Things like the rampant distrust and apathy towards politicians, along with the turn to fringe, anti-democratic political forces, she argues, are symptomatic of these core tensions at the heart of capitalist democracies. Based on this assessment, she then outlines her own proposals to overcome this predicament. Transformative policies, centred around a real, democratic ownership of the economy, are necessary for collective empowerment in all aspects of people’s lives.