Dr Raghuram Rajan, is clear about one thing throughout his latest title — he doesn't want to tax the reader's patience, nor his editor's. The Third Pillar (HarperCollins India) released last month and Rajan has been on a tour across cities to promote it — making a stop at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) on Wednesday. While addressing the three pillars that support society — the state, markets, and the community — he delves into history and anecdotal evidences, offering a comprehensive understanding into our economic and political concerns such as technological change and populism. Edited excerpts from an interview.

You've mentioned that your previous works with Luigi Zingales and Rodney Ramcharan have been central to some of the ideas in The Third Pillar...
I think the broad issue of the underpinnings of capitalism was based on discussions and works with Luigi. Some of the historical aspects stemmed from my work with Rodney. The book is about trying to understand why capitalism and democracy work so well together in the industrial countries: why is there so much anxiety and protest about it now? What do we need to do to make sure it starts working there again, and for countries like India? What kind of message do we take away on what the way forward is?