A Marxist History of Capitalism

by Henry Heller

Henry Heller’s short account of the history of capitalism combines Marx’s economic and political thought with contemporary scholarship to shed light on the current capitalist crisis. It argues that capitalism is an evolving mode of production that has now outgrown its institutional and political limits. The book provides an overview of the different historical stages of capitalism, underpinned by accessible discussions of its theoretical foundations. Heller shows that capitalism has always been a double-edged sword, on one hand advancing humanity, and on the other harming traditional societies and our natural environment. He makes the case that capitalism has now become self-destructive, and that our current era of neoliberalism may trigger a transition to a democratic and ecologically aware form of socialism.

Genres: History, Politics, Economics, Nonfiction

148 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2018

About the author

Henry Heller is a Professor of History at the University of Manitoba, Canada. Heller is a historian whose primary interests are the French Renaissance and Reformation, as well as early modern Europe.

Reviews

[Eliza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry Heller offers a concise history of Capitalism from its beginnings to our current crisis. He emphasizes the long period of transition where feudalism still dominated, and the importance of class struggle and political transformation of the state. Demonstrates the 'progressive' character of capitalism as it overcame feudalism politically and economically, while acknowledging that dehumanization and degradation of nature have been inherent to capitalism. Stands against Brenner and demonstrates how the rise of the world market, in particular the incorporation of gold from the Americas, was just as important as the development of capitalist production in Europe.

Heller criticizes eurocentric approaches, following the scholarship of Samir Amin and many others who have studied how capitalism was developing throughout the world, and its emergence in Europe served to prevent and underdevelop societies of the Global South. Following Lenin and other Marxist theorists of imperialism, he follows the rise of financial capital and monopoly capitalism, and the periodic crises of this system.

He views the current crisis as fatal to the capitalist system, and argues that working class revolutions are not only likely but the only rational way for humanity to exit the crisis. There's a lot more I could expand here, but overall I found it well researched, concise and persuasive. It's really short so I recommend checking it out

[Onyx Emerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

درحال‌حاضر سرمایه‌داری شیوهٔ زندگی کل جهان است. تقریباً همهٔ افراد روی کره زمین به سرمایه‌داری بازار وابسته‌اند. هیچ مرزی ورای آن تعریف نشده، سراسر زمین از کالاهای سرمایه‌داری اشباع شده، کل طبیعت تسخیر شده و برای فروش است؛ ما در فرهنگ کالایی زندگی می‌کنیم و نهادهای دولتی، رسانه‌ها و نظام حقوقی و آموزشی سلطهٔ سرمایه‌داری را منعکس و تقویت می‌کنند.

«تاریخ مارکسیستی سرمایه داری» را از طاقچه دریافت کنید
https://taaghche.com/book/124691

[Nariman Amini · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب بسیار جالبه ای است به تاریخ شکل گیری سرمایه داری نوین میپردازد و چند کشور را مورد بررسی قرار میدهد که عمدتا اروپایی است به بررسی لیبرالیسم و نئولیبرالیسم می‌پردازد و ابزار های این سیستم به عبور از مانوفکتورها و رسیدن به سرمایه داری با اینکه تعداد صفحات کم است ولی دلنیشن و خواندنی است

[Rozhanfathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

در این کتاب هنری هلر بنا دارد با تلفیق اندیشه اقتصادی و سیاسی مارکس با دانش معاصر بحران کنونی سرمایه داری را روشن کند
«تاریخ مارکسیستی سرمایه داری» را از طاقچه دریافت کنید
https://taaghche.com/book/124691

[Ronit Agarwal · Rating 4 out of 5]

It provides a very good perspective of how a probable change could be witnessed in the coming years. However, parts of the book were unrealistic