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How Capitalism Ends: History, Ideology and Progress
While the past 300 years have witnessed immense growth in productive capacity, the ‘logic’ of capitalist production is now pushing progress in all the wrong directions. We’ve passed the point where our biggest enemy is material scarcity. Our problems no longer revolve around insufficient production, but iniquitous distribution - and the fact that we’re fast running out of planet - and these are problems that capitalism cannot solve. Taking in a diverse range of contemporary and historical evidence - from the Putney Debates of 1647 to Modern Monetary Theory, from John Locke to Thomas Piketty, from the Rights of Man to the rise of identity politics How Capitalism Ends navigates a path through current affairs, history, economics and philosophy and sets the scene for the conversation we, as a civilization, urgently need to begin…
"Lucid, practical and impeccably argued...This is a necessary book".
Alan Moore, author of Watchmen, Jerusalem, V for Vendetta...
"Lucid, practical and impeccably argued...This is a necessary book".
Alan Moore, author of Watchmen, Jerusalem, V for Vendetta...
246 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 25, 2022
10 people are currently reading
345 people want to read
About the author
Steve Paxton
2 books16 followersIn addition to an academic career culminating in doctoral research with GA Cohen at Oxford, Steve Paxton has worked on building sites and in betting shops, been a PHP programmer and a T-shirt designer, been employed, self-employed and unemployed, blue-collar, white-collar and no-collar. He combines the experience of this varied career with his academic background to bring unique insights to the printed page.
His latest book is 'How Capitalism Ends'.
He is also the author of 'Unlearning Marx' and was a contributor to The Communist Manifesto: New Interpretations (Edinburgh University Press/NY University Press, 1998.) ISBN: 978-0748610358
His latest book is 'How Capitalism Ends'.
He is also the author of 'Unlearning Marx' and was a contributor to The Communist Manifesto: New Interpretations (Edinburgh University Press/NY University Press, 1998.) ISBN: 978-0748610358
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 5, 2023
Paxton’s short book is an extremely accessible and effective handbook on dismantling criticism of a post-capitalist future from liberals and conservatives alike. Timely and responsive to the challenges of late capitalism, it presents a very convincing and grounded historical and ideological basis for the end of capitalism and helpfully reviews proposals by economists and theorists for what the future may look like.
August 14, 2023
In "The End of Capitalism" by Steve Paxton, the author provides a comprehensive analysis of the emergence of capitalism from feudalism and the underlying ideologies that have sustained it. Paxton argues that capitalism, driven by profit and individual material gain, fails to prioritize the needs of society and instead focuses on the accumulation of wealth. He challenges the notion that capitalism is necessary for progress, suggesting that a more egalitarian society could have been achieved if humanity demanded it.
One of the key critiques of capitalism presented in the book is its inability to provide for the basic needs of individuals and families. Paxton questions why we accept an economic system in which both parents often work long hours to make ends meet, leaving little time for essential activities such as cooking, spending time with children, and self-care.
The author also explores the role of technology and automation in a capitalist society. While technology can potentially improve productivity and reduce the required work, Paxton argues that under capitalism, it is feared because it can lead to job losses. However, in a socialist system where the economy is not driven by profit, automation can be embraced to free up time for other important aspects of life.
One aspect that could have been further developed in the book is his description and critique of Modern Money Theory (MMT). While Paxton describes the basics of MMT, he fails to explore how government spending can actually support a socialist economy. I recommend Stephanie Kelton's "The Deficit Myth" and Randall Wray's "Making Money Work for Us: How MMT Can Save America" for a better understanding of MMT.
If we understand how modern money works, we can see that government can and will support a socialist economy, especially if it's a democratic government. We don't have to rely on a for-profit market economy, which doesn't address the needs of everyone.
I do agree with Paxton that Federal Jobs Guarantee, supported by MMT economists, should go beyond being an employment option of last resort and instead be the "employer of best practice," competing with the private sector and challenging the for-profit market economy.
Overall, "The End of Capitalism" offers a thought-provoking critique of capitalism and presents ideas for a more socialist economic system. Paxton's analysis raises important questions about the priorities of our current economic model. It provides a vision for a society that prioritizes the well-being of its citizens over profit accumulation.
One of the key critiques of capitalism presented in the book is its inability to provide for the basic needs of individuals and families. Paxton questions why we accept an economic system in which both parents often work long hours to make ends meet, leaving little time for essential activities such as cooking, spending time with children, and self-care.
The author also explores the role of technology and automation in a capitalist society. While technology can potentially improve productivity and reduce the required work, Paxton argues that under capitalism, it is feared because it can lead to job losses. However, in a socialist system where the economy is not driven by profit, automation can be embraced to free up time for other important aspects of life.
One aspect that could have been further developed in the book is his description and critique of Modern Money Theory (MMT). While Paxton describes the basics of MMT, he fails to explore how government spending can actually support a socialist economy. I recommend Stephanie Kelton's "The Deficit Myth" and Randall Wray's "Making Money Work for Us: How MMT Can Save America" for a better understanding of MMT.
If we understand how modern money works, we can see that government can and will support a socialist economy, especially if it's a democratic government. We don't have to rely on a for-profit market economy, which doesn't address the needs of everyone.
I do agree with Paxton that Federal Jobs Guarantee, supported by MMT economists, should go beyond being an employment option of last resort and instead be the "employer of best practice," competing with the private sector and challenging the for-profit market economy.
Overall, "The End of Capitalism" offers a thought-provoking critique of capitalism and presents ideas for a more socialist economic system. Paxton's analysis raises important questions about the priorities of our current economic model. It provides a vision for a society that prioritizes the well-being of its citizens over profit accumulation.
August 20, 2023
Steve Paxton questions the fundamental premisses of burgeois freedom case:
1. Private property does not increase total sum of freedom in the world, since it actually decreases freedom of non-owners;
2. Saying that taxation is theft in line with Nozick, renders all distributions of wealth unjust, breaking one of the fundamental premisses;
3. Wealth under capitalism is not distributed according to merit or effort. Rich people get money from ownership, not actual effort;
4. The historical record doesn't provide justification for the current distribution of resources. See for instance, income and wealth taxes in the post war period.
5. The productive advantages of capitalism don't provide justification for inequality, since income cannot compensate exclusion for ownership.
It also provides a footprint for a more equal society, adressing socialist policies and in particular Modern Monetary Theory that can be implemented at the current moment to adress inequality. Great book to answer the hegemonic neoliberal promisses the world is currently built on.
1. Private property does not increase total sum of freedom in the world, since it actually decreases freedom of non-owners;
2. Saying that taxation is theft in line with Nozick, renders all distributions of wealth unjust, breaking one of the fundamental premisses;
3. Wealth under capitalism is not distributed according to merit or effort. Rich people get money from ownership, not actual effort;
4. The historical record doesn't provide justification for the current distribution of resources. See for instance, income and wealth taxes in the post war period.
5. The productive advantages of capitalism don't provide justification for inequality, since income cannot compensate exclusion for ownership.
It also provides a footprint for a more equal society, adressing socialist policies and in particular Modern Monetary Theory that can be implemented at the current moment to adress inequality. Great book to answer the hegemonic neoliberal promisses the world is currently built on.
February 8, 2025
Very good read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews