Capital and Its Discontents: Conversations with Radical Thinkers in a Time of Tumult

by Sasha Lilley (Editor)

Capitalism is stumbling, empire is faltering, and the planet is thawing. Yet many people are still grasping to understand these multiple crises and to find a way forward to a just future. Into the breach come the essential insights of Capital and Its Discontents , which cut through the gristle to get to the heart of the matter about the nature of capitalism and imperialism, capitalism’s vulnerabilities at this conjuncture—and what can we do to hasten its demise. Through a series of incisive conversations with some of the most eminent thinkers and political economists on the Left—including David Harvey, Ellen Meiksins Wood, Mike Davis, Leo Panitch, Tariq Ali, and Noam Chomsky— Capital and Its Discontents illuminates the dynamic contradictions undergirding capitalism and the potential for its dethroning. The book challenges conventional wisdom on the Left about the nature of globalization, neoliberalism, and imperialism, as well as the agrarian question in the Global South. It probes deeply into the roots of the global economic meltdown, the role of debt and privatization in dampening social revolt, and considers capitalism’s dynamic ability to find ever new sources of accumulation—whether through imperial or ecological plunder or the commodification of previously unpaid female labor. The Left luminaries in Capital and Its Discontents look at potential avenues out of the mess—as well as wrong turns and needless detours—drawing lessons from the history of post-colonial states in the Global South, struggles against imperialism past and present, the eternal pendulum swing of radicalism, the corrosive legacy of postmodernism, and the potentialities of the radical humanist tradition. At a moment when capitalism as a system is more reviled than ever, here is an indispensable toolbox of ideas for action by some of the most brilliant thinkers of our times. Full list of

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Politics

296 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2010

Reviews

[Rianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

These collected interviews are a brilliant and easy introduction to anti-capitalist and anti-neoliberal thought. Having no background in economics or history, I still found the discussions sufficiently informative to guide my understanding and allow me to appreciate the more radical ideas each contributor had. The scope of the book overall touches on anti-capitalism from several lenses which I really appreciated because it tied into both reading I’d done this year (like How to Kill a City and Health Justice Now) and my law school classes. I’ll definitely be coming back to this book and diving deeper into each contributor’s own works!

[Jacob Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a interview, Andrej Grubačić says:

The history of revolutions is, on the one hand, a history of a tension between brief moments of revolutionary creativity and the making of long lasting institutions. On the other hand, the history of revolutions often reads like the history of revolutionary alienation, when the revolutionary was, more than anything else, ultimately and almost inevitably alienated from his or her own creations.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the ideas but was not a fan of the format. I didn’t realize these were transcripts of radio interviews and it feels like these would be better to listen to than just read. Also, reading this in 2018, it felt that the focus on the 2008 financial crisis made the book feel dated. On the upside I’m now a fan of kpfa and against the grain, the show on which these interviews originally aired.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lefty views on political economics. From the standpoint of a trained economists, the writings can appear somewhat naive and ill-informed. I agree with the premise that free market capitalism, especially as espoused by American conservative as virtually a religious cult, is not the end-game for society. It is not Fukuyama's end of history.