343 books match the query 'Capitalism' and 14 start with p

cover of Pan-Asianism and the Legacy of the Chinese Revolution

Pan-Asianism and the Legacy of the Chinese Revolution

Viren Murthy

University of Chicago Press, 2023

An intellectual history of pan-Asianist discourse in the twentieth century.

Recent proposals to revive the ancient Silk Road for the contemporary era and ongoing Western interest in China’s growth and development have led to increased attention to the concept of pan-Asianism. Most of that discussion, however, lacks any historical grounding in the thought of influential twentieth-century pan-Asianists. In this book, Viren Murthy offers an intellectual history of the writings of theorists, intellectuals, and activists—spanning leftist, conservative, and right-wing thinkers—who proposed new ways of thinking about Asia in their own historical and political contexts. Tracing pan-Asianist discourse across the twentieth century, Murthy reveals a stronger tradition of resistance and alternative visions than the contemporary discourse on pan-Asianism would suggest. At the heart of pan-Asianist thinking, Murthy shows, were the notions of a unity of Asian nations, of weak nations becoming powerful, and of the Third World confronting the “advanced world” on equal terms—an idea that grew to include non-Asian countries into the global community of Asian nations. But pan-Asianists also had larger aims, imagining a future beyond both imperialism and capitalism. The fact that the resurgence of pan-Asianist discourse has emerged alongside the dominance of capitalism, Murthy argues, signals a profound misunderstanding of its roots, history, and potential.
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cover of Partisan Ruptures: Self-Management, Market Reform and the Spectre of Socialist Yugoslavia

Partisan Ruptures

Self-Management, Market Reform and the Spectre of Socialist Yugoslavia

Gal Kirn

Pluto Press, 2019

Yugoslavia's twentieth-century bore witness to civil war, sharp ideological struggles and a series of 'partisan ruptures'; revolutionary events that changed the face of Yugoslavian society, politics and culture, which were felt on a global level. This book is a comprehensive historical and political analysis of the three major ruptures; the People's Liberation Struggle during World War Two, the self-management model and the Non-Aligned Movement. In order to understand what provoked and what came out of these revolutionary ruptures, Gal Kirn examines the implications of communism and socialism's productive relationship, the Yugoslavian 'experiment' of market socialism that marked the political and economic shift towards 'post-socialism' already in the 1960s, which crystallised new class coalitions that will later on - together with austerity politics - lead the way towards des-integration of Yugoslavia. Filling a much-needed gap in English language literature, this book's interrogation of the Yugoslav socialist experiment offers insights for left projects and democratic socialist discussions today, as well as historians of Yugoslavia and revolutionary movements.
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cover of Pastoralists at the Periphery: Herders in a Capitalist World

Pastoralists at the Periphery

Herders in a Capitalist World

Claudia Chang

University of Arizona Press, 1994

A Baluch tribesman follows his goats as they search for a bit of vegetation; a Turkana youth guards his father's cattle against theft by raiders.... These pastoral inhabitants of mountain and desert waste are considered to be among the most geographically, economically, and politically peripheral of peoples, yet they are not entirely isolated from broader sociopolitical and economic forces. The lives of modern pastoralists are greatly affected by the policies of nations and the demands of world markets. They may face military control, forced settlement, stock reduction programs, or even efforts at "development" by governments claiming sovereignty over the lands they roam.

The authors of this collection of essays examine the impact of capitalism on nineteenth- and early twentieth century pastoralists and discuss the historical transformations that have occurred in the lives and societies of herding peoples around the world. They argue that pastoralists were not simply passive recipients of change imposed by capitalist polities and that historical and economic factors impinging on their societies were as important as ecological ones. Collectively, these papers demonstrate that twentieth-century pastoralists and their nineteenth-century predecessors should not be seen as immutably locked in a pastoral "mode of production" but rather as actively negotiating encounters between themselves and the expanding power of capitalist states.
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cover of Persons of the Market: Conservatism, Corporate Personhood, and Economic Theology

Persons of the Market

Conservatism, Corporate Personhood, and Economic Theology

Kevin Musgrave

Michigan State University Press, 2022

Taking corporate personhood as a starting point, Persons of the Market observes the complex historical entanglement of Christian theology and liberal capitalism to shed new
light on their seemingly odd marriage in contemporary American politics. Author Kevin Musgrave highlights the ways that theories of corporate and human personhood have long been and remain bound together by examining four case studies: the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1886 Santa Clara decision, the role of early twentieth-century advertisers in endowing corporations with souls, Justice Lewis Powell Jr.’s eponymous memo of 1971, and the arc of the conservative movement from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump. Tracing this rhetorical history of the extension and attribution of personhood to the corporate form illustrates how the corporation has for many increasingly become a normative model or ideal to which human persons should aspire. In closing, the book offers preliminary ideas about how we might fashion a more democratic and humane understanding of what it means to be a person.
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cover of Poker: The Parody of Capitalism

Poker

The Parody of Capitalism

Ole Bjerg

University of Michigan Press, 2011

Poker is an extraordinary worldwide phenomenon with major social, cultural, and political implications, and Poker: The Parody of Capitalism investigates the game of poker as a cultural expression of significance not unlike art, literature, film, or music. Tracing the history of poker and comparing the evolution of the game to the development of capitalism, Ole Bjerg complicates prevalent notions of “casino capitalism” and correspondingly facile and simplistic comparisons of late capitalism and poker. By employing Slavoj Žižek’s threefold distinction between imaginary-symbolic-real as a philosophical framework to analyze poker and to understand the basic strategies of the game, Bjerg explores the structural characteristics of poker in relation to other games, making a clear distinction between poker and other gambling games of pure chance such as roulette and craps. With its combination of social theory and empirical research, Poker offers an engaging exploration of a cultural trend.

"Poker is a theoretically sophisticated, highly original and innovative treatment of a contemporary social phenomenon, and contributes greatly to our understanding of the nature of contemporary capitalism."
—Charles Livingstone, Monash University Australia

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cover of Polarizing Development: Alternatives to Neoliberalism and the Crisis

Polarizing Development

Alternatives to Neoliberalism and the Crisis

Edited by Lucia Pradella and Thomas Marois

Pluto Press, 2015

The global economic crisis has exposed the limits of neoliberalism and dramatically deepened social polarization. Yet, despite increasing social resistance and opposition, neoliberalism prevails globally.

Radical alternatives, moreover, are only rarely debated. And if they are, such alternatives are reduced to new Keynesian and new developmental agendas, which fail to address existing class divisions and imperialist relations of domination.

This collection of essays polarizes the debate between radical and reformist alternatives by exploring head-on the antagonistic structure of capitalist development. The contributors ground their proposals in an international, non-Eurocentric and Marxian inspired analysis of capitalism and its crises. From Latin America to Asia, Africa to the Middle East and Europe to the US, social and labour movements have emerged as the protagonists behind creating alternatives.

This book’s new generation of scholars has written accessible yet theoretically informed and empirically rich chapters elaborating radical worldwide strategies for moving beyond neoliberalism, and beyond capitalism. The intent is to provoke critical reflection and positive action towards substantive change.

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cover of Politics Of Selfhood: Bodies And Identities In Global Capitalism

Politics Of Selfhood

Bodies And Identities In Global Capitalism

Richard Harvey Brown

University of Minnesota Press, 2003

Looks at the ways social change is expressed through debates over identities and bodies

In bodies and selves, we can see politics, economics, and culture play out, and the tensions and crises of society made visible. The women’s movement, lobbies for the elderly, pro-choice and pro-life movements, AIDS research and education, pedophilia and repressed memory, global sports spectacles, organ donor networks, campaigns for safe sex, chastity, or preventive medicine—all are aspects of the contemporary politics of bodies and identities touched on in this book. Three broad themes run through the collection: how the body is constructed in various ways for different purposes, how the electronic media and its uses shape selves and sensualities and contribute to civic discourse, and how global capitalism acts as a direct force in these processes. By taking a distinctly cross-cultural and comparative approach, this volume explores more fully than ever the political, economic, institutional, and cultural settings of corporeality, identity, and representation.

Contributors: Antonella Fabri, John Jay College and New York Academy of Medicine; Eva Illouz, Hebrew U of Jerusalem; Philip W. Jenks, Portland State U; Lauren Langman, Loyola U; Timothy W. Luke, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U; Timothy McGettigan, Colorado State U, Pueblo; Margaret J. Tally, SUNY, Empire State College.
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cover of Post-Soviet Chaos: Violence and Dispossession in Kazakhstan

Post-Soviet Chaos

Violence and Dispossession in Kazakhstan

Joma Nazpary

Pluto Press, 2001

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cover of Post-capitalist Futures: Political Economy Beyond Crisis and Hope

Post-capitalist Futures

Political Economy Beyond Crisis and Hope

Adam Fishwick

Pluto Press, 2021

This book critically engages with the proliferation of literature on postcapitalism, which is rapidly becoming an urgent area of inquiry, both in academic scholarship and in public life. It collects the insights from scholars working across the field of Critical International Political Economy to interrogate how we might begin to envisage a political economy of postcapitalism. The authors foreground the agency of workers and other capitalist subjects, and their desire to engage in a range of radical experiments in decommodification and democratization both in the workplace and in their daily lives. It includes a broad range of ideas including the future of social reproduction, human capital circulation, political Islam, the political economy of exclusion and eco-communities. Rather than focusing on the ending of capitalism as an implosion of the value-money form, this book focuses on the dream of equal participation in the determination of people's shared collective destiny.
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cover of Postcapitalist Countrysides: From Commoning to Community Wealth Building

Postcapitalist Countrysides

From Commoning to Community Wealth Building

Edited by Nick Gallent, Menelaos Gkartzios, Mark Scott, and Andrew Purves

University College London, 2025

Reimagining rural life beyond capitalism, this volume reviews alternative economic structures that center on sustainability and community wealth-building.

Postcapitalist Countrysides exposes the entrenched inequalities that capitalism has imposed on rural communities and charts a path toward more just and sustainable futures. Built upon case studies from around the world, the book critiques the failures of privatization and market-driven development while showcasing alternative economic models that reclaim land and wealth for the many, not the few.

Through analyses of land reform and community wealth building, contributors depict how local initiatives can reshape rural economies and empower communities when reinforced by structural change. From challenging exploitative land ownership to confronting the encroachment of platform capitalism, this volume engages with urgent global crises while offering tangible strategies for transformation. Postcapitalist Countrysides presents a bold vision for rural life beyond capitalism—one rooted in collective prosperity and resilience.
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cover of Poverty and Neoliberalism: Persistence and Reproduction in the Global South

Poverty and Neoliberalism

Persistence and Reproduction in the Global South

Ray Bush

Pluto Press, 2007

Why do so many people worldwide suffer hunger and poverty when there is enough food and other resources globally to prevent it? This book shows how famine and food insecurity are an essential part of modern capitalism. Although trade, debt relief and development initiatives are important, they do not alter the structure of the global economy and the poverty that is created by processes like privatisation, trade liberalisation and market reform.

Despite the rhetoric of the World Bank and the G8, high levels of poverty actually sustain western wealth and power. But there is some hope for change. Using case studies from Egypt and North Africa, Nigeria, Sudan and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, Ray Bush illustrates that there is resistance to neoliberal policies, and that struggles over land, mining and resources can shape real alternatives to existing globalisation.

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cover of Precarious Accumulation: Fast Fashion Bosses in Transnational Guangzhou

Precarious Accumulation

Fast Fashion Bosses in Transnational Guangzhou

Nellie Chu

Duke University Press, 2026

In Precarious Accumulation, Nellie Chu tells the story of the migrant entrepreneurs at the heart of Guangzhou’s fast fashion industry—one of the world’s most dynamic hubs of transnational commodity production. Chu shows how rural Chinese migrants, West African traders, and South Korean jobbers navigate the high-speed, low-margin world of just-in-time garment production that fuels the constant accumulation of wealth via global supply chains. Drawing on fieldwork in Guangzhou’s urban villages and household workshops, Chu outlines how these entrepreneurs’ dreams of economic freedom clash with the reality of precarity and the exclusions of emigre status. Migrant bosses operate within a highly competitive, informal economy where they are both agents and target of exploitation, as they must evade rent collectors, endure racialized policing, and mitigate extortion from security officers and competitors. Chu crucially demonstrates how their efforts generate novel forms of migratory labor, commodity production, and cross-cultural exchange in postsocialist China.
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cover of Prison Land: Mapping Carceral Power across Neoliberal America

Prison Land

Mapping Carceral Power across Neoliberal America

Brett Story

University of Minnesota Press, 2019

From broken-window policing in Detroit to prison-building in Appalachia, exploring the expansion of the carceral state and its oppressive social relations into everyday life

Prison Land offers a geographic excavation of the prison as a set of social relations—including property, work, gender, and race—enacted across various landscapes of American life. Prisons, Brett Story shows, are more than just buildings of incarceration bound to cycles of crime and punishment. Instead, she investigates the production of carceral power at a range of sites, from buses to coalfields and from blighted cities to urban financial hubs, to demonstrate how the organization of carceral space is ideologically and materially grounded in racial capitalism.

Story’s critically acclaimed film The Prison in Twelve Landscapes is based on the same research that informs this book. In both, Story takes an expansive view of what constitutes contemporary carceral space, interrogating the ways in which racial capitalism is reproduced and for which police technologies of containment and control are employed. By framing the prison as a set of social relations, Prison Land forces us to confront the production of new carceral forms that go well beyond the prison system. In doing so, it profoundly undermines both conventional ideas of prisons as logical responses to the problem of crime and attachment to punishment as the relevant measure of a transformed criminal justice system. 

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cover of Prosperity without Greed: How to Save Ourselves from Capitalism

Prosperity without Greed

How to Save Ourselves from Capitalism

Sahra Wagenknecht

Campus Verlag, 2016

It is time to leave capitalism behind. In Prosperity without Greed, Sahra Wagenknecht shows that we live in a system of economic feudalism that has nothing to do with a free market economy, where the innovations we require to solve myriad important societal problems are not forthcoming. How can it be, Wagenknecht asks, that technological developments financed by the taxpayer end up enriching private companies even if those companies’ activities violate public interests? Through clear analysis and concrete proposals, Wagenknecht suggestss new forms of ownership and sketches the outlines of an innovative and just economy that instead promotes and rewards talent, real performance, and start-ups with groundbreaking ideas.
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