[lbo-talk] CAPITAL AS POWER -- A new book by Nitzan & Bichler

Jonathan Nitzan nitzan at yorku.ca
Tue May 19 11:55:49 PDT 2009


CAPITAL AS POWER: A STUDY OF ORDER AND CREORDER Jonathan Nitzan & Shimshon Bichler

RIPE Series in Global Political Economy | Routledge | May 2009 464 pages | Pbk. $39.95 | Hbk. $140.00

***

FRONT MATTER & CHAPTER 1: http://bnarchives.yorku.ca/259/ ORDER THE BOOK: http://bnarchives.yorku.ca/259/04/20090526_nb_cap_buy_review_web.htm

***

FROM THE BACK COVER:

Conventional theories of capitalism are mired in a deep crisis: after centuries of debate, they are still unable to tell us what capital is. Liberals and Marxists both think of capital as an 'economic' entity that they count in universal units of 'utils' or 'abstract labour', respectively. But these units are totally fictitious. Nobody has ever been able to observe or measure them, and for a good reason: they don’t exist. Since liberalism and Marxism depend on these non-existing units, their theories hang in suspension. They cannot explain the process that matters most – the accumulation of capital.

This book offers a radical alternative. According to the authors, capital is not a narrow economic entity, but a symbolic quantification of power. It has little to do with utility or abstract labour, and it extends far beyond machines and production lines. Capital, the authors claim, represents the organized power of dominant capital groups to reshape – or creorder – their society.

Written in simple language, accessible to lay readers and experts alike, the book develops a novel political economy. It takes the reader through the history, assumptions and limitations of mainstream economics and its associated theories of politics. It examines the evolution of Marxist thinking on accumulation and the state. And it articulates an innovative theory of 'capital as power' and a new history of the 'capitalist mode of power'.

***

Free to repost and circulate with due attribution under the Creative Commons License (attribution-noncommercial-no derivative). To unsubscribe, reply to this email with "unsubscribe" in the subject field.

***

Jonathan Nitzan Political Science York University 4700 Keele St. Toronto, Ontario, M3J-1P3 Canada Voice: (416) 736-2100, ext. 88822 Fax: (416) 736-5686 Email: nitzan at yorku.ca Website: http://bnarchives.net



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list