The spectre of war haunts modern capitalism. Yet, the history of economic thought is filled with attempts to overcome or conceal the crucial legitimising role that war plays. In this article, Geoff Mann looks at the role of war in the history and theory of capitalism.
Last chance to download ALL the free ebooks from our student reading – for this weekend only!
With Corbynism has come the return of big ideas and big politics on the left. The Labour party is now seen as being at the forefront of contemporary left politics, bucking the downward trend of its sister parties. In this article, originally published by Renewal, Adam Klug and Emma Rees argue that a renewed internationalism based on cooperation across borders between parties of the left can help bring new ideas, new techniques, new solidarities and a new sense of optimism when times are tough.
The Suite (212) podcast presented by Juliet Jacques and Tom Overton returns. This week Oli Mould joins Tom to discuss gentrification, Silicon Valley, and how capitalism hijacks the idea of creativity for profit. Oli Mould's new book Against Creativity is out now on Verso.
Geoff Mann details John Maynard Keynes’ complicated relationship with capitalism and bourgeois culture in this excerpt from In the Long Run We Are All Dead.
In the second part of the series Unlearning Decisive Moments of Photography, Ariella Azoulay examines photography's role in the destruction of the "New World" and suggests that despite its stained history, it can play a part in imagining ways out of this destruction.
An extract from the ultimate book on the worldwide movement of hackers, pranksters, and activists that operates under the non-name Anonymous, by anthropologist Gabriella Coleman. Now 50% off as part of our Student Reading Sale.
In this edited excerpt from his introduction to Economics for the Many, McDonnell lays out his manifesto for Labour's vision for a new economics, one that works for the many, not the few. Featuring contributions from thinkers and writers including Ann Pettifor, Nick Srnicek, Costas Lapavitsas, Barry Gardiner and Prem Sikka, Economics for the Many covers topics from housing, public ownership and fairer international trading systems to industrial policy for the twenty-first century and how to tackle tax avoidance and regional imbalances.
In John McDonnell's Economics for the Many, laying out a new vision for economics, Ann Pettifor makes a compelling case for Green Energy to be at the heart of Labour's economic policy. ‘It is vital that a Labour government removes Britain’s finance sector from its role as master of the British economy, and instead ensures that it is made servant to the transformation of the economy away from dependence on fossil fuels and financial speculation.’
Alex Vitale, Andrea Ritchie, and Mychal Denzel Smith speak on the violence of the police state, the origins of modern policing, police violence against women of color and the activist groups working to end oppressive policing.
Samo Tomšič highlights the overlapping and often complementary features of the thought of Karl Marx and Jaques Lacan.
Nick Mahony introduces the Movement for Cultural Democracy, a test bed for new thinking and collective action. The movement, which seeks to change social, economic and cultural conditions through radical and transformative cultural programmes, is hosting a number of events at this year's The World Transformed in Liverpool.