Capitalism at the Limit A Political Ecology of a World in Crisis

About this book

Capitalism is hitting the buffers. Unable to handle the various crises that its inherent logic of growth, profit and competition has produced, capitalism has led the world into a state of emergency – with the authoritarian right on the rise globally and progressive forces unable to realise the transformations needed to secure the future prosperity of people and planet. 'The old is dying and the new cannot be born' Gramsci said. We are caught between forces agitating for fundamental change, green capitalist modernizers and fierce defenders of the status quo. How did this happen and what is to be done?

In this new book, Ulrich Brand and Markus Wissen, authors of the acclaimed The Imperial Mode of Living, trace how capitalism has reached its very limits. Alongside the mutually reinforcing environmental, geopolitical, and social crises we face, they analyse the struggles that will determine the fate of humanity. Critiquing dominant pathways – from green capitalism to authoritarian and anti-ecological policies – that reinforce the Global North's imperial mode of living, the authors offer a fairer alternative based on solidarity and collective self-limitation. Capitalism at the Limit is a clear-sighted look at the dynamics driving the critical conflicts of our time.

Contents

Foreword by Mario Candeias
Acknowledgements

1. Capitalism and the Climate Crisis
2. Monstrous Normality
3. The Limits of Externalisation
4. Green Capitalism
5. Eco-Imperial Tensions
6. Authoritarian Politics
7. Perspectives of Solidarity

Notes
Bibliography

Customer Reviews

Biography

Ulrich Brand is Professor of International Politics at the University of Vienna, focusing on the crisis of liberal globalization, Latin America and socio-ecological transformation. He is a member of the Global Working Group "Beyond Development", the permanent Latin American Working Group "Alternatives to Development" and a member of the advisory board for Blatter fur deutsche und internationale Politik (Journal for German and International Affairs).

Markus Wissen is Professor of Social Sciences at the Berlin School of Economics and Law, specializing in socio-ecological transformation and labour environmentalism. He is a member of the scientific advisory board of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and the editorial board of the German social science journal, PROKLA. Zeitschrift fur kritische Sozialwissenschaft (Journal for Critical Social Science).