How could a system emerge that ends capitalism? If that is at all possible, what would it take, and what might that system look like? Jason W. Moore, David Whyte, Sandro Mezzadra & Brett Neilson responded to these questions with three essays offering a decisive and detailed analysis of capitalism, clearing the path for what to do next.

Contents

Sjoerd van Tuinen and Ryan Kopaitich: Drowning Capitalism: Introductory Notes on Capitalism in Transition
David Whyte: How to Defeat the Monster
Jason W. Moore: Cultures of Fear, Ecologies of Hope
Sandro Mezzadra and Brett Neilson: Rethinking Transition in the Multiple Times of the Present

From the introduction

‘After years of stagnation, global capitalism now presents us with a reality that is catching up with the impasses of the imagination. Free markets and liberal democracy are not the last words of history. Ours is a world defined by declining growth, ecological devastation, oligarchic rule, wars over attention and natural resources, institutional corruption, international anarchy, and genocides – the creation of wastelands. If, for a long time, it was easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism, as Fredric Jameson once quipped, the social disorder that lies ahead for lack of alternatives is now palpable.’

‘What remains is not simply to fight against the ongoing degradations the capitalist system imposes, although this is of utmost significance. It is also incumbent on the political or social thinker to capture and articulate practical anti-capitalist possibilities, stripping them of their latency and invigorating a more revolutionary sense of transition.’

‘It is only in a true ‘world politics’ that a transition from capital can be taken seriously, since the overcoming of national constraints is obligatory to any project that seeks the eradication of private property. As there is no one clean break to be accomplished, any transition beyond capital must occur in the wholesale reimagining of relations – from international to interpersonal – in order to come to terms with the heterogeneity and multipolarity of world politics.’

About the authors

Jason W. Moore is a transdisciplinary historical geographer and environmental historian. He teaches world history at Binghamton University, USA, where he coordinates the World-Ecology Research Collective.
David Whyte is Professor of Climate Justice at Queen Mary University of London and Director of the Centre for Climate Crime and Climate Justice. David’s research focuses on the relationship between law and corporate power.
Sandro Mezzadra teaches political theory at the University of Bologna. He is adjunct Professor at the Institute for Culture and Society of the Western Sydney University and at the Center for Cultural Research and Development, Lingnan University, Hong Kong.
Brett Neilson is Professor in the Institute for Culture and Society at Western Sydney University. His research and writing aim to provide alternative ways of conceiving globalisation, with particular emphasis upon its social and cultural dimensions.

Paperback, published in 2024, 184 pages.