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62 reviews for:
Cannibal Capitalism: How our System is Devouring Democracy, Care, and the Planetand What We Can Do About It
Nancy Fraser
4.02 AVERAGE
62 reviews for:
Cannibal Capitalism: How our System is Devouring Democracy, Care, and the Planetand What We Can Do About It
Nancy Fraser
4.02 AVERAGE
This is essentially a perfect little theory book, with a tiny amount shaved off my rating because I can’t say it’s life-changingly good. But it is really bloody good. I learned a lot about the hidden abodes of capitalism and why racism, patriarchy, ecology, and democracy are relevant to 21st century socialism. If you’re interested in a fresh perspective on Marxism for the contemporary world, this (and Erik Olin Wright) would be a good place to start.
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
This book is the non fiction Babel. Fraser does an excellent job of putting forward her theory (based on empirical data) that capitalism is a way of organizing society that is inherently extractive and self-destructive that must be upended. She details how exploitation and expropriation are the two “exes” that are foundational to the system. And she goes on to discuss the struggle between social reproduction and commodity production, non-human nature vs endless growth, and polity vs economy, and how capitalism destroys these systems it needs to survive with no regard for anything but accumulation. She predicts that the period of political power struggle that we are in between fascist populists and neoliberal finance politicians will continue before either a dramatic revolution or a slow devolution ends it. She argues for tranformational change to a socialist, democratic system that allows for possible markets in the middle but not at the top (where collective decision-making must drive decisions on what to with surpluses) or the bottom (where the resources necessary for life must not be commodified). I found this to be an accessible breakdown of where we find ourselves, how we got here, and the necessary work ahead to save ourselves and our planet.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I can't think of a more pressing or prescient read.
As we enter 2024, the boundaries between production and social reproduction, economy and polity, the natural environment and humanity, and the use of exploitation/expropriation are in dire need of transformation. This book traces the crises of these boundaries to capitalism and asks us to think of the term in a broader sense. Reducing it to merely an economic system ignores the holistic impact of capitalism on our future survival.
As we enter 2024, the boundaries between production and social reproduction, economy and polity, the natural environment and humanity, and the use of exploitation/expropriation are in dire need of transformation. This book traces the crises of these boundaries to capitalism and asks us to think of the term in a broader sense. Reducing it to merely an economic system ignores the holistic impact of capitalism on our future survival.
informative
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Using Marxist theory, Fraser outlines capitalism as a social system (rather than merely economic), full of inherent contradictions, that causes it to cannibalize itself. Fraser highlights these contradictions and instances of capital cannibalization through racial, gender, political, and economic lenses. Fraser proposes a reflection on what socialism in the the modern era would have to look like to remedy past and present ills caused by cannibal capitalism. This position is reached by Fraser as she points to ways in which the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed inequalities and inequities inherent in capitalism.
This book is timely and relevant, and provides a theory of how the inherent contradictions in capitalism cause it to cannibalize both private and public goods at the expense of the masses. This book is a critical, but thought provoking framing of how to understand the society we live in and how we can begin to think about how it can be different.
This book is timely and relevant, and provides a theory of how the inherent contradictions in capitalism cause it to cannibalize both private and public goods at the expense of the masses. This book is a critical, but thought provoking framing of how to understand the society we live in and how we can begin to think about how it can be different.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced