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A review by 4harrisons
The Enigma of Capital: and the Crises of Capitalism by David Harvey
3.0
This is an effective critique of modern capitalism before, during, and after the current crisis. Harvey uses a framework that I first encountered in his "Companion to Marx's Capital". There he picks out 6 categories from a footnote in the original text to form the dialectic underpinning for practical analysis of capitalism: relation to nature, technology, modes of production, social relations, reproduction of daily life, and mental conceptions of the world.
The most compelling part of the book to me was the final section where Harvey uses this framework to analyse the possibilities for radical anti-capitalist protest and resistance, particularly in a largely post-industrial western world. It is a genuine call to arms, with a solid rational exposition of how the modern capitalist world cannot continue forever into the future. Harvey is offering an intellectual underpinning to bind together the Occupy movement with other forms of protest to create a protest movement stronger than the sum of it's parts.
Where the book falls down for me is in the earlier analytical section addressing how capital is structured and what brought the world to it's current state of crisis. This section feels a little more incoherent and occasionally rambling. It is however clearly follows a Marxist schema whilst written in an accessible style
Overall though this is a compelling argument for overthrowing modern capitalism with a strong Marxist analytical core yet remaining accessible to many readers.
The most compelling part of the book to me was the final section where Harvey uses this framework to analyse the possibilities for radical anti-capitalist protest and resistance, particularly in a largely post-industrial western world. It is a genuine call to arms, with a solid rational exposition of how the modern capitalist world cannot continue forever into the future. Harvey is offering an intellectual underpinning to bind together the Occupy movement with other forms of protest to create a protest movement stronger than the sum of it's parts.
Where the book falls down for me is in the earlier analytical section addressing how capital is structured and what brought the world to it's current state of crisis. This section feels a little more incoherent and occasionally rambling. It is however clearly follows a Marxist schema whilst written in an accessible style
Overall though this is a compelling argument for overthrowing modern capitalism with a strong Marxist analytical core yet remaining accessible to many readers.