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Monday, December 12, 2011

Economy The Enigma of Capital Named...

Posted by Charles Mudede on Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 2:21 PM

...a Guardian Book of the Year. Enigma, by the geographer David Harvey, presents the reader with a jargon-free Marxist analysis of the current crisis of capital. To get a good idea of the book, I recommend watching this video of a lecture Harvey recently delivered. Some of the ideas explored in the lecture are explored with greater depth in the book.

The main theme in Harvey's work is the limits of capitalism. What he often means by this (the limits of capital) is that the economic system, which generates a surplus for the purpose of extracting a profit, has not run of steam so much as places to absorb the source of profits—surplus. And what absorbs a surplus is always debt. This debt is the enigma and limit of capital.

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Great lecture. He's the kind of public intellectual we sorely need - one whose clarity of thought and expression illuminates the debate even to those who might disagree. Thanks for posting.

Posted by wittysobriquet on December 12, 2011 at 8:23 PM

Although I like David Harvey, and would like to read the book if I have time, having "The Guardian" endorse it doesn't say much because The Guardian is a left leaning publication. Having it endorse "Enigma" is not really something earth shaking, although it might be a little bit more outright radical than what they usually do.

Posted by Theoretical