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| Capital & Class | |
|---|---|
| Title | Capital & Class |
| Discipline | Political economy |
| Country | International |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Academic and independent presses |
| First published | 20th century |
Capital & Class
Capital & Class examines relations among capital, labor, ownership, production and power within societies. It traces development from industrialization through imperialism to contemporary globalization, engaging theorists, movements, institutions and states. The study connects debates initiated by key figures and events to contemporary policy, finance and social movements.
Capital & Class analyzes interactions among Karl Marx, Max Weber, John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, Vladimir Lenin and Antonio Gramsci in shaping modern conceptions of capital, class, labor and state. It situates these thinkers alongside institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Union, United Nations and World Trade Organization to map how ownership, markets and regulation intersect with parties like the Labour Party (UK), Communist Party of China, Democratic Party (United States), Republican Party (United States) and Social Democratic Party of Germany. Major events—Industrial Revolution, Russian Revolution of 1917, Great Depression, World War II, Cold War, Fall of the Berlin Wall—provide historical anchors for class formation, while enterprises such as Ford Motor Company, Standard Oil, Siemens, Mitsubishi and Goldman Sachs illustrate capital accumulation and corporate governance.
The historical development traces from mercantile capitalism in the era of British Empire, Dutch East India Company, Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire through industrial transformations associated with Manchester, Birmingham, Pittsburgh and Luddites. The 19th-century labor movements exemplified by Chartism, Paris Commune, First International (International Workingmen's Association) and figures like Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels shaped early class theory. 20th-century shifts included state-led industrialization in Soviet Union, postwar welfare regimes in United Kingdom, United States, Germany and Sweden, and neoliberal restructuring linked to Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Milton Friedman and Chicago School policymakers. Late-20th and early-21st-century globalization involved actors like Multinational corporation, Bretton Woods system, Asian Tigers, BRICS and crises such as the 2008 financial crisis and COVID-19 pandemic.
Major theoretical perspectives include Marxism, Weberian sociology, Keynesian economics, Neoliberalism, Dependency theory, World-systems theory and Institutional economics. Thinkers such as Rosa Luxemburg, Lukács, Erik Olin Wright, Pierre Bourdieu, Immanuel Wallerstein, David Harvey and Nancy Fraser contribute analyses on class structure, cultural capital, hegemony, accumulation by dispossession and social reproduction. Schools associated with Frankfurt School, Mont Pelerin Society, New Left and Postcolonial theory offer competing frames; journals like Monthly Review, New Left Review, Review of International Political Economy and Capital & Class (journal) mediate debates among scholars, trade unions such as AFL–CIO, European Trade Union Confederation and social movements like Occupy Wall Street, Arab Spring, Yellow Vests Movement and Black Lives Matter.
Analyses connect forms of capital—industrial capital, financial capital, landed capital and intellectual property holders—to class categories: bourgeoisie, petit bourgeoisie, proletariat, precariat and middle class. Institutions including Federal Reserve System, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Federal Reserve Bank of New York and regulatory agencies shape credit, investment and labor markets. Policy regimes exemplified by Keynesian economics, Washington Consensus, Austerity measures, Social democracy and Neoliberal reforms alter income distribution and firm behavior across regions such as North America, Western Europe, East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Crises in Global financial crisis of 2007–2008, Latin American debt crisis, Asian financial crisis of 1997 reveal dynamics between capital flows, sovereign debt, rating agencies like Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's and class effects on employment and welfare.
Political outcomes link class structures to party systems, labor law, welfare states, and political movements. Historical alliances among trade unions, parties such as Labour Party (UK), Socialist Party of France, Indian National Congress and social movements influence policy on taxation, healthcare and education through institutions like International Labour Organization, World Health Organization and national legislatures such as the United States Congress and British Parliament. Geopolitical rivalries—NATO, Warsaw Pact, European Coal and Steel Community—also reflect capital-class alignments. Electoral shifts witnessed in elections involving Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Emmanuel Macron, Jeremy Corbyn and Alexis Tsipras illustrate contested appeals to different class constituencies.
Key critiques challenge deterministic readings associated with classical Marxism, address methodological nationalism, and debate the relevance of class vis-à-vis identity politics embodied by movements around LGBT rights, Feminist movement, Environmental movement and Civil rights movement. Critics from Chicago School, Austrian School and proponents like Friedrich Hayek emphasize market signals and entrepreneurship embodied by figures such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Elon Musk. Debates over automation, universal basic income, gig economy platforms like Uber, Airbnb and surveillance capitalism linked to Facebook, Google interrogate class reproduction and labor precarity.
Contemporary trends include financialization, platform capitalism, precarious labor, deindustrialization, and rising inequality in locales such as United States, United Kingdom, China, India and Brazil. Case studies examine phenomena like China's state-capital hybrid firms such as Tencent and Huawei, Brazil's commodity cycles under Lula da Silva, South Africa's post-apartheid class dynamics and the European austerity aftermath in Greece during the tenure of Alexis Tsipras. Movements including Extinction Rebellion and Sierra Club intersect environmental politics with class struggles over resource extraction involving companies like ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell.