Crisis and class war in Egypt : class warfare, the state and global political economy

The toppling of the Mubarak regime in Egypt was initially greeted with widespread optimism with many hoping that it would provide a powerful model for change throughout the Middle East. However, this optimism faded as the brief period of democracy gave way to a renewed military dictatorship intent on cracking down on dissent. In Crisis and Class War in Egypt , Sean McMahon examines why the transition was so short and what this may mean for resistance movements in the region. McMahon argues that events since the fall of Mubarak constitute a string of counterrevolutions, led by the older elite represented by the military. Though they initially endorsed the overthrow of Mubarak and colluded with the Muslim Brotherhood, they turned on them when it no longer suited their interests. Now this elite has turned its efforts against the Egyptian workers, peasants, and activists who originally drove protests against the Mubarak regime. Consequently, McMahon sees these events in Egypt as the product of a wider crisis of capitalism, perpetuating class struggles across the Middle East. Crisis and Class War in Egypt provides a much-needed corrective analysis of Egypt today, revealing where Egypts revolution went wrong, and how it can be saved. In 2011, Capital's Crisis Erupted In Egyptian Society. This Eruption, And Subsequent Politics, Have Been Misrepresented As Revolutionary, As The Working Class Was - And Is Increasingly So - Devalued And Disempowered. In Crisis And Class War In Egypt, Sean F. Mcmahon Critically Analyses Egypt's Recent Political History. He Argues That The So-called 'revolution' Was The Appearance Of Capital's Destruction Of The Value Of The Egyptian Working Class And An Existential Crisis For Capital. In Response, Productive Capital In The Form Of The Military Used, Disposed Of And Replaced Its Junior Partners In Governing; First The Predatory Capital Of The Mubarak State With The Commodity Capital Of The Muslim Brotherhood, And Then Commodity Capital With The Finance Capital Of The Gulf Cooperation Council. These Reconfigurations Have Been Expressed In All Manner Of Reactionary Governmental Arrangements Including Constitutions, Legislation And Currency Reform. Extending Today's Analysis Into The Near Future, Mcmahon Sees The War Of Egyptian Society Intensifying, And Increasingly Violent Lives For Egyptian Workers.--publisher's Description. Introduction -- Dialectical Development Of Egypt's Crisis Moment -- Fetishisms And Factions -- Realignments And Reform -- The Coming Eruption Of Crisis. Sean F. Mcmahon. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover Halftitle About the author Title page Copyright Dedication Book epigraph Contents Figures and tables Acknowledgments 1. Introduction Appearance and essence Analytical framework: Materialist dialectics Vulgar and fetishistic literature Structure of the book 2. Dialectical development of Egypt’s crisis moment Introduction Producing the crisis of reproduction Conclusion 3. Fetishisms and factions Fetishisms Factions of capital Egypt’s social war Conclusion 4. Realignments and reform Historicizing changing relations and their political forms of expression Reform through crisis 2013 political transmutation Conclusion 5. The coming eruption of crisis Expressions of war Contradictions at a higher stage The sharper, the nearer Notes Bibliography Index An examination of the resurgence of military dictatorship in Egypt, exploring where the revolution went wrong and how it can be saved