Zombie Capitalism: Global Crisis and the Relevance of Marx (Bookmarks)

We've been told for years that the capitalist free market is a self-correcting perpetual growth machine in which sellers always find buyers, precluding any major crisis in the system. Then the credit crunch of August 2007 turned into the great crash of September–October 2008, leading one apologist for the system, Willem Buiter, to write of "the end of capitalism as we knew it."As the crisis unfolded, the world witnessed the way in which the runaway speculation of the "shadow" banking system wreaked havoc on world markets, leaving real human devastation in its wake. Faced with the financial crisis, some economic commentators began to talk of "zombie banks"–financial institutions that were in an "undead state" and incapable of fulfilling any positive function but a threat to everything else. What they do not realize is that twenty-first century capitalism as a whole is a zombie system, seemingly dead when it comes to achieving human goals. "Zombie Capitalism is both timely and hugely valuable. . . . This book is an essential read."—Socialist ReviewWhile for most mainstream commentators the financial crisis that opened in 2007 signaled the failure of regulation and accountability, Chris Harman describes the ongoing economic turmoil as a byproduct of capitalism's inability to consider anything but the bottom line.Chris Harman (1942–2009) was the editor of International Socialism and the author of numerous books, including A People's History of the World (Verso Books). The author's concept is that Marxian capitalism explains how the present state of the world has developed over the past 150 years, and that 21st century capitalism is a defunct system that does not allow human achievement, often causing disruption of human achievement around the world. An interesting read. "An incisive and devastating critique of capitalism, sounding the alarm that the system poses a threat to human well-being"--Publisher's description. Chris Harman. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.