The current financial and economic crisis and the prospects for the socialist movement

Abstract

Drawing on the social structure of accumulation theory, this article presents a case that the crisis that began in 2008 is not just a financial crisis or a recession. This crisis is a structural crisis of capitalism, of the type that arose in the 1930s and again in the 1970s. This implies that major economic restructuring is required to overcome stagnation of the economy. The article considers several possible forms of restructuring, including the construction of fascist, corporatist, or social-democratic capitalism, as well as the possibility of a transition to socialism.