The perils of capitalist modernity for the Global South: the case of Libya

Abstract

Academic analyses of the 2011 protests in Libya often isolate them from the US-led imperialist system and the dynamics of the world market. Drawing on a collection of interviews, archival documents, and secondary sources, this article examines the social imaginaries for Libya’s future from the late 1980s. These were largely constructed from ideals of individual freedom, consumerism, and the success story of Dubai. The article demonstrates how these everyday imaginaries of the ‘good life’ mirrored the gradual reintegration of the Libyan social formation – and its ruling class – into the global capitalist economy during the struggle against US-led imperialism under the threat of war and sanctions. Dissecting the role of these cultural experiences in the Libyan microcosm, the article contributes to the debate on cultural political economy and imperialism in relation to the Global South. It shows the inherent limits to mobilising for political change in the periphery of the world where a framework upholding capitalist modernity emerged as an alternative to socio-economic inequalities and failing infrastructural development.