The Politics of Capitalism

Abstract

Note: The following is based on a talk given in South Africa in May of this year. Before my visit, someone sent me a document entitled "The Current Economic Crisis and its implications for South Africa, " produced for a "summit" meeting of the governing alliance of the ANC, the South African Communist Party, and COSATU (the Confederation of South African Trade Unions). The document contained an analysis of the global crisis which was influenced by Robert Brenner's "The Economics of Global Turbulence" (discussed in the June issue of MR). Although the document's analysis was excellent and radical, intended as a critique of the assumptions underlying the government's neoliberal policies, some critics on the left argued that its own policy proposals didn't measure up to the radical analysis. The proposals were, they said, too "ameliorative," "non-transformational," and "managerial"—designed, in other words, to manage capitalism rather than to transform it. So I set out to consider, in general terms and with reference to Brenner, the problem of non-transformational" strategies in capitalist society.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.