This article explores the aesthetic and affective normalisation of surveillance in contemporary digital capitalism. It shows how everyday practices of digital self-presentation such as posting, sharing, and taking selfies shape visibility as a moral and economic value. Drawing on Walter Benjamin’s notion of aura, Zygmunt Bauman’s concept of liquidity, and Byung-Chul Han’s reflections on transparency, the analysis examines how ideals of productivity, openness, and self-optimisation are translated into visual and emotional norms. The article conceptualises this dynamic as an aestheticisation of everyday surveillance, understood as a participatory regime in which users actively sustain forms of visibility through gestures of care, pleasure, and exposure. Bringing together theoretical perspectives and empirical studies on youth self-presentation, it highlights surveillance as a relational aesthetic practice embedded in platform environments. The article contributes to critical social theory by linking aesthetic experience, affect, and visibility within contemporary capitalism.

This study critically examines the aftershocks of slavery and colonialism and their gifts and curses in shaping modern african nations, exploring the enduring historical, socio-economic, political, and cultural implications of two major epochs that shaped Africa’s trajectory. It highlights how slavery and colonialism, though primarily exploitative and dehumanizing, produced a dual legacy of progress and underdevelopment that continues to define the continent’s realities. The “gifts” of these historical experiences include the introduction of Western education, modern infrastructure, administrative systems, and exposure to global ideas that facilitated the rise of African elites and nationalist movements. Conversely, the “curses” manifest in persistent economic dependency, political instability, artificial borders, and cultural alienation that undermine Africa’s sovereignty and development. Drawing on secondary data from books, scholarly journals, policy reports, and historical records, the study employs a qualitative approach and thematic analysis to trace the linkages between Africa’s colonial past and its present socio-economic condition. The study is anchored on Dependency Theory, which explains how historical exploitation and unequal global relations established during slavery and colonialism have perpetuated Africa’s marginalization within the global capitalist system. The findings reveal that while colonialism introduced modernization in form, it entrenched underdevelopment in substance by orienting African economies toward resource extraction and external dependence. Similarly, slavery’s demographic and psychological consequences continue to shape the continent’s global positioning and internal challenges. The study concludes that genuine African development requires decolonizing economic structures, governance systems, and cultural consciousness. It recommends the promotion of economic diversification, regional integration, cultural revivalism, and institutional reforms to dismantle neo-colonial dependencies and foster inclusive, homegrown development. Ultimately, the paper argues that only through historical reckoning and structural transformation can African nations convert the lingering aftershocks of slavery and colonialism into opportunities for true emancipation and sustainable progress.

ABSTRACT Recently, critical scholars interested in the political ecology of contemporary capitalism have highlighted rent as a key category for the analysis of nature–capital relations. However, this ecological dimension is not adequately integrated in the concept mobilised in most rent analysis. This paper argues that theorising the exteriority of nature to capital, a key point of contention in recent debates within ecological Marxism, is crucial for this, and develops a concept of rent defined through its double basis (material and class bases). This definition helps define its specificity vis-à-vis other forms of value and nature appropriation, and understand how capital’s appropriation of nature determines its uneven development.

ABSTRACT Higher education faces many challenges in the current climate. Some of these challenges are not new; the face of neoliberalism has been a part of higher education for a few decades, as colleges and universities have sought to fit within the model of late capitalism. The message of market capitalism has been a component of the structure of schools as they have sought to position themselves within a fiscal setting. More recently, there have been tendencies toward authoritarianism, as some colleges and universities have attempted to limit some freedoms and faculty and others. A potential remedy for the present state of affairs is attention to genuine liberalism, in which freedom is of the utmost concern.

This research investigated how industrialization and economic growth in Nigeria from 1980 to 2024 are related. This study utilized data sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin (2024) and the World Development Indicators (2024). These include yearly data for the subsequent variables: Gross Domestic Product acts as the dependent variable, with Industrial Sector Output, Mining Production, Electricity Supply to the Industrial Sector, and Government Capital Expenditure on Industry functioning as independent variables. The analysis employed the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model as the test statistic. The findings indicated that while the output of the industrial sector has a positive correlation with Nigeria's economic growth, this relationship is not significant. In contrast, mining production and government capital expenditure have negative correlations that are statistically significant. There is a positive and statistically significant correlation between electricity supply to the industrial sector and economic growth. The study concluded that while industrialization continues to be a key driver of economic transformation, the findings highlight structural weaknesses and ongoing inefficiencies in Nigeria’s industrial sector, mining industry, and public investment framework. It was suggested that the government should bolster its efforts to improve electricity supply for better industrial productivity; guarantee transparency and efficiency in capital spending to yield growth-promoting results; foster industrial capacity utilization and technological advancement; and reform the mining sector to enhance value addition and encourage sustained economic growth

Achieving gender equality in self-efficacy for higher education (HE) is essential for meeting Europe’s strategic goals of increasing access to HE and narrowing gender disparities. Our study examines gender disparities in self-efficacy for pursuing HE, including intersecting influences of gender, cultural capital, economic capital and residential location. Building on Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy and its application in research, we define self-efficacy for HE as a student’s confidence in their ability to successfully carry out the necessary tasks for enrollment and completion of their desired study program and as a concept that reflects complex intersectional inequalities influenced by both individual and social factors across various societal contexts. We employed a quantitative intersectional approach grounded in McCall’s multicategorical complexity framework. The study was conducted with a nationally representative sample of Croatian upper secondary school students in 2021. The findings revealed that urban residence, along with higher cultural and economic capital, significantly influenced self-efficacy for HE. Boys demonstrated slightly higher self-efficacy than girls. Cultural capital exerted a slightly stronger impact among male students and among students from rural areas. The study is discussed in the context of its contribution to quantitative intersectional research and policies aimed at addressing gender inequalities in HE in Europe.

ABSTRACT This article argues that an analysis of Theodor Adorno’s “inverse theology” helps account for his totalizing critique of capitalist society and his persistent belief in the objective possibility of its end. I argue that this theological impulse must be rooted in his distinctive understanding of Karl Marx’s critique of political economy. Ultimately, I hope to elucidate how and why Adorno’s distinct theological account of capitalist society as irredeemably wrong and hellish might nonetheless work in service of its revolutionary end, and the resurrection of a transfigured social reality that remembers its wounds. I also hope to encourage further engagement between readers interested in critical theory, Marx, and theology.

Canadian ecopoet and naturalist Harry Thurston has spent a whole lifetime paying attention to the more-than-human world, which has resulted in poetry collections and non-fiction books on environmental issues. Drawing on Serenella Iovino’s notion of “non-anthropocentric humanism” and Giorgio Agamben’s thinking on (non)human life and the Western distinction between human and animal, this paper proposes an ecocritical reading of the poetry collection Icarus, Falling of Birds (2017), a 12-part poem that mourns an environmental catastrophe that killed 7,500 to 10,000 songbirds of twenty-six species on the night of September 13, 2013. As Thurston explains, the tragic event happened as a flock of migratory songbirds on their journey southwards was attracted to a mesmerising flare column at a gas plant in Saint John, New Brunswick. Killed by the flames, the falling of these birds recalls, to Thurston’s mind, Icarus’s fall in the Graeco-Roman myth as his wax wings melted in approaching the sun. Upon closer inspection, the poem reveals itself as an accomplished palimpsest woven out of sources as varied as Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Emerson’s essay “The Poet,” and several scientific works on songbirds. This paper argues that, in piecing all these textual threads together, and countering an anthropocentric conceptualisation of songbirds, Thurston is voicing a deft denunciation of humans’ disregard for nonhuman animals and their ferocious overexploitation of natural resources in capitalist societies, which is leading to alarming species extinction.

Needless Necessity: Sameness and Dynamic in Capitalist Society

I study the effect of viable technical change on the equilibrium profit rate in Classical-Marxian models of economic growth with alternative labor market closures. Capitalists adopt a new technique of production only if it is expected to increase the profit rate at the existing real wage rate. I consider three alternative closures: (a) constant real wage rate (labor surplus economy), (b) constant wage share (advanced capitalist economy with strong labor), and (c) constant unemployment rate (advanced capitalist economy with weak labor). I show that the equilibrium profit rate can unambiguously fall after viable capital-using, labor-saving (CU-LS) technical for an advanced economy with strong labor. JEL Classification : B51, C02

Abstract This article analyses the role of online organic intellectuals in the consolidation of Bolsonarism within Brazil's ongoing neo-liberal order. Drawing on the Gramscian concept of passive revolution, it argues that far-right digital influencers act as key ideological mediators, channelling popular discontent, resentment and anti-systemic affect into cultural and moral narratives that ultimately stabilize the existing political economy. Rather than disrupting neo-liberalism, these figures repackage its legitimacy crisis through nationalist, anti-globalist and culturally conservative frames. The analysis traces this process in Brazil's recent political trajectory, from the gradual exhaustion of Lulism to the rise of Bolsonarism, showing how elite economic interests have been rearticulated through new forms of digital ideological production. By foregrounding the cultural work of Brazil's far-right influencers, the article highlights how neo-liberalism is able to renew itself through its crises. The findings speak to broader trends in contemporary capitalism, offering insight into how far-right media ecosystems help to (re)forge hegemonic stability across other liberal democracies facing similar political circumstances.

Antitrust challenges have increasingly shaped competitive dynamics across industries, particularly affecting small and low-income firms that struggle to coexist with dominant market players. This study introduces the intersection of antitrust regulation, corporate strategy, and innovation, emphasizing ethical leadership, motivational governance, and sustainable growth amid regulatory pressure. It highlights how companies navigate competition through adaptive business models, collaborative missions, and market-driven resilience, with particular attention to the food industry’s global landscape. Cultural preservation, regulatory compliance, and strategic diversification emerge as critical factors influencing firm survival and expansion. Drawing on international contexts—including the United States, Korea, and Indonesia—the introduction frames antitrust enforcement as both a constraint and a catalyst for innovation. Ultimately, the paper positions antitrust challenges not merely as legal obstacles but as opportunities for redefining competitiveness, equity, and long-term sustainability within modern capitalist economies.

This paper explores whether profit-driven enterprises are vital for economic efficiency and innovation or if charity and government organizations could suffice. It argues that profit motivation is essential for innovation and growth, but a solely profit-maximizing system, lacking regulatory oversight, can incur significant social costs. Using classical economic theory, particularly Adam Smith's "invisible hand” and Friedrich Hayek's price mechanism, the study shows how profit-seeking behavior achieves allocative efficiency and optimal resource allocation. Contemporary examples, like Netflix and Apple, highlight how profit incentives enhance innovation and productivity, in contrast to government-run enterprises, such as NASA's Space Launch System, which demonstrate performance limitations compared to SpaceX. The research notes the weaknesses of charity and government organizations, including bureaucratic inefficiencies and lack of market discipline. However, it acknowledges market failures that necessitate government intervention. Ultimately, the study advocates for a balanced approach combining private enterprise, government regulation, and nonprofit organizations, promoting both economic prosperity and social welfare. It concludes that a complementary relationship between these sectors is more effective than pure market capitalism or complete government control.

ABSTRACT While individual sports offer health and economic benefits, team sports additionally promote adolescents’ social integration and cooperation. Drawing on Bourdieu, this study examines how family socioeconomic status (SES) is reproduced as adolescents’ mass-participation team sports capital via sport-related economic, embodied cultural, and social capital mediators. Using the 2020 ‘Database for Youth Health’ from Shandong Province, China, we analyze adolescents’ participation in the ‘Three Big Balls’ – soccer, basketball, and volleyball – mass-participation team sports prioritized by national policy. Unlike previous studies that isolated individual capital dimensions, this study develops an integrated mediation model while also comparing SES effects on mass-participation team versus individual sports participation. The results reveal a significant positive association between family SES and TSP, fully mediated by all three capital types, with economic and (embodied) cultural capital showing the strongest effects. In contrast, family SES is not related to mass-participation individual sports, indicating that team sports constitute a more robust site for class reproduction. Mediation heterogeneity is pronounced: evident among girls (not boys) and rural adolescents (not urban), and significant in junior but not senior high school. These findings reveal how China’s post-2018 crackdown on shadow education (‘Double reduction’) unintentionally reinforced inequality, as advantaged families redirected investments into private sports training. Mass-participation team sports, often viewed as egalitarian, serve as new sites of class reproduction. Policies should expand subsidized after-school sports, track capital reinvestment patterns, and foster community-based parental engagement to reduce capital gaps. This study highlights how policy shocks can reconfigure informal capital strategies and reshape educational inequality.

Contemporary US economists who invoke the term secular stagnation refuse to look into the abyss to which Hansen pointed when he brought up the intractability of the problem – capitalism was no longer providing growth and the only solutions for returning productive dynamism to capitalist economies available would require ending capitalism and transforming it into something else. Instead, they seemed to invoke the ‘problem’ of secular stagnation to propose ‘solutions’ that involved keeping maintaining the capitalist organization of the economy in the sense of the primacy of the private prerogative in determining the pace and pattern of investment, growth and employment. In contrast, the articles in this special issue return to the more fundamental questions to which Hansen pointed to underline the relevance of the diagnosis today.

Enterprises claiming a social mission face increasing scrutiny over whether their innovations drive genuine transformation or rather reinforce existing problematic systems. Building on the distinction between compensatory and transformative social entrepreneurship, this research note proposes prefiguration as an appropriate framework for theorizing the latter. Prefiguration names the pursuit of societal transformation by materializing alternative systems within local initiatives, which then together function as decentralized laboratories developing system-level solutions. This strategy is adopted by many social enterprises today, as illustrated by our case study of Equal Care Co-op, a platform-based care cooperative combining digital, social, and democratic innovations to challenge the exploitative UK care system. We argue that, by integrating prefiguration theory into social entrepreneurship scholarship, researchers can better distinguish genuine transformation from superficial disruption, yielding both more accurate models and greater support for enterprises pursuing emancipatory alternatives to contemporary capitalism's systemic failures.

ABSTRACT This article proposes, as an alternative to fear and apathy, the usual suspects of environmental affects, an unexpected aesthetic register – disgust. By comparing the functions of disgust in Mariana Enriquez’ and Sayaka Murata’s short stories, I demonstrate how disgust invites readers to imagine themselves as porous interconnected entities, while tying the alienation of this connection to the capitalist systems causing environmental breakdown. This bridges the discrepancy between intimate, emotional experience and the abstract knowledge of the climate crisis. I conclude by proposing a new category within and beyond environmental fiction, one that connects environmental crisis to other crises: cri-fi, crisis fiction. I suggest that cri-fi has the potential to do more than persuade readers of the current crises; it can affect the reader’s understanding and experience of environmental breakdown by viscerally and emotionally demonstrating the complex interrelations of the climate crisis with capitalism through ambivalent negative affects.

The differentiation and antagonism between humanity and nature produced by capitalist civilization constitute the core of Marxs thought on the relationship between humanity and nature. Through his critique of alienated labor, Marx identified private ownership as the social root of this division and opposition, and clarified that the realization of the two reconciliations must be grounded in the sublation of alienated labor. Marx further dissected the internal operating mechanisms of capitalist society and, taking wage labor as his point of entry, elucidated the general laws governing the material metabolism between humanity and nature. In doing so, he identified both the preconditions for the emergence of metabolic rifts between humanity and nature and the conditions under which such rifts may be repaired. Marx demonstrated the rationality of constructing an ideal vision of harmonious humannature development on the basis of free labor. By following the laws of beauty, free labor enables an initial reconciliation between humanity and nature, transcends alienated and wage labor through the association of free individuals, and thereby propels human society from the realm of necessity toward the realm of freedom. Upholding Marxs thought on the relationship between humanity and nature in the new era is conducive to advancing a new chapter in which labor creates harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.

The world-systems analysis developed by sociologists and political scientists in recent decades has not yet become widespread in the legal sciences. It can be used in the study of the history of the development of the state and law, as it allows to determine the influence of law on the formation of a capitalist world-economy. The history of the U.S. is a vivid example of such influence. The Congress of this country has played a key role in regulating economic activities – the main factor of the state movement along the world axis “core – periphery”. Purpose: To define the role of the U.S. Congress in regulating economic activities in the 18th–20th centuries, which allowed this country to take a leading position in the capitalist world-system. Methods: The comparative legal method allows to assess changes in the legal policy of Congress regarding economic regulation during the periphery, semi-periphery, and core periods; the interpretive method contributes to the identification of patterns in the transformation of legal regulation of the economy following the U.S. movement along the axis “core – periphery”; the legal-dogmatic method and the method of interpreting legal norms are used in the analysis of legislation of Congress in historical retrospective. Results: the study establishes a correspondence of the chronological periods of the U.S. movement from the periphery to the semi-periphery and the core of the capitalist world-system with the change in the nature of legal regulation of the economy by Congress from a laissez-faire regime (market capitalism) to the fusion of the interests of members of parliament and the interests of monopolies (state-monopoly capitalism), the expansion of legal regulation to transcontinental corporations and foreign policy expansion.

Knowledge and Cultural Production in the Context of Contemporary Capitalism: A Response to Wittkower