Capitalism Research Articles

The disaster contradiction of contemporary capitalism: Resilience, vital systems security, and ‘post-neoliberalism’

The disaster contradiction of contemporary capitalism: Resilience, vital systems security, and ‘post-neoliberalism’

Economy and state: The politics of citizenship and universality in Gillian Rose, Hannah Arendt and Rosa Luxemburg

This article examines Gillian Rose's understanding of the relationship between universality and diremption in the capitalist economy and the capitalist state. Adopting Rose's triadic discussion in The Broken Middle, I contrast her thought with Hannah Arendt and Rosa Luxemburg. Rose's investigation of the ‘political diremption’ of the modern state is conducted via a critical appraisal of Arendt's oeuvre. While Arendt is one of the most celebrated thinkers today, Rose's analysis has been virtually ignored. Strikingly, Rose makes a novel distinction between the problematic of diremption between economy and state in Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism and the idealism of The Human Condition. Rose argues that Arendt's shift is ahistorical and betrays the radical potential of her best insights. This critique helps assess current debates over universal human rights and the relation between the capitalist economy and nation-state. Identifying the exclusions of citizenship, Rose advances a politics of universal freedom from ‘the broken middle’.

Imaginative geographies of youth: negotiating precarities in higher education marketisation

ABSTRACT In a capitalist society, the marketisation of higher education is becoming increasingly prevalent. Inspired by Orientalism, this study analyses how various mediated representations, such as institutional advertisements, online newspapers, Instagram posts, and discursive communications, play an imperative role in reinforcing marketisation and shaping the imaginative geographies of self-financed associate degree students in Hong Kong. Through 40 in-depth interviews with students and key stakeholders, as well as media scrutiny and participant observations, this research sheds light on the creativity employed by these students to navigate and resist precarities and the positioning of “othering” embedded in their imaginative geographies and the complexities of everyday lives. It underscores the dual nature of precarities, from both top-down and bottom-up manners, and advocates for social recognition, caring support for self-financed students.

Keadilan Ekonomi Islam sebagai Solusi Alternatif bagi Krisis Ekonomi Global

This study aims to analyze how Islamic economic principles can be applied effectively in the global economic system. This study uses a library research method with a comprehensive literature analysis with a descriptive and analytical approach. The results state that Islamic economics is a paradigm that offers alternatives and transformative solutions to build a more just, sustainable, and humane global economic system. By integrating the principles of justice, solidarity, and sustainability, Islamic economics can answer the failure of capitalism and socialism in overcoming social inequality, exploitation of natural resources, and financial instability. Through instruments such as zakat, waqf, the prohibition of usury, and partnership-based financing, Islamic economics creates a balance between individual and collective interests while maintaining ecological balance. Challenges in its implementation, such as resistance from the capitalist system, lack of global understanding, and the need for harmonization with modern market mechanisms, require collaborative approaches, technological innovation, and commitment across countries. If implemented consistently, Islamic economics can revolutionize the world's economic structure, create equitable prosperity, and strengthen human relationships with the environment, building the foundation for a more harmonious and sustainable world order.

A study of the commodification of Sinoperipheral writing in the linguistic landscape of China

ABSTRACT Previous studies have shown the usefulness of looking at ethnic minority languages of China through the lens of linguistic landscape (LL). However, with the exception of Cantonese, not much research has been conducted exclusively on the use of vernacular Chinese dialects in the LL of China. This study adopts an LL approach to examine the use of Vernacular Written Hokkien (VWH) as a kind of Sinoperipheral writing in Quanzhou, a geographically peripheral city of China. The commodification of VWH in the commercial frame of Quanzhou illustrates the local political economy of languages in Quanzhou where VWH has been reframed and recontextualised as an economic and symbolic capital. Despite the mobility afforded by globalisation, the commodification of VWH in the commercial LL of Quanzhou does not alter the hegemony of Standard Written Chinese (SWC).

Class Dynamics at the Margins: Capitalist Relations Among Shea Nut Collectors in Burkina Faso and Ghana

ABSTRACTIn recent decades, the increasing international demand for shea nuts has resulted in changes to the livelihoods of women collecting and processing these nuts in West Africa. Market integration of shea nut collectors affects social dynamics as capitalist relations and significant income differences among the collectors emerge. Using survey data, we establish a typology to describe shea nut collectors, based on the financial capital that they invest in shea and their other sources of income. We show that a small group of collector‐traders is able to benefit from the shea boom through the sale of shea nuts purchased from other collectors at a lower price. Conversely, a larger group of dedicated and diversified collectors are compelled to sell their nuts at a low price for their subsistence. This interdependence highlights capitalist relations, income gaps and social differentiation among the collectors. This process intersects with gendered access to ownership and income control. Our analysis challenges common assumptions about the potential of market integration to achieve win–win scenario and shows that unequal development is constitutive of such approaches. Despite the limited role of shea nut collection in household income, we argue that the social differentiation at play shares similarities with that observed for cash crops in other cases of agrarian change. We conclude by highlighting that shea nut collectors need to be perceived as a heterogeneous group, navigating the intricacies of capitalist market integration with different interests and opportunities.

Subverting speculative urbanism: Cityscape in New York 2140

This article is divided into two parts. The first part foregrounds the logic of contemporary financial capitalism, emphasising the increasing role of ‘speculative urbanism’ in urban transformation. While the literature on the ‘financialisation of the city’ often highlights the commodity as the paradigmatic social form in urban settings, I argue that this perspective no longer fully captures the dynamics of contemporary capitalism. The second part contends that urban studies can significantly benefit from engaging with speculative fiction. Through its imaginative and projective capacities, speculative fiction mirrors empirical social and technological trends, while also illuminating the logical and structural relationship between speculative financialisation and urbanisation. Analysing Kim Stanley Robinson’s New York 2140, the article demonstrates how the novel helps us understand the devastation caused by financial capital, while also presenting a city where people engage in horizontal forms of resistance against speculative urbanism. Ultimately, the article proposes that for urban studies to develop a pertinent theory of futures in the 21st century, it must engage deeply with the mechanisms of speculative financial capitalism and incorporate the critical potential of speculative fiction to analyse and understand speculation as a key aspect of financial capitalism, while uncovering suppressed contradictions and potentialities.

Critical Race Theory, Marxism, and the Problem of Ideology

Critical race theories of ideology, surprisingly, replicate key tensions in early Marxist thought. Following a selective review of several Marxist theorists, this article examines critical race conceptions of racial ideology within the influential work of Charles W. Mills and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, probing three related problem areas: an “expressive” theory of society, the correspondence of ideologies to racial groups, and an overreliance on standpoint implications. In response, the author develops a heterodox, nonreductive Marxist theory in which racial ideologies, although historically durable, are seen as contingent, relatively autonomous constructs that take shape unevenly within capitalist societies, do not correspond to fixed social groups, and may or may not facilitate the reproduction of capitalism. Developing a less deterministic theory of the relation between social structure, group identity, and racist belief opens up more generative approaches to the problem of racial ideology.

Proficiency-chasing and goalodicy: In prioritising checklists, are we gambling with the future of mental health nursing?

In this discussion paper, I take a critical approach to the use of standardised checklists in practice assessment documents as a valid method of assessing mental health nursing students in the UK. The game Bingo is applied here as a metaphor, highlighting the folly of using standardised cross-field checklists to assess mental health nursing students in practice. Such practices, I argue, amount to little more than a game of proficiency-chasing at the expense of seeking more meaningful learning experiences, especially where practice assessment documents currently prioritise physical health care skills above those required for successful mental health nursing. Furthermore, where the current path to qualification as a mental health nurse in the UK is determined by the navigation of a complex system of checklists and targets, I also argue that goalodicy (as in the goal and actions taken to achieve this becoming the focus, over the very reason the goal exists in the first place) becomes an inevitability; shortcuts justified in the name of achieving broader goals of passing a practice module and eventual qualification as a mental health nurse. This situation, I suggest serves neoliberal, capitalist systems, reinforcing the mechanisation of care while undermining the deeper relational, ethical and philosophical focus of what it means to be a mental health nurse. Alternative methods of practice-based assessments for mental health nursing are considered.

Chronological approach to the characteristics of Ecuador’s debt with the IMF and the WB

Where did Ecuador’s foreign debt originate and grow to alarming levels? The purpose of this article is to describe, from an analytical perspective based on the contributions of various authors, the origin of Ecuador’s external debt with international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as the support that these organizations provide for the development of the countries of the South, case Ecuador. To achieve this purpose, a documentary methodology was implemented that included an exhaustive review of studies focused on the specific variables subject to analysis, the PRISMA tool and Atlas.ti 23 were used. The results show that the creation of these financing agencies in their attempt to support the financial stability of developing countries has not been sufficiently effective in improving the welfare conditions of a good percentage of the population and has generated an imbalance in the sustained development of the poorest countries. It is concluded that the capitalist system gives predominant priority to the economic growth of nations, thus relegating in its model the consideration of human development. This orientation does not contribute effectively to the improvement of crucial aspects such: education, health and the standard of living of the population.

The political drivers of antipoverty policy in Italy: persistence, change and reversals

Abstract This article analyses the political determinants of antipoverty policy in Italy between 1948 and 2022, providing a long-term analysis of the Italian minimum income scheme. We look for an explanation of that evolution drawing on three theoretical perspectives: veto players, gradual institutional change, and party competition. Our methodology is process tracing which involves the examination of ‘diagnostic’ pieces of evidence for our broad political-historical analysis. We argue that the so called ‘neglect’ phase until 1992 can be explained by the veto players theory, the period after 1992 by gradual institutional change, whereas the final introduction of a minimum income scheme in 2018 is the result of competitive dynamics. The main lesson is that a case study analysis of the politics of anti-poverty policy offers fresh insights into a major challenge in capitalist systems, combating rising poverty trends.

Political Business Cycles in Varieties of Capitalistic Systems

ABSTRACTThis study contributes to the literature on political business cycles by assessing the effect of elections on growth expectations based on expert survey data instead of using actual performance data. We analyze the different roles opportunistic and partisan politics play in varieties of capitalistic systems as a source of heterogeneity. Our results show that expectations differ remarkably between Liberal and Coordinated Market Economies (LME vs. CME) even independent of election outcomes.

“The scandal that shocked the world”: conspirituality and online scam ads

ABSTRACT Drawing on a collection of online ads for scam bitcoin exchanges, this article situates their appeal and aesthetic within the longer history of populist political marketing. This history connects with current forms of commercial “conspirituality” that thrive on social media platforms, inviting users to suspend their disbelief in miracle cures and get-rich-quick schemes. The scam ads we examined mobilize critiques of existing social and economic inequality to enhance the appeal of the false solutions they offer. Following recent work on conspirituality, the article draws upon Jacques Ranciere’s notion of “dissensus” to analyze the ways in which the style and content of scam ads invite a form of “conspiracy believing” that challenges common sense understandings. It then turns to Alenka Zupančič’s critical psychoanalytic theory to argue that these beliefs, far from critiquing contemporary capitalism, work to disavow its pathologies.

The impact of socioeconomic status on parental agency in family language policy for English language learning in China

ABSTRACT This study investigates how Chinese parents of different socioeconomic status (SES) exercise their agency in family language policies (FLP) for English language learning amid educational reforms and sociocultural dynamics. Drawing on Spolsky’s language policy framework and Bourdieu’s, concept of capital, this study analysed 40 interviews with parents from different regions of China. The findings reveal that parents’ ideologies, management strategies, and practices in children’s English learning at home vary across SES groups, influenced by differences in access to economic, social, cultural and linguistic capital. High-SES parents perceive English as vital for global opportunities and set ambitious educational goals, employing resource-intensive support to encourage early bilingualism. Conversely, low-SES parents, constrained by limited resources, prioritise English primarily for school success and locally-based careers and employ adaptive strategies. Practices across SES groups vary from immersive activities in high-SES families to more passive exposure and basic academic support in low-SES families. The study demonstrates that SES, mediated by capital, affects parental agency in FLP. By illustrating the disparities across SES groups, this study contributes to a broader discourse in FLP, demonstrating how parents manifest resilience and adaptability in optimising resources for language learning through dynamic interactions with macro- and micro-level contexts.

Islam Kafe Vs Islam Kafah: Ekspresi Memaknai Islam dalam Ruang Publik di Kalangan Milenial (Studi Kasus di Sumenep, Madura)

This article seeks to describe the meaning of Islam by millennials in the public sphere, by focusing on three things, they are how the emergence, response, and resilience of millennials in expressing their Islam in public cafes and mosques. By using a qualitative approach, recollecting data were based on observations, interviews with managers and staff/follower as well as important documents. This data, then, is analyzed critically and descriptively. This study obtains two main findings. First, Islamic expressions in public cafes caused the problem of market-oriented economic capitalism and not educating for the benefit wider community, so managers try to raise capital through investment from pesantren alumni as an economic and social modality as well as by offering a menu of sorogan kitab (pesantren book), selawatan, and scientific activities as priority marketing to attract consumers. This strategy is also resilient in strengthening the company profile of the cafe. Second, the expression of Islam in the mosque is aimed at reviving the house of God, takmir joint with national ustadz (preacher) such as UAS, Sugik Nur, and Hanan Attaki to recruit worshipers as well as to introduce Islam more radically to urban communities. Islamic learning focused on faith and ubudiyah holding on routinely after maghrib and subuh prayer, and "sajadah fajar" (down mat) program for shaping other mosques the same as theirs.

Refugee Learning Center in Indonesia: A Habitat for Refugee Well‐Being in Transit

ABSTRACTAlthough students' well‐being is widely researched in educational settings, little is known about how educational contexts influence the sense of well‐being experienced by refugee students in transit countries. This case study examined how a refugee learning center in Indonesia helps cultivate refugee students' sense of well‐being in different forms of capital. Data derived from public‐facing multimodal sources included the center's annual reports, staff and students' written narratives, digital stories on social media, and other artefacts. A qualitative content analysis (QCA) illuminated the interconnected forms of resources enacted in the refugee learning center for facilitating refugee students' subjective well‐being, such as accredited education programs, English‐medium instruction, and extracurricular activities for cultural capital; inclusive support systems and teacher support for social capital; and job‐related skills through volunteer opportunities for economic capital. This study not only broadens understanding of the connection between acquiring capital and the subjective well‐being of refugees but also contributes to the dearth of literature on refugee education in Indonesia. The implications for research, policy, and practice emphasise how stakeholders can implement comprehensive programs and strategies that integrate different resources to cultivate refugee students' well‐being and to further examine, sustain, and scale such programs in Indonesia and possibly elsewhere.

Newly Arrived Women’s Educational and Professional Choices

This study focuses on the stories of four newly arrived women and their choices of vocational education and profession. The study highlights the women’s life courses and addresses how their vocational skills from their home countries can influence their choices of vocational education and profession, and how these skills are utilised in Sweden. The study also examines the cultural, social, economic, and symbolic capital that emerges from the women’s stories. Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of capital is used to explain the women’s choices of vocational education and profession, suggesting a connection between the capital that women carry with them and their private and vocational experiences throughout their lives.The result shows that the women’s choices of vocational education and profession are related to their previous life experiences and adapted to the efforts of the Swedish state to shorten the path to employment for adult immigrants through Yrkesvux, a combined education programme. Additionally, the women’s vocational skills from their home countries are mostly used through their own business activities in Sweden.Newly arrived women’s vocational skills are changing the existing history of women’s skills and adding tasks that traditionally have not existed in Sweden, for example carpet tying, facial threading, and oriental cooking and baking. These skills must be cared for by the Swedish education system, which is constructed and reconstructed in step with technological development and social change. Caring for new professional skills can, for example, be to create conditions for young people to learn and develop these skills for the benefit of society.

Enhancing the hybrid media system model: The role of critical theory in media and communication research

In this article, we propose a theoretical reconceptualization of the hybrid media system model by introducing structural and material conditions of contemporary media sphere with reference to critical theory. Our main thesis is based on the principle of historicization and the concept of social relations. Using this framework, we demonstrate that those who wield dominant power within the neoliberal capitalist economy also have influence over the logic of the hybrid media system. Following the premise that the “agency” is constrained by hierarchical social relations, we enhance the hybrid media system model to explicate not only cases where digital media have enabled successful civic activism leading to social change but also cases where newer digital technologies reinforce pre-existing social relations of power and subordination. The main contribution of the article is to show that critical theory strengthens the explanatory power of the current eclectic-empirical media models without fundamentally undermining their foundations.

Antonio Negri, Spinoza, Marx, and Digital Capitalism

This paper asks: How can Spinoza help us to better understand digital capitalism? The article engages critically and constructively with the philosophies of Spinoza, Marx, Hegel, and Antonio Negri in order to combine elements from their works. It focuses on a particular aspect of digital capitalism, namely the antagonism between digital labour and digital capital. Spinoza did not directly analyse class relations. Nonetheless, his philosophy can help us to indirectly analyse contemporary capitalism. This paper undertakes an analysis of digital capitalism by taking Spinoza’s concepts of power as potentia and potestas as a starting point. Antonio Negri has stressed the dialectic of potentia and potestas as part of the analysis of class and capitalism. This paper connects Spinoza to Marx’s and Negri’s analyses of capitalism and the working class. It analyses digital capitalism’s antagonisms between digital labour and digital capital, digital commodities and digital commons, and the networked digital productive forces and the digital relations of production as the antagonism between digital potentia and digital potestas.

Surveillance Capitalism: Origins, History, Consequences

This article investigates the early history and recent development of what is now termed surveillance capitalism. It argues that an underappreciated aspect of the surveillance of people and intensive data collection is a regularization of behavior that attempts to erase uncertainty. This process has been ongoing for more than a century, but its expansion through increasingly sophisticated digital technology and the widespread adoption of data gathering as a business strategy has the potential to stifle and inhibit the innovative entrepreneurship that is crucial to the capitalist system. How this will play out remains unclear, but history argues that we should look for ways to mitigate the potentially negative consequences of complex technological systems such as these.