Review: The Poverty of Capitalism ... but a wealth of insight

Andrew Fisher, LEAP Co-ordinator, reviews John Hilary's 'The Poverty of Capitalism: Economic Meltdown and the Struggle for What Comes Next'. Published by Pluto Press.

War on Want's Executive Director John Hilary has been an outspoken and radical advocate of the global movement for social justice. Unafraid to speak plainly, to step outside and even condemn the cosy coalitions and tame agendas of some other NGOs. As such, it was with much anticipation that I started to read The Poverty of Capitalism.

The book not only draws upon Hilary's encyclopaedic knowledge of the global players and the struggles they provoke around the world for social justice, but also develops new theoretical underpinnings and useful concepts to better understand the global struggle against the power of almighty capital.

Hilary's fearless analysis not only takes on the known evils of globalisation - including the big corporations, the far from objective global economic institutions and the bought and paid for politicians. But it also takes aim at the wolves in sheep's clothing: the philanthropists, aid agencies and NGOs providing a humanitarian facade for a corporate agenda (reminiscent of the role of missionaries for the British Empire).

Like any well-researched book, it contains a number of great tidbits to develop the main thesis, including the quotes from Pentagon's 2012 paper on the 'Joint Operational Access Concept' which make it clear the US will go to war for resources - as it did in Afghanistan and Iraq - stating:

"the United States must maintain the credible capability to project military force into any region of the world in support of those interests. Thus includes the ability to force both into the global commons to ensure their use and into foreign territory as required."

Another also relates to the US, as we learn that 60% of personal bankruptcies in that country are caused by medical bills.

But the most important point in the book is to detail the corrupt power structures that keep the poor poor and the rich rich. In doing so, concepts like 'popular sovereignty', 'common ownership' and 'social production' are introduced and explained in developing the case for a democratic and ecologically sustainable transition in the global economy.

This is not an abstract vision, but rooted in social movements from across many of the most developed and successful of which are from Latin America, Africa and Asia. And it is this that perhaps gives the book its power - as the reader is transported along a compelling narrative from technical analysis of the realities of global realpolitik and economic institutaions, to an conceptual outlining of alternatives to the discontented struggling and often succeeding to make those alternatives a reality.

Those realities could take us, as Hilary labels the final chapter, 'Beyond Capitalism'. I'm in.

Andrew Fisher edited 'Building the new common sense: social ownership for the 21st century'.

King's speech wins Oscar for half-truths

As everyone who buys their own food and fuel knows, price rises are accelerating. Even in the unlikely event that the revolutionary uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa don’t push oil prices even higher, inflation in the UK is shooting past 4% and heading towards double that by the middle of the year.

The supermarkets which control 75% of groceries, have already doubled the inflation coming through the commodity markets. They’ve pushed the price of processed food up by as much as 6.5% as they try to protect their profits from falling demand.

As the world has seen, when rising prices push food beyond reach even the most autocratic governments feel the anger of the people.

Inflation is just one side of the global crisis. It is the direct and inevitable result of desperate attempts by governments and central banks to reverse the implosion of the global financial system in 2007-8. They poured in trillions of dollars, pounds, yen, and yuan, hoping to restart lending through commercial banks that they had rescued with money borrowed in advance – without asking – from billions of ordinary people, their children and grandchildren.

It was clear from the outset – at least to some – that the growth needed to repay the debt will never materialise. But they had to try. So another solution to the worsening debt crisis is now in play – higher taxes and cuts in government spending which have already provoked social upheaval throughout Europe.

Now the reality is hitting home. Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, told MPs yesterday:

The research makes it clear that the impact of these crises lasts for many years. It is not like an ordinary recession, where you lose output and get it back quickly. We may not get the lost output back for very many years, if ever.

And, he added something that should strike fear into the parliamentarians:

The price of this financial crisis is being borne by people who absolutely did not cause it. Now is the period when the cost is being paid, I'm surprised that the degree of public anger has not been greater than it has.

Maybe King is thinking of joining the national demonstration called by the TUC for March 26, which looks like turning into the Britain’s very own Day of Rage. King told the Treasury select committee that the billions spent bailing out the banks and the need for public spending cuts were the fault of the financial services sector. And so he’s now proposing that rather than rescuing ailing banks, ways should be found to allow them to fail, albeit gracefully.

But the bankers’ banker is only telling half the story, or at best one side of it, to shield the real villain in all this – the capitalist system of production for profit. This is the elephant in the room that few people want to speak of. Certainly not the TUC nor Ed Milband and his let's-build-a “prosperous capitalism”-party which we wrote about yesterday.

For decades, global growth of the capitalist economy was only made possible by an expansion of credit many times greater than the new value generated. It couldn’t last. When the limit was reached, meltdown took over. Then everything that was done to try and solve the crisis by treating its symptoms only made it worse.

Growth has been replaced by recession, and everything and anything that is done to try and deal with it just inflames the people affected most. King wonders why people are not angrier and out on the streets like the workers of North Africa. Don’t worry Mervyn. The rage is building and when it blows it needs to be directed not just against a few bankers but at the crazy capitalist system as a whole. At that point, you will be out of a job!

Gerry Gold
Economics editor
www.aworldtowin.net