In and Out of Crisis: The Global Financial Meltdown and Left Alternatives - Softcover

Sam Gindin

9789350020548: In and Out of Crisis: The Global Financial Meltdown and Left Alternatives

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9350020548 ISBN 13: 9789350020548

Publisher: Aakar Books, 2011

Investment banks have disappeared overnight, industrial firms have gone bankrupt, and the financial order has been shaken to the core: our world is in the grips of the most calamitous economic crisis since the Great Depression with its epicentre is the imperial USA. Many around may wonder if another world is possible, but few are mapping out potential avenues - and flagging wrong turns - en route to a post-capitalist future. In this groundbreaking analysis, renowned radical political economists Albo, Gindin and Panitch lay bare the roots of the crisis, which they locate in the dynamic expansion of capital on a global scale over the last quarter century - and in the inner logic of capitalism itself. In and Out of Crisis challenges the call by much of the Left for a return to a mythical Golden Age of economic regulation as a check on finance capital and shows how neo-liberal free markets have been sustained by massive state intervention. With clarity and erudition, they argue that given the balance of social forces regulation is not a means of fundamentally reordering power in society, but rather a way of preserving markets. Contrary to those who believe US hegemony is on the wane, Albo, Gindin and Panitch contend that the meltdown has, in fact, reinforced the centrality of the American state as the dominant force within global capitalism, while simultaneously increasing the difficulties entailed in managing its imperial role. In conclusion, the authors argue that it's time to start thinking about genuinely transformative alternatives to capitalism - and how to build the collective capacity to get us there. We should be thinking bigger and preparing to go further.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Greg Albo and Leo Panitch are coeditors of the Socialist Register and professors of political economy at York University in Toronto. Sam Gindin is the former research director of the Canadian Autoworkers Unions and a professor of political economy at York University. They live in Toronto.

Review:

"Leo Panitch has stood out in recent years as one of the socialist intellectuals most fully engaged with political questions, analyzing the problems faced by left-wing parties, trade unions, and other social movements with great clarity." —Irish Left Review

"Greg Albo, Sam Gindin, and Leo Panitch provide a perceptive, and persuasive, analysis of the origins of the crisis, arguing that the Left must go beyond the demand for re-regulation, which, they assert, will not solve the economic or environmental crisis, and must instead demand public control of the banks and the financial sector, and of the uses to which finance is put. This is an important book that should be read widely, especially by those hoping to revitalize the Left." —Barbara Epstein, professor, UC Santa Cruz

"[Leo Panitch is] a wonderful writer who bridges the disjuncture between theory and political praxis." —John C. Berg, government professor, Suffolk University

"Panitch s work is consistently characterized by intelligence, rigor, and commitment." —David Abraham, law professor, University of Miami

--—David Abraham, law professor, University of Miami

"The most useful book to come out of the current crisis. I hope it's used to its fullest potential." —In These Times

--—In These Times

"This brilliant work deserves a wide audience although its theoretical depth often makes it far from an easy read. Starting from the paradox that the financial meltdown has cost the ruling elites their credibility even while the North American Left has remained largely marginal, the authors proceed to challenge a number of widely held misconceptions and then sketch out a strategy for the rebirth of a radical movement." —The Labor Studies Journal --I>The Labor Studies Journal

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.