This initial capitalist accumulation in the real-world requires the violent enforcement of the land market (private “enclosures” of “Commons” common land), forcing the creation of the labour market of masses dispossessed and thus can only sell their labour (a crucial input for capitalist production). Let’s first unpack “capitalist mass consumerism”, and then “communist famines”:Ī) “Capitalist mass consumerism”: first, consider the decreases in living standards of the masses upon the introduction of capitalism.

Consider: a common capitalist ploy to make socialism/communism scary is comparing “communist famines” with the mass consumerism of capitalism.

Critical books like this one are not meant to simply cross to the other side and pick through the bones they are meant to rebuild historical context. On one side, the colonizers bask in their spoils while looking away from the ruins of the other side. What we are left with, once we remove the politically-correct facade, is enlightened (industrious + humane) Western liberalism burdened with bringing civilization to the backward, coloured continents. imperialism), and builds a vulgar utopian (insert “free” to everything) model devoid of real-world application (power, class, contradictions, crises). Next, “economics” takes the winners, abstracts away interrelations (ex. “History” starts with names and dates names of the great men who won (and their perspectives) and dates of singular events (noisy surface phenomenon which barely reveal the underlying structures). Meanwhile, this critical examination of real-world history/political economy is buried.

commodification of society for endless private accumulation) from the 1600 East India Company and 1694 Bank of England to today’s Amazon and Wall Street? What drives our notions of “progress”, “growth” and “cosmopolitanism” behind liberalism? Instead of merely dwelling in ideas (where we are a bundle of contradictions), what about the production/distribution of real-world capitalism (i.e. I am most interested in the materialist structures ( political economy: production/distribution) behind “liberalism” rather than getting lost in the cultural spillover effects. 2022 Update: with the author going into palliative care, it’s time to update this review and fill in some gaps (esp. Liberalism and Imperialism, 2 sides of the same Capitalist coin…

Mike davis victorian holocausts