Taking a long view of the current economic crisis, eminent academic David Harvey explains how capitalism came to dominate the world and why it resu...
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May 20, 2011
zerospinboson
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In this book, David Harvey tries to explain the causes of the current economic crisis, which he argues is the last in a string of crises that started roughly in the early 1970s, but for which the ground-work was laid basically at the end of World War II.
Harvey argues that the boom/bust cycles we've seen in the past 20-30 years, and especially the current one, are the consequence of the fact that too much investment capital is chasing too few investment opportunities (a problem that is actu More...
Harvey argues that the boom/bust cycles we've seen in the past 20-30 years, and especially the current one, are the consequence of the fact that too much investment capital is chasing too few investment opportunities (a problem that is actu More...
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Nov 12, 2010
Donald
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In The Enigma of Capital, David Harvey outlines an accessible critique of the current economic crisis, which he explains can be accounted for through the fact that excess capital has stopped flowing, and, as a result, compound growth has ceased,thus leading to a, mostly, worldwide crisis, which exposes the interconnectedness of the capitalist marketplace. While, the above is Harvey's thesis his critique goes well-beyond simply mulling over the moment that we are experiencing and offers a compre
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Jun 26, 2011
Subvert
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David Harvey explains the contemporary dauntingly complex political-economic structures under which we live with a Marxist perspective that takes issue with some of the most fundamental issues in our world. The word Marxist may scare people, but this is not an overly difficult book filled with scary difficult Marxist terminology, it is actually a highly readable book for people who have never read anything Marxist oriented literature. You can safely recommend this to friends that still have the
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Dec 11, 2011
Ed
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David Harvey isn't more Marxist than Marx but he does a good job of making one think that is the case. His masterful explication of Capital, Volume One (available on YouTube) shows that he knows the critiques of capitalism extremely well. One point he returns to often is the resiliency of this system of production and social organization--in order to survive capitalism must reinvent itself in response to crisis something that it has been able to do for a couple of centuries. While the fabric is
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Oct 25, 2010
Doug
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This is the best book I've read on the financial crisis. Harvey argues that capital, historically, needs a three percent profit, or surplus, in order to grow at a pace that will allow it to sustain itself. He then demonstrates that a continuous three percent surplus has become, and will continue to be, more and more difficult to reinvest as markets get closer to exhausting themselves. Put another way, capitalism is having an increasingly difficult time finding outlets to reinvest its surplus s
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Nov 12, 2011
Andrew
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Picked this up because Harvey was the only person I had run into who had a plausible explanation why $500K+ condo towers were suddenly being thrown up in downtrodden parts of Brooklyn, as summarized in n+1:
Harvey’s answer was that under capitalism land becomes “a pure financial asset”; land price is a claim on future revenue treated as a present-day asset. “Mortgages,” Marx said, “are mere titles on future rent.” And Harvey completes his thought: “Land price must be realized as future rentMore...
Feb 12, 2012
Frank
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A mixture of sharp insights, sentimental romantic prejudices and in depth discourses on the blatantly obvious. Either DH is very stubborn, or his editor was asleep on the job.
.. The Marxist claim to provide a Theory of Everything is certainly impressive, even while qualifying as comically overreaching. The attempt at conceiving and conveying such a vast project without recourse to a single equal sign: hopelessly, pathetically naive; the outcome: just as expected.
Marx is More...
Jan 17, 2012
Joshua
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This was a very informative and interesting read about the capitalist system, Marxist political economy, and the global financial crisis.
The author, David Harvey, is a geographer as well as a political economist so he talks about the way geography and space tie in with the evolution of capitalism.
The book proposes a theory of capitalism that involves 'seven spheres' which are inter relating, interdependent, and co-evolving. These spheres are: mental conceptions, relation More...
The author, David Harvey, is a geographer as well as a political economist so he talks about the way geography and space tie in with the evolution of capitalism.
The book proposes a theory of capitalism that involves 'seven spheres' which are inter relating, interdependent, and co-evolving. These spheres are: mental conceptions, relation More...
Dec 14, 2010
Richard
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Excellent analysis of the current economic crisis and a critique of the vast inadequacies and contradictions of capitalism. Harvey is a socialist and isn't afraid to show it. That said, his critique is very well reasoned and is powerful without being too strident. Unlike most books that end with a prescription for "What is to be done" Harvey's ideas don't fall flat. While he concedes that they are indeed utopian, at least he is trying to change something, instead of the usual varia
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Dec 05, 2011
Tan
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This book tries to explain the occurrences in the world in terms of capital flows, i.e. how colonialism/ neocolonialism/ cultural hegemony/ wars/ financial crisis come about because of the inherent tensions caused by capitalism: the need for capital to grow, and the need to reinvest surplus capital. It advocates a need to relook how society is organised, and that change (violent) is required to break out from the trap of capitalism - reading like a defence of communism and why it should be revis
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Sep 07, 2010
Alex
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Enigma: solved. Crises happen when capital can't flow, grow, reproduce itself at 3%. Blockages are conceivable all over the place, at the level of the original accumulation, labor process, 'underconsumption,' natural scarcity, technological hurdles, monopolistic stagnation. But Capitalism always finds a way. (That's a line from Jurassic Park).
I wish Harvey were a better writer. These things always feel rushed, and I can't always hold onto the larger threads. But I guess that's one di More...
I wish Harvey were a better writer. These things always feel rushed, and I can't always hold onto the larger threads. But I guess that's one di More...
Dec 31, 2011
Malcolm
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Every now and then I read something that helps make sense of the really big picture; this is one of those books – and it is simply superb. For at least the last 25 years or so I have been involved in work with friends and comrades (I use the word broadly) on ways to make sense of the post-Really-Existing-Communist world of finance capital, and in doing so have tried to keep up with developments on the left and in the broad social movements. Our early, and unsuccessful, efforts centred on ideas o
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Jul 05, 2010
Andrea
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The newest book on the crisis, it certainly succeeds in Harvey's aim to make it as accessible and readable as possible. I love Harvey's incredible skill in combining decades of thought and experience around complicated economic analysis, with the ability to rethink, retheorize, expand our repertoire of how to understand today's world and economy as a foundation for building something better and something new. In it you can see the effects of his work with the grassroots justice groups forming Ne
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Mar 06, 2011
Derek
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A very important critique that moves away from the capitalist crisis as anomaly model. Harvey links capitalist development to geography and urban development through his argument about the capital surplus absorption problem. What I found most interesting were Harvey's warnings about the rise of the pharmaceutical industry and the growth of medicating patients for everything. Today the NYTimes published an article about the changes to psychiatry, and the replacement of talk therapy with medicatio
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Feb 22, 2011
Tara
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David Harvey is a remarkable scholar. His work on postmodernity transformed my thinking on the subject. The Enigma of Capital is similarly revelatory. This is the finest analysis I have read of the financial crisis. Most impressively, he explores why capitalism is "irrational" and probes the problematic gap between the reality and representation of capitalism. This book is outstanding.
Mar 08, 2011
Luis
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The enigma of Capitalism is highly recommended, and it will make you think differently about many aspects of the capitalist system. This book is challenging and imaginative, detailed and accessible and one of contribution to understand the follies of the international financial system, looking closely at the nature of capitalism. The geographer David Harvey provided us with a book about capital flow, the life blood of the capitalist system, as it moves around the global economic system. He trace
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Feb 10, 2012
lyell
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start calling your "local starbucks" a salon, and when you go there tell the housewives and 15 year old kids who are looking at reddit on their iphones "i'm a salon marxist." they look at you uncomprehendingly and you say again "i'm a salon marxist. i'm a salon marxist."
Feb 07, 2012
David
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Mixed feelings. Lots of info. But a lot of it in an almost flow-of-consciousness form. Perhaps, it seemed more flow-of-consciousness to me because I listened to it - maybe visual formatting of the paper book would have reduced that. Lots of specifics I didn't know, not as much new general concepts. It's nice to have a "what to do" section in an economics book, but it was rather limited by it's precision academic perspective and focus on what intellectuals should do. Those aren't per
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Aug 14, 2011
Michelle
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Marxist, (but/and) eloquent (a critique which earned me a Re-Tweet from the Red Scare Bot).
Adjectives aside, a wonderful structural critique from a well known Marxist Thinker. In these times of post-economic-crisis, all deeply articulated critiques can only facilitate the discussion
Adjectives aside, a wonderful structural critique from a well known Marxist Thinker. In these times of post-economic-crisis, all deeply articulated critiques can only facilitate the discussion
Sep 15, 2011
Melanie
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Reading this as part of the required list but this has been so far the best analysis of the financial crises and all types of capitalist crises plaguing the globe. it uses simple language to explain the historical and contemporary connections of state, capitalists, finance world and labor in producing the oppressiveness and the possible direction of human history. Must read!
Aug 12, 2011
H
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AS much as I agreed with his views and thought his analysis to be dead on, I oculdn't get excited about reading this book. In order to dissuade people from the prevailing neo-liberal bs, leftist writers need to be far more readable.
Jul 19, 2010
Michael
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To purchase this insightful book at this time, you have to go through Amazon UK as not yet available in U.S. A critically important book to grasp the current economic crisis by a critically acclaimed author.
Jul 10, 2011
Tyler
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I wish this book had had more footnotes and less exclamation points. Harvey's strong points are on his analysis of urban living and how capital moves from country to country.
I suppose I agree with his analysis that there is something about capitalism in general that is doomed to fail (the constant quest for more of it), but I guess after having read this book I came away wondering if I would have been better off just reading "Das Kapital" by Karl Marx instead.
I suppose I agree with his analysis that there is something about capitalism in general that is doomed to fail (the constant quest for more of it), but I guess after having read this book I came away wondering if I would have been better off just reading "Das Kapital" by Karl Marx instead.
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Jan 05, 2012
Jw
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game changing book. must read for those of you disillusioned with what passes as progress and how mondern economics is just a huge total disaster. how to rebuild humanity from the ground up, one person at a time into many.
Feb 21, 2011
Initially I was fascinated to learn something about the Marxist economic theory. But then the author's dryness and activist bent turned me off.
