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Disassembly Required: A Field Guide to Actually Existing Capitalism

Geoff Mann

4.02 · Rating details · 111 ratings · 22 reviews

"The book’s argument does not rely on ideologies, scapegoats, or heroes. more than anything, Disassembly Required is about a kind of common sense that’s become hard to escape—a common sense of privatization, austerity, and financialization that has invaded virtually every aspect of our lives and communities. 2008 gave many of us a remarkable window toward something differe ...more

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Paperback, 259 pages

Published April 23rd 2013 by AK Press (first published March 19th 2013)

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· 111 ratings · 22 reviews

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Jun 12, 2017 Sebastien rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-time-favorites, political-science

“Privatize the gains, socialize the losses.” Mantra of the neoliberal era.

First off, excellent excellent book. It does an impeccable job in explaining contemporary financialized and globalized capitalism - the analysis is measured, lucid, incisive, smart, exhibits strong fundamentals and understanding of systems and their historical evolutions. I learned a lot, Mann is very adept in his presentation and makes complex issues accessible and understandable (explanation of subprime implosion is top ...more

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Jun 17, 2017 Andy rated it liked it

OK but not as well written as other books covering similar ground.

The Worldly Philosophers by Robert L. Heilbroner

23 Things They Don't Tell You about Capitalism by Ha-Joon Chang

Reckless Endangerment How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon by Gretchen Morgenson

Affluenza The All-Consuming Epidemic by John De Graaf

...more

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Jul 04, 2017 Wendy Liu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: capitalism-etc, new-favorites, dissertation

This book is absolutely stellar and I wish everyone would read it. I'm not going to write any more about it because the other reviews are quite thorough. I'll just leave this quote, from the last chapter:

At my most generous, I might grant that capitalism, relative to what came before, is among the better ways developed thus far, but [...] why would we accept something because it is the best "so far"? Imagine if we had stopped at leeching or slavery because they were the best methods for medicine ...more

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Nov 16, 2016 Broadsnark rated it liked it

As a non-economist, I found this a very readable description of capitalism. Mann went over the historical routes and philosophical underpinnings, as well as the current world economic system. I would definitely recommend it for that. I guess the only reason I didn't give it four stars is because I was let down by the end of the book. I kept anticipating some ideas about how we are going to disassemble the current system and there isn't anything of substance there. ...more

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Sep 02, 2013 Matt Fahrner rated it it was amazing

Whether you agree with his politics or not, an extremely lucid critique of the modern economic policy and beliefs. No one goes unscathed in this largely contrarian view of modern capitalism and regardless of your viewpoint it is food for thought. At a minimum readers will get a much better understanding how the current system works and what its issues are.

Highly recommended. This book deserves significantly more attention than it so far has garnered.

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Mar 16, 2020 Sina Mousavi rated it liked it

So, this book is pretty alright. It starts with a primer on different accounts of capitalist political economy (Classical, Marxian, Neoclassical and Keynesian) and then examines the role of state power and the process of money creation in shaping market outcomes. The first section of the book, which mostly focuses on the abstract, ends here.

I found the second much more engaging, as it provides an overview of the economic history of the post-WWII era, up until the 2008 Global Financial Crisis — l So, this book is pretty alright. It starts with a primer on different accounts of capitalist political economy (Classical, Marxian, Neoclassical and Keynesian) and then examines the role of state power and the process of money creation in shaping market outcomes. The first section of the book, which mostly focuses on the abstract, ends here.

I found the second much more engaging, as it provides an overview of the economic history of the post-WWII era, up until the 2008 Global Financial Crisis — laser-focused on the Global North, I must add. Mann explains why the successes of the "golden age of capitalism" before the crisis of the 70s, namely full employment and an expanded welfare state, squeezed the profits going to capital, and thus led to a "capitalist strike" which significantly slashed investment rates, unraveling a global period of stagflation and social unrest.

The failure of the Keynesian economic orthodoxy in the 1970s necessitated a new regime of growth to restore corporate profitability. This, of course, is the perfect context for the ascent of finance and the emergence of the current hyper-financialised form of capitalism. Perhaps nobody plays a role as pivotal as the then Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker, in this massive overhaul — not even Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. By 1981, To curb the upsurge of inflation, he raises interest rates to as high as 21.5%, instantly causing a freeze in investment and, predictably, a recession. The plan worked as intended, and it would not be an overstatement to suggest that the world that we inhabit today is greatly shaped by its consequences. Volcker not only killed inflation, but also by appreciating the value of the Dollar amidst a deep recession, he made American manufacturing exports significantly less competitive. The resulting job losses crushed organised labour forever. Meanwhile, financiers were busy making profits on their extremely high-interest rate loans. With Bretton Woods-era financial regulations and capital controls now being a part of history, the ascent of finance became imminent.

It is not remotely surprising that dramatic transformation unleashed excessive risk-taking by financial actors, leading to a plethora of financial crises. Traders, for instance, could bet against the value of a developing country's currency or sell its debt on the bond market en masse, causing enormous economic havoc and triggering events such as the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Similarly, with the evaporation of trade unions and decent manufacturing jobs in the Global North, the only way to keep the previous standards of living was a dramatic expansion in credit provided by financial institutions to households and firms. Mann's account of the processes that led to the explosion of debt in the lead-up to the 2008 Crisis is both superb and highly depressing. I won't get into the details, but if you're looking for a place to understand the dynamics that led to the ultimate collapse, this is a great place to start.

Overall, I am not sure if this book fulfills the ambition that it sets up for itself in the title, as it simply does not cover a vast range of topics essential to understanding the functioning of modern capitalist economies. Nonetheless, it is a relatively short book that contains plenty of insights, both theoretical and historical, regarding the only economic system currently in place on planet Earth; making it a nice, but perhaps not essential, read. ...more

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Jan 31, 2019 Lenora Tor rated it it was amazing

*chefs kiss* howa to learna bouta capitalismo efficiently but a precisely

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Apr 06, 2014 Ollie rated it really liked it

Well organized, Disassembly Required puts capitalism in the perspective of how it fits into the current world. It briefly discusses the alternate economies that have been most proposed, like Adam Smith's belief that since nothing should hinder the interacting factors that stimulate commerce, Marx's interpretation of all profit coming from over-work, and Keynes' take that the state has to empower the worker to help them keep the capitalist system going. In addition, Geoff Mann also argues that th Well organized, Disassembly Required puts capitalism in the perspective of how it fits into the current world. It briefly discusses the alternate economies that have been most proposed, like Adam Smith's belief that since nothing should hinder the interacting factors that stimulate commerce, Marx's interpretation of all profit coming from over-work, and Keynes' take that the state has to empower the worker to help them keep the capitalist system going. In addition, Geoff Mann also argues that the belief that Capitalism and Democracy go hand in hand is incorrect as Capitalism and Fascism and human rights violation (such as in State Capitalism) is very much a reality. There is also a slight rehash of David Graeber's analysis of debt by linking it to money and banks and governments' "creation" of money out of thin air in order to pay for something. This, and delinking it from something concrete like the US dollar and gold (as the book explains in the Bretton Woods pact), creates inflation.

From a worker and consumer's perspective, in order to live in an accepted Capitlism economy, they must subject themselves to powerful corporations' constantly competing with each other and aggressively killing competition in order to maximize their profits. In addition, as long as the bottom line is all that matters, why should morality hinder this? Don't unions harm profits by their very definition?

Geoff man also gives us an account of Capitalism overcoming the collapse it encountered post-great depression, post-World War II, post- the crisis of 2008 (all unforeseen by Marxists), and the current austerity-bases system of the European union. All of this, of course is only possible with widespread state intervention in order to proclaim socialism for the rich once things are tough so that the capitalist system that caused the disaster can be maintained.

The solution? Unfortunately, Mann doesn't have many, but believes that changing our view of money is a good way to start fighting the crisis-laden system of capitalism. How important is money and must everything be exchanged through monetary systems? Also important is the need for our institution to take seriously the alternatives to neo-liberal and austerity-like measures when dealing with economic crises.
This, Mann claims, is how we start disassembling process. It's worth the risk, because the alternatives will back fire. It's all capitalism does.
...more

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Aug 06, 2013 Robert rated it really liked it

Geoff delivers an excellent introduction to the world of global finance and its discontents with Disassembly Required. For those of you who read the Shock Doctrine and were left feeling angry and bewildered at the pernicious and subtle influence of capitalism and its brash infiltration into every sector of life, Geoff does a lot to explain the appeal of this system beyond the obvious explanation of ravenous greed. I would recommend this to any activist or compassionate thinker hoping to accurate ...more

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Jan 24, 2019 Dana Larose rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019, canadian-authors, nonfiction

I think this was perhaps the best explanation of how money works and its function in capitalism that I've read. As well, we get an overview of the economic history of the 20th century and subprime crisis in 2008 (I feel like maybe I kind of finally understand what happened in it). All throughout, Mann's prose is lucid and readable, and not at all dry.

Mann approaches the subject matter as an anti-capitalist and the book's intent to discuss some of the inherent flaws in capitalism as a system. The ...more

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Jun 15, 2018 Adam Fisher rated it it was amazing

Starts out excellent - excellently insightful analyses of current developments in capitalism. However, it falls short on delivering its central thesis (that you will be given a full field guide or manual) and fails to really deliver any evident "way forward" (what to do next) even though this seems to be what it thinks it does, by the end.

Excellent insight and worth a read, but not as effectively insightful as one could hope. ...more

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Jul 17, 2020 John Barham rated it did not like it

Shelves: poli-sigh

Maybe I'm not the intended audience for this book. I'm as socialist as they come, but for fucks sake this is just academic blathering. One belabored point after another with little actual substance.
Socialist ideas need to be accessible beyond people with philosophy and economics degrees, otherwise I'm not sure what useful purpose this book serves. ...more

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Jun 08, 2019 Ietrio rated it did not like it

Shelves: junk

A governmental bureaucrat gives his support to his powerful employer: like Mann, Capitalism and everybody else should become a small obedient cog in the state machine.

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Jan 04, 2018 Dawn rated it liked it

Useful though overly centered on capitalism in ‘first world’ without proper accounting for peripheries/colonization.

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Feb 10, 2021 Ronak M Soni rated it really liked it

A really nice introduction to the Marxian approach to political economy. Perfect for people who don't know anything about economics, not even what a bond is. ...more

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Aug 06, 2015 rabble.ca added it

Shelves: economy, non-fiction

http://rabble.ca/books/reviews/2013/1...

Review by Aaron Leonard

Who are you hoping to reach with this book?

Disassembly Required is ultimately aimed at anyone who wants to understand how modern capitalism actually works, and in particular at those who suspect it is not the best we can do. I wrote it with two particular groups of people in mind.

The first is senior high school students and undergraduate students (or non-students of that age), who feel like all things to do with finance or economics ...more

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Apr 29, 2016 Adam rated it really liked it

This is a very interesting take on the state of Capitalism world-wide. While there were points that went over my head due to lack of background knowledge in political economics, Mann did his best to keep it simple enough for the common reader to understand. Moving on from Capitalism is inevitable as he suggests, but it will be a difficult task at hand. I highly suggest this for anyone who questions the economic status and system alive today.

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Jan 04, 2015 Justin Brenden rated it liked it

You probably need a degree in economics or finance to appreciate this book. However, it is an interesting deconstruction of capitalism and suggests a number of inherent issues as well as alternatives.

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