The long wait for a new political programme pays off in a book that begins as a chilling warning against complacency and ends as a call to political action. Paul masons postcapitalism is easily the most economicallyfocused title in this collection, taking great care to explain clearly the economic justifications for progression away from neoliberal capitalism a system that, according to mason, is inescapably based on waves of boom and bust masons economic critique of capitalism forms a significant portion of the book, and while this. For me, it was very interesting to see how mason took marxist thoughts and ideas, and looked to see how he could balance capitalist and marxist thoughts for a better society and economy. A guide to our future adds another compelling voice to this increasingly hardtoignore din.
Hardly directly mentioning his new book, postcapitalism, mason used his halfhour speaking at oxfords blackwells bookshop to explain the postcapitalist vision of the work. The argument rests on a fierce critique of neoliberalism, and the application of both neoclassical and marxist economic theory to the sphere of information transfer in. But this fresh and insightful book illuminates the present in unexpected. In 2015, according to paul mason the rise of income inequality, repeating cycles of boom and bust and capitalisms contributions to climate change has led economists, political thinkers and philosophers to begin to seriously consider how a postcapitalistic society would look and function. Paul mason joined us in london to talk about his book postcapitalism. Paul mason has 240 books on goodreads with 12576 ratings. The end of capitalism has begun books the guardian. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read postcapitalism. He may ramble at times but his logic is convincing and his arguments are sobering. In the book, mason discusses the existential threat posed to capitalism by the digital revolution. Paul mason is not an economist by training, and it shows. Mar 03, 2016 paul mason joined us in london to talk about his book postcapitalism. Jul 30, 2015 from paul mason, the awardwinning channel 4 presenter, postcapitalism is a guide to our era of seismic economic change, and how we can build a more equal society.
On page one of postcapitalism, paul mason says, in an aside, i knew, in addition to all this, that i didnt like capitalism. It ignores the role of digital labour and the contradiction between digital labour and digital capital in the international division of digital labour. He argues that the digital revolution has the potential to reshape utterly our familiar notions of work, production and value. Over the past two centuries or so, capitalism has undergone continual change economic cycles that lurch from boom to bust and has always emerged transformed and strengthened. A guide to our future is a 2015 book by british journalist and writer paul mason. A guide to our future paul mason, 2016 paul masons postcapitalism is easily the most economicallyfocused title in this collection, taking great care to explain clearly the economic justifications for progression away from neoliberal capitalism a system that, according to mason, is inescapably based on waves of boom and. By contrast former labour mp chris mullin, also in the guardian, is more scathing, seemingly lambasting mason. Postcapitalism is a theory that i was exposed to through paul masons book, postcapitalism. Jun 15, 2017 paul masons vision of a postcapitalist world is rooted in a dated ideology and short on specifics. A guide to our future, by paul mason, allen lane, rrp. As the it says on the cover, this is a very important book. Its not a work of reportage, but of wideranging historical and economic analysis that is inspired by marxs analysis of capitalist social relations, but also goes some way beyond. However, what makes this book refreshingly different is the tangible picture it paints of our possible path to a postcapitalist world. Surveying this turbulent history, paul masons postcapitalism argues that we are on the brink of a change so big and so profound that this time capitalism itself, the immensely complex system within which entire societies function, will mutate into something wholly new.
Paul mason associates each 50 year cycle of capitalism with the emergence of a new technological paradigm. A short game which depicts how we might reorganise the capitalist present into a postcapitalist utopia. Over the past two centuries or so, capitalism has undergone continual change economic cycles that lurch from boom to bust and. Downloadable builds are provided here for sake of completion only. From paul mason, the awardwinning channel 4 presenter, postcapitalism is a guide to our era of seismic economic change, and how we can build a more equal society. In less than 300 pages, paul mason not only explains the past 300 years of capitalism and the efforts to replace it with another system socialism, but shows how it would be eventually transformed and proposes a set of policies to help that transformation along. Paul masons vision of a postcapitalist world is rooted in a dated ideology and short on specifics. An endorsing blurb by naomi klein on the back cover has perhaps further contributed to the book s status. Although it is about global economics not my strong point by any means masons writing style makes it almost read like a novel. Postcapitalism is expected to be made possible with.
Jul 17, 2015 postcapitalism by paul mason allen lane. A passionate debate, for instance, has been conducted on the pages of international socialism journal. I will try to spell out what a largescale postcapitalist project might involve. I had read an article on post capitalism by paul mason in the guardian and found it very interesting and enlightening which encouraged me to buy the book. Mason defines neoliberalism as a highly financialised capitalism, where fiat money and creditdebt purvey most aspects of everyday life such as mortgages, payday loans etc.
David runciman, writing in the guardian is broadly positive, concluding that mason has provided a spark to the imagination a worthy successor to marx. A guide to our future has created quite a media stir over recent months. At the heart of this change is information technology, a revolution that is. What partic ularly impressed kode9 was paul mas ons claim that when production costs are reduced to zero, this has a massive. In postcapitalism mason is a historian, an economist and a political philosopher all at once. Paul masons book postcapitalism fetishises information technology. What partic ularly impressed kode9 was paul mas on s claim that when production costs are reduced to zero, this has a massive. Surveying this turbulent history, paul mason s postcapitalism argues that we are on the brink of a change so big and so profound that this time capitalism itself, the immensely complex system within which entire societies function, will mutate into something wholly new.
At a time when, despite the occasional hiccup, market forces appear to be triumphant everywhere, up pops channel 4s economics editor, paul. The basic theme of the book is that capitalism in its current form, neoliberalism, has exhausted itself. By chris mullin at a time when, despite the occasional hiccup, market forces appear to be triumphant everywhere, up pops channel 4s economics editor, paul mason, to predict that the end is nigh. A guide to our future as a supporter of capitalism as a system that has lifted millions, even billions, of people out of poverty, or do you come as a critic looking for faults and blame. Internet based collaboration, however, serves the interests of those who wish to sustain the capitalist system as well as those who may wish to supersede capitalism, or indeed those, such as isis, who may wish to destroy it. The factory system, steam powered machinery and canals. Oct 30, 2015 paul mason, economics editor at channel 4 news, will speak on his book postcapitalism. The most important book about our economy and society to be published in my lifetime irvine welsh. Surveying this turbulent history, paul masons postcapitalism argu. From paul mason, the awardwinning channel 4 presenter, postcapitalism is a guide to our era of seismic economic change and how we can build a more equal society. Mason, now the 55yearold economics editor of channel 4, is a. A guide to our future by paul mason 368pp, allen lane.
Now, as greece and the rest of europe catches its breath, mason has returned to britain to promote his new book, postcapitalism. A guide to our future has generated considerable interest among the leftist circles. Paul mason, economics editor at channel 4 news, will speak on his book postcapitalism. Yet its to paul masons great credit and courage that he offers a model of how.