Capitalism is the dominant social system in modern societies across the world. Many authors criticize this system for inattention to the social values and traditions of people. The four books discussed in this paper are written by earlier and later authors who explore the essence of capitalism and its interaction with society. Although they all argue about the phenomenon from different angles, shared themes can be found in their works. In particular, they agree that, although capitalism arose as a natural consequence of the development of society, it contradicts social values and disrupts cultural balance. Moreover, all authors emphasize that in society, one way or another, a reaction among communities and groups of people arises. Thus, capitalism has its goal of enrichment and profit, ignoring the natural needs of society.
Black Marxism and Emergence of Black Radical Tradition as a Reaction to Capitalist Values Imposed on Africans by European Society
Robinson argues that Marxism fails to understand the central importance of racial segregation and discrimination to capitalism. According to the author, racism arose long before the development of capitalist society but shaped its structure. Robinson argues that the phenomenon in European society “was not simply a convention for ordering the relations of European to non-European peoples but has its genesis in the “internal” relations of European peoples” (Robinson, 2005, p. 2). Thus, racism is not a consequence of capitalism but its prerequisite. At the same time, it is an integral part of European society and has developed as a natural phenomenon.
In particular, Robinson argues that the expectations of Marx and Engels were false. Philosophers of Marxism counted on the consciousness of Europeans, whose “bourgeois society would rationalize social relations” (Robinson, 2005, p. 2). However, the development of the structure of capitalist society was based solely on racial differences, which determined the ideology. The ideas of Marxism regard capitalism as a revolutionary direction to feudalism. However, the author emphasizes that the modern socio-economic system arose on the basis of the old one and did not deny it. Robinson calls this phenomenon racial capitalism, which is dependent on imperialism and slavery.
This idea explains why the author focuses on Europe when talking about Black people. Robinson believes that racism is a key characteristic of Western society, on the basis of which the entire system is built. In particular, he criticizes socialist ideas as a way to disguise the feudal order as a more liberal concept. The author emphasizes that “socialism began as one expression of the bourgeois society and the bourgeoisie that it came to oppose explicitly” (Robinson, 2005, p. 47). Thus, he calls the middle class, not the proletariat, the ancestors of the ideological critics of capitalism. For example, Robinson calls the creation of the Irish working class a consequence of colonialism. Anglo-Saxon chauvinism made segregation possible, which explained the mistreatment and low wages of the Irish people. This example illustrates a particular form of European racism, the consequence of which is the construction of the capitalist system.
Robinson argues that European racism created Africans solely as a means of production. Thus, it deprived them of the traditions and rights which they had in their homeland. The author argues that while “violence did not come naturally to African peoples,” the desire for violence and domination is an innate feature of European society (Robinson, 2005, p. 309). Thus, Black radicalism was born, consisting of denying the historical ties between Africans and Europeans and dehumanizing Blacks as a labor force. The author calls the aspirations of the Blacks, which contradict the European values, the Black Radical Tradition.
Robinson emphasizes that Western society has transformed the portrayal of Africans and their influence on history, which has become the basis of racism. Capitalism was later justified and defined as “the importance of Black labor power possessed for the world economy sculpted and dominated by the ruling and mercantile classes of Western Europe” (Robinson, 2005, p. 4). Thus, the slave trade and racism have natural links with economic development. Robinson argues that capitalism was not created artificially but determined by long historical processes.
Robinson says that the foundation of the radical movement was “the Black historical experience nearly grounded under the intellectual weight and authority of the official European version of the past” (Robinson, 2005, p. 170). Thus, capitalism and racism developed as a consequence of the evolution of Western society, while Black radicalism was a response to this process. Racism in Europe arose naturally, as the first proletarians were racial subjects such as the Irish or the Jews. According to Robinson, capitalism was not a modernizing trend but sought to reduce “regional, subcultural, and dialectical differences into ‘racial’ ones” (Robinson, 2005, p. 26). Thus, this order ignores any tradition and nature of the people, turning it into a unified means of capital.
Robinson argues that the proletariat did not constitute a revolutionary movement opposed to bourgeois culture. Since their views and ideas were shaped by the historical context, they could not represent radical groups. From the point of view of capitalism, “they were its negation, but that was hardly the source of their being” (Robinson, 2005, p. 4). However, the resistance shown by African slaves is the only force of opposition since they have their own culture, formed outside of Europe. The author describes several uprisings and individuals which influenced the development of capitalist society. Thus, the formation of Black radicalism was “social and political as well as a historical process” (Robinson, 2005, p. 5). In particular, the ideas of Marxism were the basis for organized resistance to exploitation and racism.
First of all, it can be concluded from Robinson’s book that European racism was formed as a natural consequence of feudal and colonial relations. Robinson argues that even within European nations, there was a hierarchical order which later became the basis for the division of people along racial lines. Capitalism, in turn, began to develop in this racial direction without refuting the legacy of previous eras. Then racism penetrated into the social structures which were created by the capitalist order. Thus, racism, according to Robinson, was not a precursor or consequence of capitalism but an integral part of it. The content of Black Radical Tradition is the desire of Blacks, particularly in European countries, to preserve their traditional heritage and to assert cultural differences which have been suppressed. Thus, radicalism consisted in the desire to declare the traditional social order of Black people, which is their characteristic and is different from the European one. Black Radical Tradition arose as a result of the rejection of a social order unusual for the African people. The long suppression of traditional values forced them to declare their needs.
The Great Transformation and Social Response to Liberal Economic Ideas as a Means of Maintaining Social Balance
Karl Polanyi, in his book, explores the process of the birth of capitalism in Western society. The most crucial concept in his analysis is the double movement that characterized 19th-century capitalism. On the one hand, there was a process of recognizing the market economy as organizing, which led to a decrease in public control over the economy. On the other hand, the old social structures disintegrated to form a new market society. Thus, the author argues that “the market expanded continuously, but this movement was met by a countermovement checking the expansion in definite directions” (Polanyi, 2001, p. 136). In particular, the double movement consists of the process of destruction of traditional socio-economic systems and counteraction to it in the form of more modern forms of control.
The market system, according to Polanyi, has the main feature, which is self-regulation. The author argues that there has never been a true market economy since it is a utopian artificial concept. However, the formation of a new society was based on the introduction of new institutions and an almost instantaneous reaction of society, which ensured the double movement. Thus, the author considers such an economy as a mechanism which is “directed by market prices and nothing but market prices” (Polanyi, 2001, p. 45). In other words, in a market economy, money acts as signals which people receive and interpret to gain benefits.
The market economy, according to Polanyi, requires minimal institutional structures. He emphasizes that a liberal state and a gold standard are needed. The former provides regulation and subsequent response, while the latter involves international trade and competition. Special attention is paid to the fact that the market economy becomes independent of both social and political institutions and is governed exclusively by economic motives. The author believes that capitalism is disembedded from the social structure of society.
Such minimalistic institutionalization cannot but affect the psychological state of people and society. Polanyi argues that capitalism is the first economic system to imply “justification of action and behavior in everyday life, namely, gain” (Polanyi, 2001, p. 31). Thus, people in a given structure must obey logical economic laws and also act rationally. A person within the framework of a market economy is transformed into an “Economic Man” (Polanyi, 2001, p. 45). Although the author criticizes Marx in fundamental principles, he supports the philosopher in the fact that under capitalism, a person is forced to sell the labor, which becomes a commodity. A participant in a market economy is motivated either by the accumulation of funds or by the sale of labor to receive wages. Consequently, guided exclusively by accumulation motives or the desire for survival, a person becomes selfish, and the main goal is profit.
Polanyi constitutes a critique of capitalism as an abnormal society in comparison with past eras. The author argues that in a traditional society, “man’s economy, as a rule, is submerged in his social relationships” (Polanyi, 2001, p. 48). Thus, material goods serve to protect the social status and maintain communication. However, in a market economy, these goals become secondary, giving way to exclusively economic aspects. Polanyi argues that in earlier societies, a person is guided by social norms or institutions, as well as by their social values. The economy served to meet the needs of society and ensure survival; it was controlled by people who collectively cared for others.
Polanyi, based on the presented arguments, concludes that the emergence of capitalism is associated with changes in social structures which violate the traditions which were the basis of human existence. In particular, the author claims that “labor and land are made into commodities, which, again, is only a short formula for the liquidation of every and any cultural institution in an organic society” (Polanyi, 2001, p. 167). An example of this phenomenon, he calls the slavery of Africans, who were sold to the West for an artificial purpose. Capitalism did not exist for them, was not developed in their local community. Europeans brought them into a society with a completely different organizational structure.
The counteraction arising as one of the elements of the double movement is presented as a mechanism for protecting society from the crisis. Polanyi states that “since the working of such markets threatens to destroy society, the self-preserving action of the community was meant to prevent their establishment or to interfere with their free functioning, once established” (Polanyi, 2001, p. 210). The author often appeals to protectionism as a manifestation of the community’s group interests in opposing exclusively market motives. Thus, Polanyi’s central argument rests on the assumption that these countermovements provide resistance to the capitalist structure.
To a greater extent, the author concentrates on describing the difference between the ideology of liberalism and the real facts of its functioning in society. According to Polanyi, the concept of a self-regulating market arose as a response to the process of early industrialization. Thus, English thinkers created an organizational principle that later spread globally. However, according to the author, market liberalism could not function as intended, and its institutions only created tension between countries and peoples. Thus, in fact, the society sought to protect itself from the self-regulating market, which led to the subsequent collapse of the economy. The involvement of the state in the creation and maintenance of markets is natural for the human economy. Polanyi’s central argument is that the economy is not autonomous; it is subject to other spheres of social life. Thus, in his opinion, the idea of self-regulating markets is contrary to the needs of society and cannot function in it.
Shared Theme Presented by Robinson and Polanyi
Although both works explore capitalism from different angles, they focus on the transformation of psychology and the place of man in the development of a new society. First of all, capitalist society is considered exclusively as an economic structure which is dis-embedded from the social. Robinson emphasizes that Africans in Europe were perceived as a means of labor. Polanyi also described human motives in a market economy as purely economic. Consequently, both authors underline negative psychological and social changes which occur to a person in a capitalist society. They also refer to the study of the experience of earlier societies, identifying the prerequisites for the development of such a situation.
However, the most evident common theme discussed by the two researchers is resistance. Both Robinson and Polanyi consider the opposition to the capitalist order as the main reason for maintaining social balance and resolving the cultural crisis. In particular, Robinson describes the Black Resistance in Europe as a means of eliminating racism and slavery, which Europeans are not capable of. In turn, Polanyi considers more local examples in the form of protectionism, when people defend not economic but social interests. Thus, both authors consider the development of capitalism as a natural but negative state for society. Robinson and Polanyi refer to the ideas of Marxism as more socially oriented and capable of providing a sufficient basis for resistance. Although Robinson criticizes Marxism to a greater extent than Polanyi, both authors agree that this ideology is the main one for opposing the capitalist one.
Robinson’s and Polanyi’s reasoning complements each other since Polanyi’s book explains in more detail the formation of capitalist society and the principles on which it is built. Robinson, on the other hand, pays more attention directly to traditions and culture. Thus, the authors explore both the inside and outside of capitalism. Polanyi examines this process from the point of view of ideology and perception of society. Robinson, in turn, focuses on the expansion of capitalist ideas and their interaction with other systems.
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate and Capitalism as the Main Cause of the Ecological Crisis
Naomi Klein’s book, “This changes everything: Capitalism vs. the climate,” explores the relationship between capitalism and climate change. The author’s central argument is the assumption that it is impossible to combat climate change in the modern world, although most people recognize it as a significant threat. Klein (2014) argues that “we have not done the things that are necessary to lower emissions because those things fundamentally conflict with deregulated capitalism” (p. 18). Thus, the author believes that the problem of climate change and its overcoming is in the modern social order, in particular, capitalism.
While anthropogenic climate change only became important to the public in the 1980s, it also coincided with the rise of neoliberal capitalism. Klein stresses that factors such as the limitations of government market regulation, transnational corporations in free trade, and market fundamentalism have created the conditions for modern circumstances. Moreover, according to the author, neoliberal capitalist ideology prevents the spread of awareness in society. The author argues that corporations benefit when people question the reality of climate change which is the result of capitalists order. Klein criticizes conservative politics, free-market fundamentalism, corporate opposition to the fight against negative anthropogenic factors, and the history of the exploitation of natural resources. The author emphasizes that the denial of the ongoing changes is solely the result of ideological differences which discuss the future of capitalist society. She calls this conflict of interests of society and the modern economy a “crusade to morally redeem capitalism” (Klein, 2014, p. 40). Thus, the author believes that the capitalist system and the conservative politics are fighting for their existence and well-being in spite of the natural needs of people.
Modern people are socially separated from the natural environment, which shapes their attitude to the climate. Klein (2014) defines the process as a “nonreciprocal, dominance-based relationship with the earth, one purely of taking” (p. 169). The central argument in this regard is the desire of the capitalist order to exploit natural resources in order to extract material benefits. The author gives examples of such territories which were used exclusively as “sacrifice zones” (Klein, 2014, p. 169). Klein emphasizes that such territories and even communities act as voluntary payments for the achievement of material benefits. Despite the obvious negative consequences of this process, society is making only fragmentary efforts to solve the problem.
Klein stresses that modern climatology cannot deal with the needs of corporations who are willing to drain entire regions to extract fuel. The author gives examples of various organizations, including public ones, that use the green agenda to increase their profits. She also notes that the only real answer is possible from local initiatives and communities, which “are simply saying No” (Klein, 2014, p. 335). Klein continues to explain that in the modern world, global climate problems are truthfully addressed exclusively by social movements. She argues that earlier “sacrifice zones” were remote and isolated areas which did not have an impact on the life of society. However, in the context of globalization, the problem of exploiting nature for enrichment affects all territories and communities which are also under threat.
Klein stresses that only internal social resistance can change the existing capitalist order. Although it is rooted in the minds of modern people, they are able to change their habits and attitudes to begin the transformation. Thus, the author focuses more on local protests and social movements as a means of combating the negative consequences of capitalism. Klein stresses that “we are nothing but selfish, greedy, self-gratification machines” (Klein, 2014, p. 62). With this statement, she calls on society to think about its nature and needs. The modern world seems to the author to be subordinate exclusively to economic and political needs, while such significant areas as climate are left unattended, which will lead to dire consequences.
Shared Themes Presented by Klein, Robinson, and Polanyi
The book presents several general aspects, which are also discussed by Robinson and Polanyi. Klein (2014) states that in modern society, “climate change fuelled disaster capitalism – profiteering disguised as emission reduction, privatized hyper-militarized borders, and quite possibly, high-risk geoengineering when things spiral out of control” (p. 155). Klein, as Polanyi, argues that the idea of a liberal economy, in particular a self-regulating market, provokes a reaction. However, Klein notes that the reduction in government regulation of the economy is leading to the expansion of the dominance of the needs of corporations. As a consequence, an imbalance arises between the natural needs of society in the form of climate change and the economic needs of ideology. Polanyi, as Klein, argues that the economy should serve other spheres of social life and not subordinate them. These arguments complement each other since Klein’s discussion is a more specific case of the process which Polanyi describes.
Compared to Robinson’s book, Klein talks about similar processes. She emphasizes that capitalism and capitalist thinking are characteristic of Western society, while Robinson also argues that the development of capitalism was natural. In particular, she emphasizes that a change in the creation of society is necessary to advance climate initiatives. Both authors focus on social movement and reactionism, which advocate the values and needs of society. Thus, Klein and Robinson express the same point of view on the essence of the social response to the existing order. While Black Radical Tradition was based on the resistance of the Blacks to the imposed order of Europeans, so modern society needs to fight against the imposed order of corporations. Thus, three books describe how a social response gradually emerges to capitalist ideas and needs that are not natural to society.
The Mushroom at the End of the World and Social Response in the Form of Salvage Accumulation
Anna Tsing, in her book “The mushroom at the end of the world,” explores economic instability and environmental degradation through the commodity chain of matsutake mushrooms. In particular, the author discusses all stages of the production of goods, from picking mushrooms to their use by consumers. Tsing employs three key concepts to describe the values of modern capitalist society: scalability (as well as nonscalability), global supply chain, and salvage accumulation. Scalability in the terminology of the author means “the ability of a project to change scales smoothly without any change in project frames” (Tsing, 2021, p. 38). Tsing explains that a scalable business does not change its organization as it expands. She also explains that this process is possible only if the company’s relations remain stable and do not change the business.
Thus, the central argument of the author is that capitalist society does not take into account a diversity of contexts. Scalable projects, among other aspects, ignore the various difficulties and peculiarities which they may encounter when working with such diversity. Nonscalability, therefore, means the opposite process, where an organization is sensitive to and influenced by diversity. According to Tsing, modern capitalist society prioritizes scalable projects which in particular ignore environmental nonscalability. Thus, the author emphasizes that the diversity that capitalist society denies is the basis for the functioning of all processes.
Attention to nonscalable factors is the key to understanding salvage accumulation. Tsing (2021) defines ‘salvage’ as “taking advantage of value produced without capitalist control” (p. 63). The author criticizes the capitalist propensity to exploit raw materials for profit. Therefore, salvage accumulation means “the process through which lead firms amass capital without controlling the conditions under which commodities are produced” (Tsing, 2021, p. 63). Tsing thus uses the concept of primitive accumulation introduced by Marx, which implies that capitalists violently use resources to produce goods.
In turn, salvage accumulation occurs through the global supply chain. Thing (2021) explains that “supply chains are commodity chains that translate value to the benefit of dominant firms; translation between noncapitalist and capitalist value systems is what they do” (p. 63). In the context of these terms, the author discusses the matsutake mushroom business system. Tsing explains that this mushroom cannot be grown in captivity, meaning under capitalist control. The author emphasizes that although mushroom picking takes place for the purpose of sale, the participants in this business have a different motivation. Many people gather matsutake solely as a way to escape the capitalist labor system. Moreover, mushrooms are more common in Japan, where they become a symbol of community and family, which gives them a special social role. Tsing (2021) stresses that “it spends only a few hours as a fully alienated commodity” (p. 128). Thus, the goods of a capitalist society have the sole purpose of bringing benefits to their creators. Whereas salvage accumulation is aimed at developing supply chains within which goods have many values, including social ones.
Shared Themes Presented by Robinson, Polanyi, Klein, and Tsing
All four books described have common themes which focus on the relationship of capitalist society and social values. Robinson emphasizes that Black Radical Tradition arose as a reaction to the imposition of capitalist European views on Africans and ignoring their culture and special traditions. Polanyi discusses how the liberal idea of a self-regulating market does not match the reality of society and provokes a reaction in the form of government regulation. Klein (2015) explores the topic of climate change as a consequence of a capital order which ignores the natural human needs to satisfy ideological values. Finally, Tsing (2021) argues that modern capitalist society ignores diverse contexts and that the only purpose of goods in this system is enrichment. Thus, all four authors discuss that although capitalism is a natural consequence of human development, it does not correspond to the social needs of society.
All four books reviewed share a common theme that can be combined with the terminology presented by Tsing. The essence of capitalism is scalability, which in Robinson’s discussion can be defined as imposing European values on Blacks and ignoring their traditions and culture. Black Radical Tradition, in this case, is salvage accumulation, which is used to preserve nonscalable factors. This phenomenon also correlates with the response to the creation of self-regulating market principles described by Polanyi. In this case, liberal economic ideas ignore nonscalable social needs, which also leads to reactions. Klein’s central argument in this framework is also relevant, in part because, as Tsing, she mainly discusses environmental issues. Ultimately, the four books collectively complement each other as they provide a view of many aspects which, as Paulie noted, should be primary in relation to capitalism. After examining their content, one can conclude that the capitalist society is based on human vices and subordinates all other spheres to itself, which causes a reaction from communities and groups of people. Capitalism has goals which are not inherent in people and are not primary for them. Robinson, Polanyi, Klein, and Tsing seek to illustrate what consequences this process leads to and question the ability of its long-term existence.
References
Klein, N. (2014). This changes everything: Capitalism vs. the climate. Simon and Schuster.
Polanyi, K. (2001). The Great Transformation: The political and economic origins of our time. [PDF document]. Web.
Robinson, C. J. (2005). Black Marxism: The making of the Black radical tradition. University of North Carolina Press.
Tsing, A. L. (2021). The mushroom at the end of the world: On the possibility of life in capitalist ruins. Princeton University Press.