Political economy Books

Book SynopsisDo the Fed’s efforts to stabilize the economy worsen inequality? The Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, was built for a monetary system composed primarily of investor-owned, government-chartered banks. But over the years, the erosion of banking law and the rise of alternative forms of money created outside of the banking system have pushed the Fed to take on more and more responsibilities to keep the economy out of recession, as it did during the 2008 crisis, and again during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it created $3 trillion to stop another financial panic. Legal scholar and former Treasury official Lev Menand explains how the Fed did this, and argues that it is time to cure the disease that has plagued the American economy for decades, and not just rely on the Fed to treat its symptoms. The Fed Unbound is an urgent appeal to Congress to reform the U.S. economic and financial infrastructure.Trade Review“The best book ever on the Federal Reserve system.” —Project Syndicate “On a monetary-policy bookshelf weighed down with thick, self-congratulatory tomes from big-name practitioners who too often obscure more than they explain, Menand delivers a minor miracle of sorts: a short, crisp, nuanced volume that will help you understand what the Fed is up to.” —The Wall Street Journal “A clear, textbook-style history of the founding of the Fed and an explanation of what it actually does in the money markets.” —The Washington Post “In a refreshingly quick read, Lev Menand takes a deep look at the history of the Federal Reserve, its recent actions in times of crisis, and its future possibilities.” —Porchlight Books, editor’s choice “Lev Menand’s The Fed Unbound is an important and provocative book that deserves to be read by anyone interested in the Fed’s role in the financial system and the economy.” —Business Economics “A clear and cogent assessment of how the nation’s central bank might be reformed.” —Kirkus Reviews “A fascinating and deep analysis of what has gone wrong with the American financial system. Lev Menand peels back the layers of mythology and hagiography surrounding the Federal Reserve, to reveal just another government agency that fell in love with deregulation and now struggles with the consequences. The rise and rise of the repo market is central to how a stable and well-functioning financial system became so precarious. This is a must read for anyone who cares about macroeconomic policy and the future of the global economy.” —Simon Johnson, professor at MIT Sloan, and co-author of 13 Bankers “No American institution is more important, or more opaque to the outsider, than the Fed. Now, Lev Menand has somehow, magically, made its functioning, its history, its limitations, and its possible futures completely lucid, even for the non-mathematically inclined, and, along the way, managed to sound several alarms about the risks even the most well-meaning opaque institution presents to democracy.” —Adam Gopnik, author of A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism “Born out of the need to govern the private money supply in a democracy, the Federal Reserve System manages a marriage between the state and the banks it is designed to regulate. As Menand shows, neither partner has been able to effectively contain the other. The outcome of this ‘quixotic dance’ is The Fed Unbound. A crucial read for anybody interested in the structural causes of today’s monetary policy.” —Katharina Pistor, professor at Columbia Law School and author of The Code of Capital: How Law Creates Wealth and Inequality “Over the past century, the Federal Reserve has grown massively in power, size and influence. Yet the reasons for this evolution, and the myriad consequences that flow from it, have often remained shrouded from view. In The Fed Unbound, Menand provides a provocative and fresh account of the Fed’s rise to one of the most important institutions of our time. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in how the government or financial markets actually work.” —Kathryn Judge, professor at Columbia Law School and author of Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source “Lev Menand explains that shadow banking and some newer innovations should be treated as within the private part of the monetary system, while the Fed should not be treated as an all-purpose substitute for the elected Congress. These profound propositions need urgent attention given U.S. world leadership depends on the effectiveness, integrity, and legitimacy of the Fed. Read this book.” —Paul Tucker, author of Unelected Power: The Quest for Legitimacy in Central Banking and the Regulatory State “The Fed Unbound is a wonderfully lucid and provocative account of the Fed’s ever-expanding role in the U.S. and global economies. Everyone who reads Menand’s account will rethink their understanding of the Fed’s place in the U.S. economy and in the government. This book will be a landmark in the growing field of law and macroeconomics.” —Yair Listokin, professor at Yale Law School and author of Law and Macroeconomics: Legal Remedies to Recessions ”Lev Menand’s incisive analysis of the Fed’s authorities could not be timelier. The Fed Unbound demonstrates how our chronic dependency on the central banking system—and thus, private banks—has failed to benefit the broader public, even in times of crises. In a rare feat, Menand’s work not only interrogates the Fed’s power on a technical level, but points toward the reconstruction of power that should not be.” —Raúl Carrillo, Deputy Director, Law & Political Economy Project

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Book SynopsisLife under capitalism. Rampant debilitating denial for the many next to vile enrichment of the few. Material deprivation, denial, and denigration. Dignity defiled. Michael Albert's book No Bosses advocates for the conception and then organization of a new economy. The vision offered is called participatory economics. It elevates self-management, equity, solidarity, diversity, and sustainability. It eliminates elitist, arrogant, dismissive, authoritarian, exploitation, competition, and homogenization. No Bosses proposes a built and natural productive commons, self-management by all who work, income for how long, how hard, and the onerousness of conditions of socially valued work, jobs that give all economic actors comparable means and inclination to participate in decisions that affect them, and a process called participatory planning in which caring behavior and solidarity are the currency of collective and individual success.

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Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1965, Reading Capital is a landmark of French thought and radical theory, reconstructing Western Marxism from its foundations. Louis Althusser, the French Marxist philosopher, maintained that Marx's project could only be revived if its scientific and revolutionary novelty was thoroughly divested of all traces of humanism, idealism, Hegelianism and historicism. In order to complete this critical rereading, Althusser and his students at the École normale supérieure ran a seminar on Capital, re-examining its arguments, strengths and weaknesses in detail, and it was out of those discussions that this book was born.Previously only available in English in highly abridged form, this edition, appearing fifty years after its original publication in France, restores chapters by Roger Establet, Pierre Macherey and Jacques Rancière. It includes a major new introduction by Étienne Balibar.Trade ReviewOne of the central texts of French structuralism (and of modern Marxism as well). Its critique of humanism and what Althusser called historicism remains relevant and ought to be renewed in our time. -- Fredric JamesonThe complete edition of Reading Capital returns us to the excitement of the book's first publication. It not only makes available some remarkable essays not included in previous English editions but also allows us to see clearly how the essays emerged from the dynamic interactions of a university seminar. -- Michael Hardt, co-author of the Empire trilogy

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Book SynopsisHistorian and political thinker Ellen Meiksins Wood argues that theories of "postmodern" fragmentation, "difference", and contingency can barely accommodate the idea of capitalism, let alone subject it to critique. In this book she sets out to renew the critical programme of historical materialism by redefining its basic concepts and its theory of history in original and imaginative ways, using them to identify the specificity of capitalism as a system of social relations and political power. She goes on to explore the concept of democracy in both the ancient and modern world, examining its relation to capitalism, and raising questions about how democracy might go beyond the limits imposed on it.Trade ReviewReading a Wood essay is a shock to the system, demanding the reader take a position, often leaving you invigorated and slightly bruised in the process. -- Michael Watson * Red Pepper *

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Book SynopsisOn the 25th January 2015 the Greek people voted in an election of historic importance-not just for Greece but potentially all of Europe. The radical party Syriza was elected and austerity and the neoliberal agenda is being challenged. Suddenly it seems as if there is an alternative. But what? The Eurozone is in a deep and prolonged crisis. It is now clear that monetary union is a historic failure, beyond repair-and certainly not in the interests of Europe's working people. Building on the economic analysis of two of Europe's leading thinkers, Heiner Flassbeck and Costas Lapavitsas (a candidate standing for election on Syriza's list), Against the Troika is the first book to propose a strategic left-wing plan for how peripheral countries could exit the euro. With a change in government in Greece, and looming political transformations in countries such as Spain, this major intervention lays out a radical, anti-capitalist programme at a critical juncture for Europe. The final three chapters offer a detailed postmortem of the Greek catastrophe, explain what can be learned from it-and provide a possible alternative. Against the Troika is a practical blueprint for real change in a continent wracked by crisis and austerity.Trade ReviewLapavitsas is fascinating and thoughtful. * Financial Times *Costas Lapavitsas is part of the cadre of academics-turned-politicians forging Syriza's economic thinking. * Wall Street Journal *Highly readable . A fresh and imaginative look at the crisis, it contributes greatly to the relevant debate, and is especially useful in detailing the theoretical foundations of economic programmes advocated by the radical Left parties that have begun to gain strength across Europe, and in particular Syriza. * Times Higher Education *This little book takes up the question of what a left government can do in the face of powerful elites who have savaged the country's infrastructure in the failed pursuit of budget surpluses. Crucially it charts a path for those who want a clearer view of the way out of the euro. * Socialist Review *Demonstrate[s] with clarity that the mercantilist and deflationary policies pursued by Germany since the beginning of EMU must carry the blame for the great rupture that is currently threatening Europe. -- Oskar Lafontaine, Former president of the Social Democratic Party and the Die Linke Party in GermanyFor those who . still believe Europe can be reformed to deliver social justice, growth and high-welfare societies, the authors do the valuable service of spelling out what that would take: the defeat not only of the mainstream conservative parties but also of their right-wing, nationalist challengers, and the total transformation of European social democracy in the direction of heterodox, fiscally expansionist economic policy, and the triumph of the as yet untested new left parties. -- Paul Mason (from the Preface)

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Book SynopsisMuch has been written about Britain's trailblazing post-1970s privatization program, but the biggest privatization of them all has until now escaped scrutiny: the privatization of land. Since Margaret Thatcher took power in 1979, and hidden from the public eye, about 10 per cent of the entire British land mass, including some of its most valuable real estate, has passed from public to private hands. Forest land, defence land, health service land and above all else local authority land- for farming and school sports, for recreation and housing - has been sold off en masse. Why? How? And with what social, economic and political consequences? The New Enclosure provides the first ever study of this profoundly significant phenomenon, situating it as a centrepiece of neoliberalism in Britain and as a successor programme to the original eighteenth-century enclosures. With more public land still slated for disposal, the book identifies the stakes and asks what, if anything, can and should be done.Trade ReviewThe biggest privatisation of all isn't housing, railways, or utilities, but the oldest source of oligarchic power - land. In this clear, readable, accessible and maddening book, Brett Christophers makes clear the massive mismanagement, waste, opacity and centralisation of wealth that has resulted. Necessary reading for anyone who wants to know where ruling class power comes from, and how to take it back. -- Owen HatherleyThe detailed case for an English Land Commission, and the need for so many other new radical ideas not yet even first thought of. Why don't we surround London and fill the Home Counties with National Parks where the landowner has to look after the footpaths and cycle paths and over which we all have a right to roam? The New Enclosure raises, but does not yet answer the question of from where the new commons will arise. -- Danny Dorling (don't use on cover)This book forcefully explains how land ownership matters today. The New Enclosure combines a systematic analysis of the role of land and landownership in capitalist society with a compelling critique of neoliberalism in Britain. Christophers demonstrates that recent decades have seen a massive transfer of public land into private control. He documents the overwhelmingly negative and unjust consequences of this new process of enclosure and demolishes the ideology of privatization upon which it is based. No one who cares about the politics of land can ignore this powerful argument. -- David MaddenBritish taxpayers have been robbed blind by the recent fire sale of £400 pounds of public land. Like Henry VIII's destruction of the monasteries, Thatcher's privatisation frenzy has led to the destruction of public assets unprecedented amongst leading economies, and to the enrichment of landowners and financiers. In this comprehensive and rigorously researched book, Brett Christophers opens up a field of study - public land - largely buried by academia, landowners and no doubt, by financiers. A must-read. -- Ann PettiforWith his carefully crafted and meticulously researched study, he has made an essential contribution to our understanding of politics and government in modern Britain. -- Adam Tooze * Financial Times *If you're someone who's interested in Britain - and I mean Britain tout court: the whole 80,823 square miles of its physical existence - then this is a book you must read -- Will Self * Guardian *Brett Christophers' new book The New Enclosure: The Appropriation of Land in Neoliberal Britain is eye-opening. Or perhaps jaw dropping. Its subject is the privatization of publicly-owned land in Britain since the 1979 election of Margaret Thatcher. Christophers, a professor of economic geography at the University of Uppsala is a consistently interesting thinker. -- Diane Coyle * The Enlightened Economist *Brett Christophers's The New Enclosure: The Appropriation of Public Land in Neoliberal Britain towers with empirical and argumentative force. -- Steven Stoll * Orion Magazine *A stunning work of scholarship. * Orion Magazine *If you're interested in Britain, you must read this painstaking survey of land privatisation since the Thatcher era. -- Will Self * Guardian *Christophers is writing in the tradition of great historians such as R. H. Tawney and E. P. Thompson... -- Martin Daunton * Journal of Modern History *

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Book SynopsisThe interaction of sustainability governance and global value chains has crucial implications the world over. When it comes to sustainability the last decade has witnessed the birth of hybrid forms of governance where business, civil society and public actors interact at different levels, leading to a focus on concepts of legitimacy within multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs). Based in over 15 years of theoretical engagement and field research, Business, Power and Sustainability draws from both labour-intensive value chains, such as in the agro-food sector (coffee, wine, fish, biofuels, palm oil), and from capital-intensive value chains such as in shipping and aviation, to discuss how sustainability governance can be best designed, managed and institutionalized in today’s world of global value chains (GVCs). Examining current theoretical and analytical efforts aimed at including sustainability issues in GVC governance theory, it expands on recent work examining GVC upgrading by introducing the concept of environmental upgrading; and through new conceptions of orchestration, it provides suggestions for how governments and international organizations can best facilitate the achievement of sustainability goals. Essential reading on the governance of sustainability in the twenty-first century.Trade ReviewSince the 1980s, the main question has been how to leverage foreign direct investment and GVC engagement for economic development. Now, with the habitability of the planet in question, this book shifts the lens toward sustainability. Very timely! * Timothy J. Sturgeon, Ph.D. Senior Researcher, MIT Industrial Performance Center (IPC) *A profoundly important book that will be required reading not only for today’s practitioners and students, but for the next generation as well. * Benjamin Cashore, Professor of Environmental Governance & Political Science at Yale University *A great book that all students of Global Value Chains and transnational sustainability governance should buy and read. Ponte is an expert and innovator in both fields of study, and successfully synthesizes insights from both literatures to build a provocative and compelling argument about ongoing and impending transformations in the global economy. * Luc Fransen, Associate Professor of International Relations, University of Amsterdam. *Ponte shows not only how sustainability management is a key feature of contemporary capitalism, but also why pursuing "just sustainabilities’ is so imperative. I strongly recommend the book. * Professor Peter Newell, University of Sussex, author of Globalization and the Environment and Global Green Politics. *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Business, Sustainability and the Global Economy 1. What We Know About Sustainability Governance 2. Power in Global Value Chains 3. Sustainability, Power and Governance in the Wine, Coffee and Biofuels Global Value Chains 4. Value Creation and Capture through Economic and Environmental Upgrading 5. Orchestrating Sustainability Conclusion: ‘Just Sustainabilities’ in a World of Global Value Chains

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Book SynopsisThe Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is one of the most talked about yet little understood policy initiatives of the People’s Republic of China. This book offers a comprehensive, balanced and policy-oriented assessment of the BRI’s first ten years and what it has meant for the world’s businesses, polities and societies. The authors explore China’s role as a globally significant source of development finance and investment capital, and examine the political, economic, normative, environmental and social implications of its increased presence in the world. Aimed at researchers and academics, business professionals and policy analysts, as well as informed readers, the book seeks to answer some of the most pressing questions that China’s rising economic presence in global markets poses: how is the BRI organized? Is it China’s grand strategy? Is it green, is it corrupt, and what are its social effects? Is there even a future for the BRI in a world beset by new uncertainties? The book offers a sober analysis of the most prevalent narratives that cast China as a "threat" and as an "opportunity" and considers the specific challenges that it presents for the liberal international order.Trade ReviewAn accessible yet sophisticated primer on China’s most ambitious global project, this book stands out with its clear-eyed assessments of the rhetoric and reality of a major force in international development. -- Ching Kwan Lee, Professor of Sociology, UCLARogelja and Tsimonis have written a remarkably concise and clear-sighted book highlighting the Belt and Road Initiative's most important aspects. It is a must-read for anyone invested in the ways in which China is shaping the future of our planet. -- Jeremy Garlick, Prague University of Economics and BusinessA forensic, evidence-based and highly readable account of the world’s biggest infrastructure initiative in which the authors avoid cliches on all sides. If you only read one BRI book, make it this one. -- Isabel Hilton, founder of China DialogueTable of Contents1. What is this book about? 2. How is the BRI organized? 3. Is it China's grand strategy? 4. Is it green? 5. Is it corrupt by design? 6. Is it socially responsible? Conclusion: Is there a future for the BRI?

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Book SynopsisFeminist political economy is essential to understanding the power relations and hierarchies that shape and sustain contemporary capitalism. Motivated by the rejection of gender-blind approaches in economics feminist political economy provides compelling insights into the relations between the economic, the social and the political in the reproduction of inequality. Sara Cantillon, Odile Mackett and Sara Stevano have written a much-needed introduction to key topics in feminist political economy, including the global division of labour, social reproduction, child and elder care, the household and intra-household inequalities, labour market inequalities, welfare regimes, the feminization of poverty and economic indicators. The authors take a global perspective throughout and engage in debates that are relevant for the Global North and/or the Global South. The book offers readers a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the role of power relations and inequality in the economy and is suitable for a variety of courses in political economy, feminism, gender studies, economics, social policy and development studies.Trade ReviewInnovative and boundary-crossing, this book brings to light how gender inequality is shaped by and shapes global hierarchies of power, in intersection with race and class. It is unique in paying attention to both the Global South and Global North and the importance of considering how particular forms of gender inequality are located in the global economy. It is an excellent and stimulating text for use in advanced undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the social sciences. It is also essential reading for anyone in international organizations working on gender equality. -- Diane Elson, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of EssexAt last we have it: a book on feminist political economy that is going to become a basic and invaluable resource. It is at once an introduction to the approach and to major topics, and a sophisticated discussion of historical and contemporary issues, with a global perspective that foregrounds the role of power in economic life. This book is not just for economists or social scientists: it is important for anyone who wants to understand our world and why people’s lives play out so differently. -- Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts AmherstThis excellent field guide to feminist political economy identifies multidimensional aspects of collective identity and conflict across a global terrain. Its eloquent and intersectional commitment to social justice makes it an invaluable resource for policymakers and activists, as well as for researchers and students seeking to understand the complex dynamics of exploitation. -- Nancy Folbre, Professor Emerita of Economics, Political Economy Research Institute, AmherstFeminist political economy operates at the intersections of feminist economics, political economy, gender and development. In this groundbreaking and quite brilliant new book, these intersections coalesce organically into a volume that is essential reading for students and scholars alike across these interdisciplinary domains. -- Haroon Akram-Lodhi, Professor of Economics and International Development Studies, Trent UniversityTable of ContentsForeword by Naila Kabeer 1. A global perspective on feminist political economy 2. Global division of labour 3. Social reproduction 4. Care 5. Households 6. Intra-household inequalities 7. Labour market inequalities 8. Welfare regimes 9. Feminisation of poverty 10. Economic crises 11. GDP and its alternatives

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Book SynopsisWell-designed industrial policies can improve a nation’s economic performance. Using a range of tools, such as subsidies, tax incentives, infrastructure development, protective regulations, and R&D support, governments are able to support specific industries or economic activities. Steve Coulter examines the patterns of industrial policymaking across late capitalist societies. Drawing on case studies from a range of countries, each with different growth models, national capabilities, policy traditions, and political/welfare state regimes, he is able to offer a nuanced comparative assessment of states’ responses to specific economic challenges. The book draws broad conclusions about the trajectories of industrial policy and highlights key technical and political drivers that policymakers consider when addressing whether best practice should centre on general or nationally-specific approaches. The book also focuses on fresh challenges and opportunities for industrial policy and questions the sustainability of current policy practice.Trade ReviewEverything you always wanted to know about industrial policy but were afraid to ask – all in one place in Steve Coulter’s short book. Written for the novice in universities, the politician and their aides, the seasoned lobbyist, and the journalist. Even old hands in the field will find a lot of interest here. Coulter looks back to the heyday and the demise of industrial policy, clearly sets out ways of thinking about it, what could work, and what may go wrong. But most importantly, he makes you think again about industrial policy, industrial strategy and the political economy underpinning the idea. In this new, post-Covid, post-crisis era, with its renewed interest in the role of government in the economy, this book is a handy guide into the debates, the possibilities and the pitfalls. -- Bob Hancké, Associate Professor in Political Economy, London School of EconomicsTable of Contents1. Introduction: industry, economy and industrial policy 2. States, markets and growth: the economics of industrial policy 3. Implementing industrial policy: the experiences of five countries 4. New horizons for industrial policy 5. Conclusion

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Book SynopsisBritish society is increasingly divided into the haves and the have-nots. Housing epitomizes this division with spiralling rents, exorbitant prices, lack of council provision, poorly maintained stock, and polluted cities with ever decreasing green space. Daniel Renwick and Robbie Shilliam provide a recent history of squalor culminating in the Grenfell Tower fire. In doing so they reveal a profound political failure to provide fair and just solutions to shelter – the most basic of human needs. Renwick and Shilliam argue that agents of change exist within those populations presently damned by a racist and class-riven system of housing provision.Trade ReviewIn this compelling history of squalor’s political and racial construction, Renwick and Shilliam debunk right-wing attempts to cast today’s squalid living conditions forced on many across the UK as a matter of morality and show them to be one of mortality. This is perhaps most poignantly exposed in their discussion of the Grenfell Fire, a touchpoint throughout the book. A truly significant contribution to the contemporary rethinking of one of Beveridge’s five impediments to social progress. -- Gurminder Bhambra, Professor of Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies, University of SussexA thought-provoking, foundational history of housing policy and development within the United Kingdom... a must in the academic arsenal of an undergraduate or postgraduate student. -- Capital & ClassA gripping read, Squalor powerfully describes the long-term historical processes that have shaped deprivation in our time. Left me feeling madly angry. -- Arun Kundnani, author of The Muslims are Coming! Islamophobia, Extremism, and the Domestic War on TerrorSqualor is a beautifully-written collaboration unified by the authors’ clear commitment to acknowledging, documenting and detailing the organised and in many cases, purposeful negligence of Britain’s working classes. But its key achievement is its engagement with a particular aspect of political education that focuses on the evolution of regulations, which plainly demonstrate that housing, or the right to a dignified life in one’s home, should be the ultimate unifier of the polity. This is a book which illuminates exactly why everyone should be paying attention to the politics of housing. -- Chantelle Jessica Lewis, Pembroke College, University of OxfordThis brilliant work treads the trajectory of spatial arrangement in granular detail, and skillfully dispels several key myths along the journey. It concretizes the macro decisions, taken at the highest levels of political office, that have continually reordered the nitty-gritty micro level of day-to-day life across the century. This is an indispensable resource in the attritional war for the human right to safe and secure housing. -- Lowkey, hip hop artist and journalistTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. A moral history of squalor 2. Housing policy and national reform 3. A postwar consensus? 4. Demolishing slums, building up 5. The struggle for the city 6. The right to buy 7. Organized negligence 8. Twenty-first-century squalor 9. Social murder

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Book SynopsisIn 1942 life expectancy at birth was 66 for women and 60 for men. Death was usually due to degenerative and infectious diseases. The greatest postwar success in the fight against disease was the establishment of the NHS and care that was free at the point of delivery. Life expectancy rose dramatically, but since 2011 incremental improvements have stalled and even, in some regions, begun to reverse. Infant mortality rates have crept up and the postcode lottery of health provision underscores the level of social inequality in the UK. Good health is not simply the absence of disease. It is the collective of physical, social and mental well-being. It is the product of nutrition and genetics, of healthy lifestyles and preventative health interventions. It is the interaction between the conditions in which we live, work, play and age. Yet access to many of the things that make and keep us healthy are not evenly distributed in the population. Achieving good health is then deeply entwined with all aspects of society and cannot simply be solved by policies in one area alone. In our rediscovery of Beveridge, the shadow of the pandemic looms large. It is has never been more urgent to address the underlying causes of Disease. And it has never been clearer that these determinants are not only social or physiological, but also political.Trade ReviewThis conceptually and empirically rich book outlines how health and disease have been unequally experienced across the country both before and during the Coivid-19 pandemic. It argues powerfully that we cannot go back to ‘business as usual’ and should instead harness a new ‘spirit of 45’ to truly build back better and reduce health inequalities. -- Clare Bambra, Professor of Public Health, Newcastle UniversityThis is an important and illuminating book that sheds light on two persistent and intractable calamities – our alarmingly low levels of population health and the injustice of inequalities in health. Read this book and feel your outrage, then read it again to focus on what we need to do to create transformative change. -- Kate Pickett, Professor of Epidemiology, University of York, and co-author of The Spirit LevelFran Pollock sets out the hard truth of how political choices have deprioritized ordinary people’s health and well-being and sets out how we can stand together to oblige leaders to protect us all. Reading her book shocks but also empowers us to act. -- Ben Phillips, author of How to Fight InequalityTable of Contents1. Introduction: a revolutionary moment 2. Disease: an evolving giant 3. Unequal health and the behemoth of today 4. From cradle ... 5. ... to grave: the problem of age 6. Inequity and inferiority: a dismantled health and social care service 7. Continuing challenges, contemporary crises 8. Shoring up “Assumption B”

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Book SynopsisAs a universal experience school provokes strongly-held opinions. The views of teachers, parents, pupils compete with those of educational theorists, social engineers and ideologues. Although undoubtedly much improved since the time of Beveridge, the provision of education remains beset with challenges. Sally Tomlinson’s engaging, and at times personal, journey through Britain’s postwar experience of schooling and education reform draws on her many years of working in the sector. She explains how legacies of different systems and countless policy initiatives have led to the persistence of social inequalities, entrenching them in society and perpetuated by the power dynamics that they create between class, race and gender. Furthermore, she shows how the increasing mania for testing, targets, choice and competition, which has made schools into a marketplace and young people into consumers, threatens to undermine schools as a place where citizens can share learning and the democratic values that are needed as much today as they were in Beveridge’s time.Trade ReviewSally Tomlinson’s book is a really good read. I urge you to buy it: her analysis of what has happened to education in England since Beveridge is perceptive and incisive. The sheer amount of information and the pace at which it is delivered will leave you breathless: there is not one wasted word. Superb. -- Derek Gillard, in FORUM"This book, by our internationally leading sociologist of educational diversity, could not be more timely. The urgent need for radical educational reform to prevent the widespread return of ignorance is clearly stated in this admirable book." -- Stewart Ranson, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Warwick"The provision of maintained – ‘state’ – education has improved dramatically since the 1942 Beveridge Report. But it remains a policy landscape riven with strong opinion, prejudice and ideology. Some of those nostrums seem to stem from the personal but universal experience of school (and can consequently manifest sweet or sour nostalgia), some of them indicate a complete absence of reality or recognition of changing needs, some are really useful. The competing views of educational theorists, teachers, parents, along with the wider societal and political concerns (or lack of them) about meaningful quality, equity or equality of opportunity are difficult to navigate. It’s perhaps no surprise, therefore, that successive governments, despite countless Education Acts, have yet to slay and banish the Giant of Ignorance. Sally Tomlinson is a passionate defender and upholder of educational and teaching standards and her journey through Britain’s chequered postwar history of education provision draws on her long, broad and unrivalled experience of the sector. She throws into stark relief the challenges which teachers continue to face as they are confronted by the giddying sets of policy initiatives and frameworks. Too often, the ‘changers’ deny the resources necessary to implement the changes. Even more frequently, they put what should be diagnostic tools of testing, targets and reporting in place of infant and adolescent well-being and motivation as well as the learning and application of knowledge and experience. ‘Knowledge is power’ we are told, but regrettably, ignorance is not without influence either. That’s why Professor Tomlinson’s assault on the Giant should be made mandatory reading for all policymakers who truly want to topple the tyrant.” -- Lord Kinnock, former Leader of the Labour PartyTable of Contents1. Introduction: ignorance evolves 2. Breaking out of ignorance, 1945–80 3. Market forces and ignorance in the 1980s 4. Redistributing ignorance in the 1990s 5. Bog standard schools and academies, 2000–09 6. Weirdos and misfits, 2010–20 7. Ignorance in Covid/post-Covid schooling, 2020–21 8. Conclusion

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Book SynopsisPoverty in modern-day Britain looks different to the form it took in Beveridge’s day but it has not disappeared. For 14 million people across the UK the lack of access to the goods and services necessary to live a decent life and to participate fully in society remains a grim reality. Despite rising standards of living, social and economic structures continue to trap those at the bottom in constant job insecurity, ill-health, overcrowded housing and educational disadvantage. Helen Barnard considers what it might take to finally slay the giant of poverty in Britain. She examines how we might build a fairer, more equal society, and what a modern welfare state should aim to achieve, including an honest appraisal of the trade-offs and choices involved in creating it.Trade ReviewA tour d’horizon of social injustice in Britain today – and a twenty-first-century manifesto for rooting it out. At every turn, she presses not only the question of what substantively will have to be done to slay the giant of 'want', but asks how can we foster the political conversation that is a prerequisite for getting it done. Her demand for meaningful public deliberation, not least with those who are on the wrong end of anachronistic top-down services, is an urgent one – not only for social policy, but for the wider health of our democracy too. -- Tom Clark, Contributing Editor, Prospect, and author of Hard Times: Inequality, Recession, AftermathAt times painful, but also painfully needed, this updating of Beveridge shines a light on what poverty looks like in twenty-first-century Britain. Barnard encourages us to ask what we want for the UK’s future, and rightly suggests it is not just more of the status quo. -- Torsten Bell, Resolution FoundationA clear, perceptive and timely discussion of poverty in the UK that for all its authority never loses sight of a key question: how did we, as a society that prides itself on being compassionate and just, get here? -- Patrick Butler, Social Policy Editor, The GuardianHelen Barnard distills all her extensive expertise on modern poverty into this book – the result is a vital primer for anyone thinking of having an opinion on this subject. -- Ben Chu, Economics Editor, NewsnightHelen Barnard is consistently one of the most interesting thinkers on social policy in Britain, even when – or perhaps especially when – you disagree with her. -- Robert Colvile, Centre for Policy StudiesThis is a fascinating and carefully researched book, written with Helen Barnard’s trademark friendly style and warmth. She examines the challenges of finding a new path after Covid with the same motivation and ambition that must have powered the original Beveridge Report. Best of all, it’s a book that’s full of possible solutions, written with optimism and a real sense of hope. -- Felicity Hannah, award-winning independent journalistA thoroughly-evidenced, sensitively-reported and utterly terrifying anatomy of the collapse of our welfare state. A vital study for this moment as the UK’s safety net appears to be in maximum danger. -- Anoosh Chakelian, Britain Editor, New StatesmanTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Defining decency 2. Hard pressed families 3. Disabled people and carers 4. Renting pensioners 5. Young, Black and held back 6. Stigma and shame or dignity and respect? 7. Equality and discrimination 8. What is social security for? 9. Public services for the digital age 10. Reimagining work 11. Managing modern markets 12. Tax, wealth and housing Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThe past two decades have seen a rapid rise in large-scale, state-led transnational investment from countries as different as China, Norway and Russia. By bundling economic resources, these countries have entered global markets through massive state-led investments. This transformation of states into global economic actors is historically unprecedented and presents a major challenge for how states relate to each other in the international system. Milan Babic examines how states have become major corporate owners in the global economy and unpacks the lasting effects of this on our understanding of the state and international politics. Drawing on research into the largest firm-level dataset on state ownership to date, in combination with in-depth historical and conceptual analysis, the book offers a comprehensive analysis of the rise of the state in the global economy and its present and future consequences for international relations.Trade ReviewIn this innovative book, Babić muscles aside the sterile and incorrect dichotomy between state and market and its related debate about the return of state capitalism in favour of a detailed empirical analysis of something new: the expansion of transnational state capital through foreign direct and portfolio investment. Transnational state-owned enterprises are increasingly powerful actors in the global economy. -- Herman Mark Schwartz, Professor of Politics, University of VirginiaThis is illuminating and essential reading at a critical turn in world politics when geoeconomics is returning to centre stage. Babić accessibly – and based on a wealth of comprehensive data – guides the reader to see states as owners and investors in the global political economy, the strategies they employ vis-à-vis markets, and how all that matters in the current state of global capitalism and interstate rivalry. -- Naná de Graaff, Associate Professor in International Relations, Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamThis exciting new look at states and capital investment replaces the increasingly threadbare "standard" state–market dichotomy narrative and its "rise of state capitalism" trope with a more credible account of how both states and the firms they own and influence have integrated themselves into a "transnational agency space" that is fully compatible with globalization and private capital. This perceptive analysis of state responses to new opportunity structures of global markets presents both the big picture and the fine-grained, case-based data to support the theory. -- Geoffrey Underhill, Professor of International Governance, University of AmsterdamBabić argues convincingly through a range of case studies how states and markets are not that different in how they operate in a more open, interconnected and what we call heterarchical world political economy. In particular, he regards capitalism as being fundamentally underpinned, shaped, and made effective and profitable by states, i.e. that what we are dealing with is the transformation of state capitalism itself, capitalism created and shaped by states for their own purposes. -- European Review of International StudiesTable of ContentsForeword by Erik Jones 1. Introduction: states and markets are different things – or are they? 2. A short history of the re-emergence of state capital(ism) 3. Transnational state capital in the global political economy 4. Strategies of the competing state: controlling strategies 5. Strategies of the competing state: financial strategies 6. Consequences: Covid-19, geoeconomics, climate change 7. Conclusion: states, markets and the future of globalization

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Book SynopsisNow a classic of Marxian economics, The Limits to Capital provides one of the best theoretical guides to the history and geography of capitalist development. In this edition, Harvey updates his classic text with a substantial discussion of the turmoil in world markets today.In his analyses of 'fictitious capital' and 'uneven geographical development' Harvey takes the reader step by step through layers of crisis formation, beginning with Marx's controversial argument concerning the falling rate of profit, moving through crises of credit and finance, and closing with a timely analysis geopolitical and geographical considerations.Trade ReviewA thoroughgoing critique, synthesis and extension of the several varieties of crisis theory underwritten by Marx's thought. -- Benjamin Kunkel * London Review of Books *A unique and insightful theory of capital. * Monthly Review *A magnificent achievement, [one of] the most complete, readable, lucid and least partisan exegesis, critique and extension of Marx's mature political economy available. * Environment and Planning *A magisterial work. -- Fredric JamesonDavid Harvey provoked a revolution in his field and has inspired a generation of radical intellectuals. -- Naomi Klein, author of No Is Not Enough and This Changes Everything

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Book SynopsisKarl Marx was not only the great theorist of capitalism, he was also a superb journalist, politician and historian. For the first time ever, this book brings together all of his essential political and historical writings in one volume. These writings allow us to see the depth and range of Marx's mature work from the tumultuous revolutions of 1848 that rocked European society through to the end of his life. Including The Communist Manifesto, The Class Struggles in France and The Critique of the Gotha Programme, this volume shows Marx at his most astute, analysing the forces of global capitalism as they played out in actual events.

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Book SynopsisWho owns London? In recent decades, it has fallen into the hands of the super-rich. It is today the essential 'World City' for High-Net-Worth Individuals and Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals. Compared to New York or Tokyo, it has the largest number of wealthy people per head of population. Taken as a whole, London is the epicentre of the world's finance markets, an elite cultural hub, and a place to hide one's wealth.Alpha City moves from gated communities and the mega-houses of the super-rich to the disturbing rise of evictions and displacements from the city. It shows how the consequences of widening inequality have an impact on the urban landscape. Rowland Atkinson presents a history of the property boom economy, going back to the end of Empire. It tells the story of eager developers, sovereign wealth and grasping politicians, all paving the way for the wealthy colonisation of the cityscape. The consequences of this transformation of the capital for capital is the brutal expulsion of the urban poor, austerity, cuts, demolitions, and a catalogue of social injustices.Trade ReviewAlpha City is the heart-breaking, carefully-told, story of how London - its heart, mind and soul - was stolen from the people by the plutocrats and their minions. When, the book asks, will the greed of the super-rich end up strangling the city, whose body sustains them? Rowland Atkinson has delved deep to uncover the extent of the super-rich's grip on London. A masterpiece. -- Danny Dorling, author of Inequality and 1%London, Alpha City, tops the global power city index, but rankings aside what does this really mean? In this superb book Atkinson tells us - it means hyper-activity, hyper-consumption, and hyper-gentrification. The fall out is eviction and dispossession of the poor, even the middle classes, the city and its spaces territorialised by the super-wealthy, the collapse of any ethics of care. This is the shady, corrupt world of money destroying the city. And Atkinson tells the story so well through his vivid descriptions of London's neighbourhoods, streets, and buildings as captured, even stolen. This engaging and provocative book is a must read for Londoners, urbanists, and those interested in social, economic and political justice. -- Loretta Lees, King’s College, LondonIn Alpha Cities, Rowland Atkinson lays bare how London has been geared up as the world's monument to inequality. It exposes the tactics of gilded elites alongside their legions of enablers and hangers on, and the ways in which they have turned an already tough city into a 21st century dystopia, where the ultra-rich glide through pristine, soulless environments while the infrastructure we all need decays around us. This fast-paced guide to the new gilded age is a timely warning of how much damage inequality can do. -- Douglas Murphy, author of NincompoopolisA great book which provides vital insights into a strangely under researched group - the wealthiest people on the planet. -- Anna Minton, author of Big CapitalRowland Atkinson's excellent, lively and deeply researched book opens the lid on a can of dangerous worms. While Britain's policies to tempt the world's mobile hot money and its owners have blessed a small section of the population, Atkinson reveals how this has cursed far larger numbers of people, as the super rich have sucked away wealth, talent, investment, culture, government attention, and opportunities from the majority. As he puts it, "the rich kill the cities built to attract them." A welcome and urgently important corrective to the dominant British narrative that the super-rich benefit London and the wider nation. -- Nicholas Shaxson, author of Treasure IslandsTurning large swathes of London over to the Super-Rich was meant to generate a sloshing pool of wealth that would 'trickle down' to the rest of us. In practice, the detailed, informed and devastating trawl through the global capital of the ruling class in Alpha City proves the only thing that has trickled down is contempt -- Owen Hatherley, author of The Ministry of NostalgiaAtkinson writes with beautiful elegance. Almost every page has a sentence I wish I'd written myself! But his fundamental argument is hard-hitting and could not be more relevant for our troubled times. His analysis of London's 'alphahoods' is a reminder, if we need it, of how unequal cities-not just London-have become. -- Glyn Robbins * City *

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Book SynopsisFrom the acclaimed author of How Will Capitalism End? comes an omnibus of long-form critical essays engaging with leading economists and thinkers. Critical Encounters draws on Wolfgang Streeck's inimitable writing for the London Review of Books and New Left Review, among other publications. It opens with treatments of two contrasting historical eras - factory capitalism and financialization - and three of the world's major economies: the United States, France and Germany. Delving into the world of ideas, Streeck discusses the work of Quinn Slobodian, Mark Blyth, Jürgen Habermas and Perry Anderson. Finally, he zooms out to compare his home discipline of sociology to natural history, giving a remarkable and non-deterministic reading of Charles Darwin. In the preface, Streeck reflects on the art (or craft) of book reviewing and the continuing merits of the book form. Critical Encounters also includes a series of 'Letters from Europe', penned as the coronavirus descended upon the Continent.Trade ReviewSynthesises the various strands of left crisis theory into a convincing proposal, as strong psychologically as it is on economics. -- Paul Mason * Guardian, Books of the Year 2016 [on How Will Capitalism End?] *A must-read. * Financial Times, Best Books of 2016 [on How Will Capitalism End?] *Streeck sees a destructive convergence of three fixed trends in late capitalism: a declining rate of economic growth, soaring overall indebtedness, and rising economic inequality in both income and wealth. His work interlocks with recent dark conclusions by Robert J. Gordon, Thomas Piketty, and Wendy Brown, among others. -- Norman Rush * New York Review of Books [on How Will Capitalism End?] *Streeck's sweeping and empirically founded inquiry reminds one of Karl Marx's Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte. -- Jürgen Habermas [on Buying Time]A superbly provocative work of political economy. -- Aditya Chakrabortty * Guardian [on Buying Time] *A compelling and distinctive analysis of the current political moment. -- Hans Kundnani * The World Today *

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Book SynopsisHenryk Grossman is a name most socialists or students of political and social theory - let alone the mass of working people around the world - have probably never heard of. Yet Grossman, a Polish Jew born in 1881, deserves recognition as the most sophisticated defender of Karl Marx's theory of capitalism's inevitable collapse. With capitalism sinking into its deepest ever crisis, Grossman's neglected work must be revisited and popularised. Is capitalism entering its final breakdown?

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Book Synopsis Inside the hidden lives of the global “1%”, this book examines the networks, social practices, marriages, and machinations of Pakistan’s elite. Benefitting from rare access and keen analytical insight, Rosita Armytage’s rich study reveals the daily, even mundane, ways in which elites contribute to and shape the inequality that characterizes the modern world. Operating in a rapidly developing economic environment, the experience of Pakistan’s wealthiest and most powerful members contradicts widely held assumptions that economic growth is leading to increasingly impersonalized and globally standardized economic and political structures.Trade Review “This is a fascinating ethnography of the ‘micro-politics of elite lives’…a depressing but important read and a necessary corrective to every study of Pakistan that concludes with an aspirational list of policy reforms.” • Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (JRAI) “In a true scholarly form, Armytage deploys ethnographies like a blacksmith slams his hammer: to shape and define, solidify and congeal, and meaningfully weld together disparate narrative elements of otherwise banal and ordinary character. She deserves our thanks for that, and much more.” • Jamhoor “…an extremely valuable contribution to the anthropology of Pakistan and has much to offer to scholars of Pakistan in various academic fields.” • Social Anthropology/Anthropologie sociale “a rich, highly engaging and very insightful biography of Pakistan’s business and industrial elite… This book can be a landmark to understand the classes and structures of Pakistan’s society. It offers insights about power and the numerous multipurpose ways it is accumulated and applied every day in the top 1% in Pakistan… a meticulously crafted and nuanced [study], enlivened by her extensive ethnographic content, expertly employed to demonstrate broader results.” • Pakistan Institute of Development Economics “Through remarkable access, rich descriptions, and incisive analyses, the author deepens our understanding of the reproduction of elites and inequalities. She provides important insights into the spaces and relationships through which capital is accumulated, channeled, and secured by elites, all the while taking seriously the question of gender, ‘race,’ nation, and sexuality as it relates to class formation. Her book provides a rich resource for future research to explore old and new forms of elite integration and division…In an increasingly interdependent and unequal world, books like this enable us to better understand the consequences of elite formations for all of our lives.” • FOCAAL “Rosita Armytage has compiled a fascinating ethnography of elite businessmen and their families in Pakistan…[Her] work is a carefully constructed and nuanced picture of elites in Pakistan, enlivened by her rich ethnographic content which is used skilfully to illustrate wider findings… a nuanced and thoroughly contextualised piece of research.” • Bloomsbury Pakistan “A rich, very insightful and highly engaging biography of Pakistan’s business and industrial elite.” • Nafisa Shah, Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan. “An entertaining, surprising, and lively account of the secret life of the global elite in their particular parochial Pakistani setting. Scholars of Pakistan, of economic and political anthropology, and of development, will all surely look forward to this book with eager anticipation.” • Caroline Schuster, Australian National UniversityTable of Contents Acknowledgements Note on Anonymity Introduction: Making Money in an Unequal and Unstable World Chapter 1. Middle Class Woman in an Elite Man’s World Chapter 2. Creating and Protecting an Elite Class Chapter 3. Old Money, New Money Chapter 4. Making an Elite Family Chapter 5. The Elite Network Chapter 6. The Culture of Exemptions Conclusion: What Pakistan’s Elite Reveals About Global Capitalism References Index

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Book SynopsisWhen we talk about debt and its economic impact, we usually centre on government debt, and overlook the debt owed by individuals and firms that is vital to truly understanding the economy.In this iconoclastic book, Richard Vague examines the assets, liabilities, and incomes of the American economy as a whole, not just of the government. The book shows that debt growth in excess of GDP growth is a feature of modern economic systems, not a bugand thus ever-increasing leverage is built into the very structure of the economy. Vague uses the data presented in the book to show that rising debt is the primary source of economic growth, new money creation, and wealth creationbut that it also brings heightened inequality and can bring economic calamity when left unchecked.Vague also compares and contrasts the financial data of the U.S. to the world's other largest economies.As an expert on the role of private debt in the global economy, Vague offers an innovative set of

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Book SynopsisFrom the United States to the United Kingdom and from China to India, growing inequality has led to social discontent and the emergence of populist parties, also contributing to economic crises. We urgently need a better understanding of the roots and costs of these income gaps. The Costs of Inequality draws on the experience of Latin America, one of the most unequal regions of the world, to demonstrate how inequality has hampered economic growth, contributed to a lack of good jobs, weakened democracy, and led to social divisions and mistrust. In turn, low growth, exclusionary politics, violence and social mistrust have reinforced inequality, generating various vicious circles. Latin America thus provides a disturbing image of what the future may hold in other countries if we do not act quickly. It also provides some useful lessons on how to fight income concentration and build more equitable societies.Trade ReviewThis is an excellent work on the complexities of inequality in Latin America and the lessons we can learn from ideas, social movements, and policies developed in middle income countries to reduce income and wealth inequality. This very important book is a must-read both for scholars of development studies and Latin American politics as well as for practitioners seeking to reduce inequality in developing and developed economies. * Dr Néstor Castañeda, University College London *A compelling case for the urgency of tackling inequality, in Latin America and the world, without falling into the temptation of a silver-bullet approach. Thanks to Diego’s insightful book, we now have a better understanding of the policies, politics and history of Latin American inequality. This book will be useful to succeed in the battle against social injustice in the region. * Rebeca Grynspan, Ibero-American Secretary General *Table of Contents1. Introduction: Lessons from the Land of Inequality 1.1. Inequality is growing in developed countries… and it is even higher in Latin America 1.2. Exploring inequality through case studies 1.3. The book’s argument: the economic, political and social costs of inequality 1.4. How do we move from here? Some Latin American lessons 1.5. The rest of the book 2. Latin America: Always the Most Unequal Region? 2.1. The most unequal region in the world? 2.2. It is about the rich, stupid! 2.3. Always Unequal? 2.4. No longer an exception: growing inequality in other parts of the world 3. The Economic Costs of Inequality: Poor Education, Lack of Innovation and Economic Crises 3.1. A historical excursion 3.2. The problem of education today 3.3. Inequality limits the opportunities to create more dynamic economies 3.4. The difficulties to tax the rich 3.5. Income inequality and financial crises 3.6. From the economy back to inequality 3.7. From Latin America to the rest of the world 4. The Political Costs of Inequality: Weak Democracies and Populist Solutions 4.1. The uncomfortable coexistence of democracy and elite power 4.2. The first wave of populism as a response to the democratic deficit 4.3. Coming to the present: the limits of democracy and a new populist response 4.4. Authoritarian breaks as extreme elite responses 4.5. From politics back to inequality 4.6. From Latin America to the rest of the world 5. The Social Costs of Inequality: Violence, Social Mistrust and its Consequences 5.1. The most unequal and most violent region at the same time 5.2. Inequality contributes to mistrust in neighbours and institutions 5.3. Inequality, discrimination and racism 5.4. From social problems back to inequality: the difficulties to create redistributive coalitions 5.5. From Latin America to the rest of the world: some warning signs 6. Changing Courses 6.1. Latin America as a warning to the rest of the world 6.2. The unexpected reduction of inequality in Latin America during the 2000s 6.3. What can Latin America do to reverse courses? 6.4. An agenda for equity in the rest of the world 6.5. Conclusion: hope or disappear?

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Book SynopsisThe Unconscious knows no time, it has no before-and-after, it does not have a history of its own. Yet, it does not always remain the same. Different political and economic conditions transform the way in which the Unconscious emerges within the "psychosphere" of society. In the early 20th century, Freud characterized the Unconscious as the dark side of the well-order framework of Progress and Reason. At the end of the past century, Deleuze and Guattari described it as a laboratory: the magmatic force ceaselessly bringing to the fore new possibilities of imagination. Today, at a time of viral pandemics and in the midst of the catastrophic collapse of capitalism, the Unconscious has begun to emerge in yet another form. In this book, Franco 'Bifo' Berardi vividly portraits the form in which the Unconscious will make itself manifest for decades to come, and the challenges that it will pose to our possibilities of political action, poetic imagination, and therapy.Trade ReviewAs a diagnostician, Berardi is among the sharpest. * Slate *Bifo is a master of global activism in the age of depression. His mission is to understand real existing capitalism. Sense the despair of the revolt, enjoy this brilliant 'labour of the negative'! * Geert Lovink, Founding Director of the Institute of Network Cultures *

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Book SynopsisFrom the former Treasury Secretary, the definitive account of the unprecedented effort to save the U.S. economy from collapse in the wake of the worst global financial crisis since the Great DepressionOn 26 January, 2009, during the depths of the financial crisis and having just completed five years as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Timothy F. Geithner was sworn in by President Barack Obama as the seventy-fifth Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. Now, in a strikingly candid, riveting, and historically illuminating memoir, Geithner takes readers behind the scenes during the darkest moments of the crisis. Swift, decisive, and creative action was required to avert a second Great Depression, but policy makers faced a fog of uncertainty, with no good options and the risk of catastrophic outcomes.Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises takes us inside the room, explaining in accessible and forthright terms the hard choices and politically unpalatable decisions that Geithner and others in the Obama administration made during the crisis and recovery. He discusses the most controversial moments of his tenures at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and at the Treasury, including the harrowing weekend Lehman Brothers went bankrupt; the searing crucible of the AIG bonuses controversy; the development of his widely criticized but ultimately successful plan in early 2009 to end the crisis; the bracing fight for the most sweeping financial reforms in seventy years; and the lingering aftershocks of the crisis, including high unemployment, the fiscal battles, and Europe’s repeated flirtations with the economic abyss. Geithner also shares his personal and professional recollections of key players such as President Obama, Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson, and Larry Summers, among others, and examines the tensions between politics and policy that have come to dominate discussions of the U.S. economy. An insider’s account of how the Obama administration saved the economy but lost the American people, Stress Test reveals a side of Timothy Geithner that only few have seen.Trade ReviewSensational ... Tim's book will forever be the definitive work on what causes financial panics and what must be done to stem them when they occur. -- Warren BuffettDeals with issues far bigger than anything on the Man Booker long list. -- Anne Ashworth * The Times *Stress Test is an absolutely compelling account of the financial crisis, written in a clear, graceful style with striking honesty at every step along the way. -- Doris Kearns GoodwinThis is a lucid, fascinating, and extremely important book … Geithner does something unusual: he engages in substance. With both insight and humility, plus a good dose of wry humor, he explains what really happened during the financial crisis. No matter your political persuasion, you will find this book educational, enlightening, and interesting. -- Walter IsaacsonA fascinating memoir about life in the maelstrom of the financial crisis … Earlier books have described much of what happened that September, but Geithner was present for all the frantic meetings, the thousands of phone calls — and in the case of Lehman, the failure to find a buyer that could keep it alive. New problems cropped up almost weekly, if not daily. He explains each in easy-to-understand language and what the issues were that shaped the responses… There could be another crisis someday, of course, but what Geithner and his colleagues did has made one far less likely. * USA Today *

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Book SynopsisFor generations, Europeans have become accustomed to rising prosperity, an increasingly supportive social safety net and the expectation that each generation will fare better than the last. Europe has built a social model that is second to none, and fashioned a continent of disparate nations into a community that shares common values with democratic institutions that are the envy of the world. Yet, Europe, as a common project is increasingly questioned by its citizens. The emphasis on solidarity, the driving force behind the social and economic integration, has given way to suspicion and nationalism. Openness and tolerance are strained by xenophobic, anti-immigrant sentiments, while populists and extremists set the agenda and dominate the policy debate. European countries have borne the brunt of the global economic forces that have strained its institutions and capacity to respond appropriately. Characterised by uncertainty and delay both in handling the Euro crisis, Greece’s ongoing economic woes, Brexit and now a migrant crisis, Europe is at a crossroads in its development: a restructuring at the very least, if not a new settlement of power within the union, is on the cards. This book will attempt to understand what "post-crisis Europe" will look like, and what the opportunities are to rethink its economic, social and institutional architecture as well as to address the nagging democratic deficit that undermines its legitimacy as a democratic entity. George Papaconstantinou is uniquely placed to offer commentary on the machinations of the union and its internal behaviour. Appointed Greek Finance Minister by Papandreou in the newly formed government in 2009, he played a key role in the Greek crisis, negotiating the first bail-out with the Troika.Trade ReviewOnly with a European conviction can the European crisis be overcome. That is why there is still hope. George Papaconstantinou is a man of conviction and hope. -- Herman Van Rompuy, president emeritus, European CouncilTable of ContentsPart I Crisis 1. How we got here2. It seemed like a good idea at the time3. Caught in the headlights4. The fire-fighters5. Fixing the bicycle while riding it6. A dysfunctional family Part II: Post-Crisis 7. We are not in Kansas anymore8. And then there were9. Saving the currency10. Squaring the institutional circle11. The new geopolitics12. The complicated nature of twenty-first century democracyEpilogue: the way ahead

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Book SynopsisRobin Murray: Selected Writings demonstrates the breadth of Murray's intellectual curiosity and his political commitment to finding new ways of organising the economy and society. A thinker at the heart of left-wing thought and contributor to the seminal 1968 May Day Manifesto, Robin Murray's pioneering work encompasses diverse areas including fair trade, waste management, and, crucially, the regeneration of London via the London Industrial Strategy of radical local authority the GLC in the 1980s. Much of Murray's work has striking contemporary relevance, for example his passion for ecological sustainability, co-operatives and fair trade, and his analysis of the developing 'attention economy' and its impact on a new era of digital platforms. This collection has been curated to showcase the many contexts within which Robin Murray's boundless energy, enthusiasm and intellectual curiosity saw him collaborating. Murray's work exemplifies how cooperation can bring about real social change; this book will appeal to students, policymakers and anyone interested in radical social transformation.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Michael Rustin Post Fordism Benetton Britain The state after Henry New directions in municipal socialism Multinational Capitalism Multinationals and social control Fair Trade Raising the bar or directing the flood? Waste and Recycling Creating wealth from waste Cooperatives Taking stock, looking forward Social Economy Danger and opportunity: crisis and the new social economy Platform Economy Interview with Jeremy Gilbert and Andrew Goffey

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Book SynopsisNever before has there been such a period of intense change at every level of our society. Almost everything that we took for granted is now open to debate, whether that be the relationship that Britain has with the rest of the world or, at a more personal level, how the company we work for adapts to an increasingly competitive marketplace, and how that will affect our jobs. Everything is up for debate. What we are all searching for is clarity, insights and a reminder of the lessons of history that are in danger of being forgotten. Fortunately, there is someone who has the answers, or at the very least, some insightful questions that should be asked. Capitalism in Crisis is the combined insights of three of the world’s top analytical brains who have been guiding businesses and governments in their quest to find answers and shape strategy. In this two-volume work, they have laid out the problems and shown the solutions in a highly accessible way using illustrations as well as text. They have proved that a picture is indeed worth much more than a thousand words.

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Book SynopsisThis book explains, in a straightforward way, the foundations upon which electoral techniques are based in order to shed new light on what we actually do when we vote. The intention is to highlight the fact that no matter how an electoral system has been designed, and regardless of the intentions of those who devised the system, there will be goals that are impossible to achieve but also opportunities for improving the situation in an informed way. While detailed descriptions of electoral systems are not provided, many references are made to current or past situations, both as examples and to underline particular problems and shortcomings. In addition, a new voting method that avoids the many paradoxes of voting theory is described in detail. While some knowledge of mathematics is required in order to gain the most from the book, every effort has been made to ensure that the subject matter is easily accessible for non-mathematicians, too. In short, this is a book for anyone who wants to understand the meaning of voting. Trade Review“Paolo Serafini has the merit of presenting in a synthetic and pedagogical way the main aspects of the voting theory. This book would be well suited for undergraduate and graduate students who are new to voting theory … . the book is very enjoyable to read … . The present book adds its stone to the series of books on voting theory while distinguishing itself by its pedagogy and simplicity.” (Eric Kamwa, Journal of Economics, Vol. 134, 2021)“This book exposes a variety of social choice systems … . The electoral rules for the formation of the government of several countries are discussed, as examples of application of different aggregation methods, their particular problems and shortcomings are highlighted and opportunities of improvement underlined.” (Annibal Parracho Sant’Anna, zbMATH 1476.91002, 2022)Table of Contents

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Book SynopsisThis open access book focuses on Albanian internal and international female migration and places gender at the heart of postsocialist transformation. It explores the vulnerabilities that arise for female citizens from the contradictory policies produced by the Albanian state. By illuminating the intersection of gender and migration, it shows how Albanian women are likely to embed themselves in complex social relations and migration trajectories. By focusing on various cases – internal, international, return, economic and student female migrants – the book underlines that migration does not follow any kind of evolutionary development, according to which women go from 'traditional’ to ‘modern' gender relations. By providing a compelling account on the complex negotiations and tactics women employ to deal with gender inequalities, this book leads to a better understanding of gender and migration entanglements. It is a useful read to students, academics in migration and gender studies as well as social scientists and policy-makers in European countries.Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. Theoretical Framework.- Chapter 3. Albanian Context.- Chapter 4. Returned, Yet Still Not Back: the ‘Status Paradox’ of International Female Migrants Returning to Albania.- Chapter 5. Education as a Platform for Migration – Young Women Migrating to the ‘Big City’ on Their Own.- Chapter 6. International Student Returnees—Nowhere at Home.- Chapter 7. Conclusions.

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Book SynopsisThis edited volume highlights cascading effects of the pandemic and lockdown on informal economies of varied countries in the Global South. Uneven development after colonization, imperialism, and externally influenced conflict have caused many countries in the formally colonized or semi-occupied countries in the world to lag behind in wealth accumulation, investments in manufacturing, and technology. The fact that these countries were dragged into world market dynamics on an equal footing with already developed countries exacerbated these inequalities and saw the rapid burgeoning of informal economies. COVID-19 and the lockdown of western countries unravelled global production chains, resulting in hordes of workers in the Global South losing their livelihoods. Even people engaged in traditionally locally-bound economic activities, such as domestic work and sex work, found their livelihoods disappear. This volume brings together case studies from India, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka to analyze global economic disruptions as they affected informal sector workers who were already largely invisible within state development policies. The chapters question whether existing models of neoliberal development are still conducive within the post-pandemic Global South as it grapples with rebuilding economies, livelihoods, institutions, and systems of governance. Table of Contents​Ch 1: IntroductionCh 2: Women Construction Workers and Human Security under Covid 19Ch 3: Health Securitization and Sexually Precarious Labor in India under Covid 19Ch 4: International Migration in India under Covid-19Ch 5: Occupational Health and Accountability for Sri Lanka's Global Factory Workers under Covid 19Ch 6: The Bangladeshi Garments Industry and Covid 19Ch 7: Working Conditions and labor at Wal-Mart Brazil under Covid 19Ch 8: Shock Responsive Social Protection Schemes for Vulnerable Communities in NE India during Covid 19Ch 9: Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThis book examines how decisions made by the Conservative government during the COVID19 pandemic have increased economic inequality in the UK. Decades of austerity, asset-based welfare and financialization had already exacerbated social divisions in the UK prior to the pandemic. The political blueprint behind these measures combined Privatized Keynesianism and the Asset Economy. To explain, economists have highlighted that inequality derives from the fact that income from wealth increases at a faster rate than income from wages. The ensuing political assumption is that – in the face of pressures on public finances – promoting asset ownership is the best alternative to government-funded welfare schemes. What this meant, as the pandemic unfolded, was that when tough decisions about resource allocation needed to be made, the UK Treasury and the Bank of England found almost unlimited funds to rescue and protect asset-holders and middle-income homeowners, whilst reverting to a narrative of “misfortune” for the asset-less poor. This book assesses the political decisions taken by UK policymakers during 2020-21 and their consequences. In doing so, it challenges policymakers and the informed public to re-consider the morality of inequality, and to make alternative decisions to promote a more ecologically sustainable, caring, equal and prosperous society.Table of ContentsIntroductionChapter 1: Inequality, Financialisation and the Asset EconomyChapter 2: The RichChapter 3: Middle-Income HouseholdsChapter 4: The PoorConclusion

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Book SynopsisThe countries in the Western Balkans have been severely affected by the wars and conflicts that led to the breakup of former Yugoslavia, by political instability and the effort of creating new states, weak economies and high levels of unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, and inequality. As revealed by recent surveys, such as EBRD’s Life in Transition Survey and Eurofound’s European Quality of Life Survey, life satisfaction in the region is far below that elsewhere in Europe. In recent years they had achieved a strong impetus of economic growth with falling rates of unemployment and increasing optimism for the future. However, the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has brought about a sudden reversal of these trends and a renewed deterioration in the economic outlook, and an increase in social hardships that heralds a repeat of past failures in economic inclusion policies. This book identifies the key challenges in the areas of economic inclusion, focusing on the themes of labour markets, vocational education and skills, female entrepreneurship and the integration of migrants. It considers the opportunities for solutions to “build back better” once the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis begins, and offers proposals for more acceptable, equitable and effective economic inclusion policies.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Introduction: Key Challenges for Economic Inclusion in the Western BalkansPart I: Labour Market InclusionChapter 2: A Low-Wage, High-Tax Trap in the Western BalkansChapter 3: Envelope Wages in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Incidence and Distributional ImplicationsChapter 4: Horizontal Job-Education Mismatch in Kosovo: Is There a Gender Gap?Chapter 5: Cross-national Comparison of Job Types: Analysis Using the EU LFS and Albanian LFSPart II: Vocational Training and SkillsChapter 6: The Professional Training Programme in Montenegro: An Active Labour Market Policy or a Way to Fill the Structural Gap?Chapter 7: The Quality of Vocational Training and the Position of the Individual in the Labour market in SerbiaChapter 8: The Apprenticeship System in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Myth or Reality?Part III: Female EntrepreneurshipChapter 9: Case Study on Female Entrepreneurship in Bosnia and HerzegovinaChapter 10: Female Entrepreneurship in Albania: Financial Incentives and DisincentivesChapter 11: Economic Inclusion of Women Entrepreneurs During Covid-19 in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and HerzegovinaPart IV: Integrating Returning MigrantsChapter 12: The Relationship between Migration and Pensions Policy: The Case of AlbaniaChapter 13: The Role of Voluntary Return Migration in Supporting Economic Development in Albania Chapter 14: Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Croatia Part V: ConclusionsChapter 15: Towards an Inclusive Model of Development in the Western Balkans

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsFrontmatter -- Contents -- List of tables. List of figures -- Introduction -- Part I. Symbolic Aspects of Organizations -- Chapter 1. Painting Over Old Works: The Culture of Organization in an Age of Technical Rationality -- Chapter 2. Interrelations Between Corporate Culture and Municipal Culture: The Lüneburg Saltworks as a Medieval Example -- Chapter 3. Corporate Culture, the Catholic Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: A Quebec Experience -- Chapter 4. Dependency and Worker Flirting -- Chapter 5. Culture and Crisis Management in an English Prison -- Part II. Power as a Symbolic Domain -- Chapter 6. Zombies or People – What Is the Product of Work? Some Considerations About the Relation Between Human and Nonhuman Systems in Regard to the Socio-Technical-Systems Paradigm -- Chapter 7. Organizations as Networks of Power and Symbolism -- Chapter 8. Crashing in ’87: Power and Symbolism in the Dow -- Part III. Management, Consultancy, and Metaphor -- Chapter 9. Merchants of Meaning: Management Consulting in the Swedish Public Sector -- Chapter 10. Metaphor Management: On the Semiotics of Strategic Leadership -- Chapter 11. Culture and Management Training: Closed Minds and Change in Managers Belonging to Organizational and Occupational Communities -- Chapter 12. The 'Commando' Model: A Way to Gather and Interpret Cultural Data -- Part IV. Style and Aesthetics -- Chapter 13. The Collusive Manoeuvre: A Study of Organizational Style in Work Relations -- Chapter 14. Aesthetics and Organizational Skill -- Part V. Whole Organizations -- Chapter 15. Computers in Organizations: The (White) Magic of the Black Box -- Chapter 16. The Organizational Sensory System -- Chapter 17. The Dynamics of Organizational States of Being -- Part VI. Against Conclusions: Comments on Theory and Post-Modernism -- Chapter 18. Seeing Through: Symbolic Life and Organization Research in a Postmodern Frame -- Chapter 19. Organizational Bricolage -- Authors’ Biographical Notes -- Backmatter

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Book SynopsisThis book develops foresight techniques to turn future societal challenges into opportunities. The authors present foresight approaches for innovation policy and management. Future developments in fields such as education, energy, new materials, nanotechnologies are highlighted for different countries. Readers will discover tools and instruments to capture the potentials of the grand societal challenges as defined by the United Nations. This book is a valuable resource for researchers and scholars with an interest in foresight methods and gives practical hints for policy makers and managers to take account of the grand opportunities in their business and policy strategies.Table of ContentsIntroduction.- Part I: Foresight for Anticipatory STI Strategies.- Part II: Foresight for STI Policy: Country Cases.-Part III: Future Oriented STI Policy Context.- Part IV: Conclusions.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the value of the musical concept of “agogics” – the modification of regular rhythm to enhance expressive potential – in understanding urban spatial configurations within the current technological context and in developing urban maps that exploit sonic signals to create an open learning framework. The book starts by discussing the meaning and significance of agogics in the musical and artistic realm, with reference to the work of Adolphe Appia, Emile-Jaques Dalcroze, and Iannis Xenakis, among others. Its relevance to cartography and mapping is then examined, taking into account the contributions of Ian McHarg, Bill Hillier, Mark Shepard, and Robin Minard. The nature and value of agogic maps, for example in fostering awareness of place and effective organization of spatial development, are described in detail, with reference to case studies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Segrate, Italy. It is explained how agogic maps take advantage of innovative categories and scripting equipment to provide a new mapping instrument for spatial and urban configurations, highlighting the interdependence between aural signals and spatial variables. This book will be of interest to architects, urbanists, and musicians with a specific interest in space and sound design.Table of ContentsAgogic in music: The practice of rhythm, from music to space and backward.- Agogic in space: A scenario for the Gesamtkustwerk.- Agogic and the space “undulated”.- Urban spectrographies and the problem of orientation in sensitive territories.- Space-script construction: Three phases in a topographic transformation of sound and visual material.- Euphony: Dissonances for a modern urban environment. Accessibility as the temperament of signals and impulses.- The role of sound maps: A “modern” paradigm in space design.- Urban sampling, two case studies: Reconstructing the inhabitation model through an aural imaginary.- The agogic script. Interdependency between aural signals and spatial variables.

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Book SynopsisTo date, research into urban economics, regional science and economic geography has predominantly focused on the firm and industry as the key units of analysis in order to understand economic development; however, the past few decades have seen a growing interest in the role played by talent in the knowledge economy. This book provides an essential overview of the skills revolution. It presents key milestones of the changes in economic development in the past few decades and explains the motivation behind the rise of talent, as well as its importance for cities and economies. It also offers advice on how to attract and manage talent – a major determinant of competitiveness for countries and regions around the world. In closing, the book explains the underlying theories and provides practical examples for students, researchers and practitioners alike. Table of ContentsIntroduction.- Defining talent: Between human capital and the creative economy.- Positioning Talent: history, cities and the growing importance of talent.- Challenging talent: Cities and the cycle of rising disparities.- Raising talent: higher education and uneven career outcomes.- Exposing talent: Precarity and moments of crisis.- Empowering talent: Campaigning and activism for work and cities.- Conclusions

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Book SynopsisHere it is going to happen is the title of a painting memorialising Albert Winsemius' industrial survey mission to Singapore. The picture depicts the hilltop view of a pre-industrial Jurong.Besides being a biography of Albert Winsemius, the book examines Albert Winsemius' affinity with Singapore and his contributions to the nation's economic development. It also looks at his legacy and influence on past, current and future economic planners.Table of ContentsPreface — Why This Book?; Who is Albert Winsemius?; His Contributions before Singapore; His Contributions to Singapore; His Contributions to Modern Economic Development; Albert Winesmius Chair Professorships; Summing Up: His Legacy;

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Book SynopsisThe Polish Transformation takes an in-depth look at a hitherto unexplored part of the oeuvre of prominent Polish economist and historian of economic thought Tadeusz Kowalik: his thesis that the systemic transformation that took place in Poland in the late 1980s was a de facto epigonic bourgeois revolution. Since Kowalik actually never extended his argument to support this thesis, the aim of this study is to answer the following question: If some important reflections on the revolutionary character of the Polish transformation scattered throughout Kowalik's works were to be found, would they together constitute a convincing justification for the thesis of the epigonic bourgeois revolution?

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Book SynopsisA former chair of the Federal Reserve explains the transformation of one our most powerful and consequential institutionsTrade Review"Bernanke is the most influential thinker and practitioner on central banking of our era. His book, 21st Century Monetary Policy, offers a lucid account of the evolution of central banking and the US central bank from the ‘great inflation’ of the late 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s to today and into the future." -- Martin Wolf - Financial Times"...[A] uniquely practical book as the public tries to better understand the powers of the Fed and Congress to juice or slow the economy amid a supply-chain crunch and sky-high demand." -- Andrew Ross Sorkin - The New York Times"This exercise of historical assessment from a central participant is one that more policymakers should probably try. It allows readers to make judgements along with Bernanke and think about what lesson today's policymakers—who are once again battling inflation—might take." -- David Leonhardt - The New York Times

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Book SynopsisOut of early twentieth-century Russia came the world's first significant effort to build a modern revolutionary society. According to Marxist economist Samir Amin, the great upheaval that once produced the Soviet Union has also produced a movement away from capitalism - a long transition that continues even today. In seven concise, provocative chapters, Amin deftly examines the trajectory of Russian capitalism, the Bolshevik Revolution, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the possible future of Russia - and, by extension, the future of socialism itself. Amin manages to combine an analysis of class struggle with geopolitics - each crucial to understanding Russia's singular and complex political history. He first looks at the development (or lack thereof) of Russian capitalism. He sees Russia's geopolitical isolation as the reason its capitalist empire developed so differently from Western Europe, and the reason for Russia's perceived "backwardness." Yet Russia's unique capitalism proved to be the rich soil in which the Bolsheviks were able to take power, and Amin covers the rise and fall of the revolutionary Soviet system. Finally, in a powerful chapter on Ukraine and the rise of global fascism, Amin lays out the conditions necessary for Russia to recreate itself, and perhaps again move down the long road to socialism. Samir Amin's great achievement in this book is not only to explain Russia's historical tragedies and triumphs, but also to temper our hopes for a quick end to an increasingly insufferable capitalism. This book offers a cornucopia of food for thought, as well as an enlightening means to transcend reductionist arguments about "revolution" so common on the left. Samir Amin's book - and the actions that could spring from it - are more necessary than ever, if the world is to avoid the barbarism toward which capitalism is hurling humanity.

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Book SynopsisDespite insoluble contradictions, intense volatility and fierce resistance, the crisis-ridden capitalism of the 21st century lingers on. To understand capital's paradoxical expansion and entrenchment amidst crisis and unrest, Mute Compulsionoffers a novel theory of the historically unique forms of abstract and impersonal power set in motion by the subjection of social life to the profit imperative. Building on a critical reconstruction of Karl Marx's unfinished critique of political economy and a wide range of contemporary Marxist theory, philosopher Søren Mau sets out to explain how the logic of capital tightens its stranglehold on the life of society by constantly remoulding the material conditions of social reproduction. In the course of doing so, Mau intervenes in classical and contemporary debates about the value form, crisis theory, biopolitics, social reproduction, humanism, logistics, agriculture, metabolism, the body, competition, technology and relative surplus populations.Trade ReviewNot a day goes by without a question imposing itself on the minimally sane mind: how can all this shit around us just go on? In this masterful study, Søren Mau methodically drills into the core of the matter: the deeply entrenched power of some people over others, and of capital over everyone. It is this power that drives the disasters of our time, and it is a specific form of power, one rooted in the most basal layers of existence-the economy, where human bodies are (supposed to be) sustained. Written with verve and clarity, analytically sharp and dialectically shrewd in equal measure, Mute Compulsion reinvigorates historical materialism for the mid-twenty-first century. Through close readings of Marx and critical dialogues with contemporary theory, it throws up fresh insights for a new generation of Marxists, as well as for long-time connoisseurs. A big red book to cherish. -- Andreas Malm, author of Fossil Capital (Verso, 2016), The Progress of this Storm (2018) and How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2021).An instant classic. The best introduction to Marx's thought in any language. -- Aaron BenanavThis is the first in-depth investigation of a key concept used in Marx's Capital: mute compulsion. Far beyond a purely philological exercise, Søren Mau shows the centrality of this concept for a better understanding of capitalist class rule, subsumption and biopolitics. If we take the findings of Søren Mau's book seriously, it will considerably change our views on the "power of capital" and the political strategies to fight against this power. -- Michael HeinrichMute Compulsion manages to do something quite extraordinary: it puts a definitive end to accusations of economic reductionism levelled against Marx through an argument which is both complex, and yet very simple. By proposing that capital's domination operates through a form of economic power that subordinates our everyday life, Mau underscores the need to throw our gaze not only at what happens in the workplace, but particularly outside of it. A tour de force through some of the key Marxist concepts and debates. -- Sara R. Farris, author of In the Name of Women's Rights. The Rise of Femonationalism (Duke UP, 2017)

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Book SynopsisHow do we justify our political convictions? Libertarians appeal to a love of freedom, liberals to a dedication to fairness. Niko Kolodny, however, argues that neither value actually makes sense of our avowed convictions. Instead, what drives much of our politics is an opposition to social hierarchy.Trade ReviewThe Pecking Order provides a powerful articulation and defense of its master idea of noninferiority. That idea is already percolating through political philosophy, but nobody has done anything like the systematic development of it that Kolodny achieves. This book stands out for its ability to animate so many different debates in political philosophy through a single idea, deploying it to address a wider range and variety of moral and political phenomena. Carefully argued, clearly written, and remarkable for both the depth of its analysis and the scope of its engagement, Kolodny’s book is one that everyone working in political philosophy and many in democratic theory will want to read. -- Arthur Ripstein, author of Force and FreedomIn this far-reaching study, Niko Kolodny illuminates everyone’s fundamental interest in being an equal. The claim against hierarchy—against being socially subordinate to others—is offered as a key to more stuck doors in political philosophy than other time-honored projects around freedom and equality, liberalism, and democracy. Relentless in method and vivid in style, the book will be widely studied, and rightly so. -- David Estlund, author of UtopophobiaThis book is smart, provocative, timely, and deeply informed. It engages and carries to a new level of clarity and sophistication a set of themes associated with social egalitarianism. It also offers as comprehensive a critical view of central themes in recent democratic theory as I can imagine. Reading The Pecking Order is a rare and bracing experience. -- Charles R. Beitz, author of The Idea of Human RightsSocial and political discourse is full of claims about what we owe each other and why. In this compelling book, a perceptive philosopher argues that much of that talk is grounded in our shared aversion to subordination. In his hands, the principle of ‘noninferiority’ provides a powerful touchstone for assessing contentious issues ranging from the limits of authority in the workplace to the reach of the welfare state and the role of money in politics. -- Larry M. Bartels, author of Unequal Democracy and Democracy for Realists

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Book SynopsisZongyuan Zoe Liu provides the first in-depth examination of sovereign funds in China. Under President Xi, the state has become an aggressive financier, using sovereign funds at home and abroad to secure allies and influence, boost strategic industries like semiconductors and fintech, and pick winners among domestic businesses and multinationals.Trade Review[Sovereign Funds] takes up a particular aspect of China’s economic statecraft, showing how it employs its financial resources to promote its interests abroad…Give[s] us a much better understanding of what needs to be done to restrain China abroad. -- Edward Chancellor * Wall Street Journal *Revealing…It describes the personalities, facts and figures that undergird the labyrinthine and often secret world of Chinese state money and the strategies that Beijing deploys to secure strategic assets around the world. -- James Kynge * Financial Times *Liu, an expert on international political economy at the Council on Foreign Relations, shows how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses ‘sovereign leverage funds’ to promote fiscal security at home and geopolitical influence abroad. -- Francis P. Sempa * New York Journal of Books *Sovereign Funds raises broader questions about the presence of such funds in the financial system and the role that can be played by state finance in the global marketplace…It offers an insightful look into the permutations of the Chinese state in response to privatisation. -- Seth O'Farrell * fDi Intelligence *A fascinating insight into the evolution of China’s financial policy and its strategic investments using leveraged foreign exchange reserves. -- Diane Coyle * Enlightened Economist *[Liu] shows that Chinese sovereign funds are so different from better-known sovereign wealth funds, such as those of the governments of Abu Dhabi and Norway, that she prefers to call them ‘sovereign leveraged funds’…These various exotic workarounds, which Liu skillfully traces, produce ‘shadow reserves.’ -- Andrew J. Nathan * Foreign Affairs *Follow the money, find the politics…Liu shows how China pioneered a whole new class of sovereign wealth funds. * Times of India *A novel and fascinating history of China’s rich and powerful sovereign wealth funds, which play an outsize role in the country’s strategy for both international development and external influence. -- Kenneth Rogoff, Maurits C. Boas Chair of International Economics at Harvard University and former Chief Economist of the IMFZoe Liu’s pathbreaking book uncovers how and why the Chinese Communist Party employs sovereign leveraged funds to further state interests at home and abroad. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the causes and consequences of China’s rise. -- Thomas J. Christensen, author of The China Challenge: Shaping the Choices of a Rising PowerSovereign wealth funds were once considered anomalies but are now becoming the trend. China’s sovereign wealth funds have grown rapidly and become increasingly important in the face of deglobalization; their unique model and widespread impact are worth exploring and assessing. Liu’s book is a fascinating account of and reflection on what she calls ‘sovereign leveraged funds.’ Whether you agree with its conclusions or not, you should read it. -- Jin Xu, author of Empire of Silver: A New Monetary History of ChinaSovereign Funds is a revealing account of the origins and evolution of China’s sovereign leveraged funds. This book is a must-read for any serious observer of China’s global economic and financial strategy. -- Edwin M. Truman, Senior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School, and former Assistant Secretary of the US TreasuryZoe Liu provides deep insight into China's sovereign leveraged funds, fascinating institutions that play a crucial role in the often fraught relationship between state and market, with implications and lessons for many other countries. This is essential reading for those interested in China's development and its economic engagement with the world. -- Martin Chorzempa, author of The Cashless RevolutionLiu provides the definitive account of how wide and how deep China’s sovereign wealth funds have penetrated global capital markets. Her identification of ‘sovereign leveraged funds’ amounts to a major conceptual breakthrough in the study of global financial flows, bringing to light how any state with the political will and financial engineering prowess can launch a fund to further its strategic interests. In a moment of fraught financial tensions between the United States and China, Sovereign Funds will prove an indispensable book for policymakers and academics alike. -- John Yasuda, author of On Feeding the Masses: An Anatomy of Regulatory Failure in China

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