{"product_id":"the-capitalist-mode-of-destruction-austerity-ecological-crisis-and-the-hollowing-out-of-democracy-9781526144522","title":"The Capitalist Mode of Destruction: Austerity,","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe capitalist mode of destruction\u003c\/i\u003e traces contemporary capitalism’s economic, ecological and democratic crises. Combining insights from a range of disciplines, including psychology, sociology and political economy, Panayotakis interprets these crises as manifestations of a previously unrecognized contradiction: over time, the benefits of capitalism’s technological dynamism tend to decline even as its threats to humanity and the planet continue to mount.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTo explain this contradiction, the book analyzes the production and distribution of surplus in capitalist societies and rethinks the concept of surplus itself. Identifying the public sector and households as sites of production no less important than the workplace, this book attributes capitalism’s contradictions to working people’s lack of control over the surplus they produce. This lack of control is undemocratic and threatens the planet. Only a classless society, in which working people democratically determine the size and use of the surplus they produce, can effectively respond to our current predicament. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRecognizing such a democratic classless society as the essence of the communist ideal, the book argues that, far from becoming obsolete, this ideal is ever more indispensable. But since the necessity of this ideal does not guarantee its realization, the book also investigates the conditions necessary for the formation of an anti-capitalist alliance for social justice, democracy and ecological sustainability.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eConfronting the capitalist virus: A prefatory note\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction\u003cbr\u003e1 Rethinking the Surplus\u003cbr\u003e2 Surplus and Freedom\u003cbr\u003e3 Capital’s Real Subsumption of Consumption \u003cbr\u003e4 Consumerism and Capital’s Use of Science and Technology to Undercut Democracy\u003cbr\u003e5 Capitalism as a Force of Destruction\u003cbr\u003e6 Futile Growth and Mounting Destruction: The Need to Rethink Contemporary Capitalism’s Contradictions\u003cbr\u003e7 The Crisis of Capitalist Democracy and the Continuing Relevance of the Communist Ideal\u003cbr\u003eConclusion: Rethinking the Relationship Between Capitalism, Communism and Democracy\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Manchester University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51041009041751,"sku":"9781526144522","price":18.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781526144522.jpg?v=1750948579","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-capitalist-mode-of-destruction-austerity-ecological-crisis-and-the-hollowing-out-of-democracy-9781526144522","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}