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Capitalism

Refugees crossing the Mediterranean sea on a boat, heading from Turkish coast to the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos, 29 January 2016

Return of the Atlantic Route from West Africa to Europe: Imperialism and Regional (De-)Integration

This article will be released in full online May 13, 2023.

As dangerous trans-Atlantic crossings between Africa and Europe continue to rise, Hannah Cross examines the roots of the ongoing crisis. The discussion around migration, she notes, “overlooks the imperial role of Europe and the United States over borders, migration regimes, regional (de-)integration, and national development projects within Africa.” The solution, therefore, can only be found through genuine liberation and autonomy across the continent, rather than internationally imposed mechanisms benefitting the powerful in the Global North. | more…

Demonstration opposing the practices of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on Sunday, April 26, 2009 in Washington, D.C.

The IMF and Class Struggle in Latin America: Unveiling the Role of the IMF

This article will be released in full online May 20, 2023.

The International Monetary Fund, part of the Bretton Woods Agreement that helped establish the current rules of the U.S.-dominated international capitalist system, claims to aim for a world of prosperity through so-called free trade. In Latin America, David Barkin and Juan Santarcángelo write, the IMF has contributed to the impoverishment of the working class and destruction of these countries’ ecological legacies. But what does the future hold for the IMF in Latin America? | more…

Monthly Review Volume 52, Number 4 (September 2000) [PDF]

Socialism—A Time to Retreat?

The Perspective of 'Monthly Review' at the Opening of the Twenty-First Century

This article will be released in full online May 27, 2023.

In this reprise from September 2000, Harry Magdoff, John Bellamy Foster, and Robert W. McChesney look forward to the future of Monthly Review in the twenty-first century: “Despite mistakes, setbacks, and recognition that the road is long and arduous, we must not waver as we continue to study, educate, and be missionaries for the transcendence of the social system of capitalism and the development…of a society of equals.” | more…

French people went on strike and joined enormous marches across the country on January 19, 2023

Old Age but No Rest: A Political-Economic Reflection on Delayed Retirement Policy

As populations worldwide grow older, politicians are clamoring to raise the retirement age, thus extending people’s working lives at their own expense. Using the lens of political economy, Cai Chao examines the false narratives behind capitalists’ claims that delayed retirement is necessary to maintain society’s productive capacity, and proposes solutions to promote human development at all life stages. | more…

The vegan flag coat of arms

The Case for Socialist Veganism

There is a paradox, Benjamin Selwyn and Charis Davis write, at the heart of corporate veganism in the Global North. While vegan products are sold to consumers as environmentally conscious alternatives to meat and dairy, the world’s largest producers of such products are rapacious, ecologically destructive, and exploitive of populations in the Global South. The authors argue that a turn toward socialist veganism can advance the goals of decommodifying and democratizing our food system. | more…

U.S. weapons sale

Actual U.S. Military Spending Reached $1.537 Trillion in 2022—More than Twice Acknowledged Level: New Estimates Based on U.S. National Accounts

How much does it cost to maintain an empire? A stunning new analysis by Gisela Cernadas and John Bellamy Foster shows the true scale of U.S. military spending, which far outstrips conventional estimates, which use data gleaned from traditional sources. | more…

Integrated circuit on a microchip

What Do We Learn about Capitalism from Chip War?

Chip War (Simon and Schuster, 2022) by Chris Miller is a detailed accounting of the U.S. efforts to retain control of the computer chip industry—an industry that has become vital to nearly all aspects of modern life. Rahul Varman explores and expands on these themes, asking all the while: What can the escalating wars over this crucial technology teach us about global capitalism? | more…

KakaoTalk fire

Platform Company Dominance and Labor Struggles in the Digital Economy: The Case of South Korea

Kyung-Pil Kim charts the history of the Korean platform economy through the rise of Naver and Kakao, the major firms dominating the markets. How do these companies operate? How did they achieve dominance? Finally, what are recent developments and challenges of labor organizing in this sphere? | more…

The War against the Commons: Dispossession and Resistance in the Making of Capitalism

New! The War Against the Commons: Dispossession and Resistance in the Making of Capitalism

A unique historical account of poor peoples’ self-defence strategies in the face of the plunder of their lands and labor

For five centuries, the development of capitalism has been inextricably connected to the expropriation of working people from the land they depended on for subsistence. Through ruling class assaults known as enclosures or clearances, shared common land became privately-owned capital, and peasant farmers became propertyless laborers who could only survive by working for the owners of land or capital.

As Ian Angus documents in The War Against the Commons, mass opposition to dispossession has never ceased. His dramatic account provides new insights into an opposition that ranged