Hitting the mark: “Grand Theft Capital”, by Fred Magdoff and John Bellamy Foster

REVIEWS

Red Pepper picks: “Botany, welfare, friendships, work and housing. David Matthews picks six of the best new books for leftists“

“Capitalism has been stagnating for decades, characterized by sluggish growth. Yet the wealthy continue to grow richer while the rest of us face declining wages and eroding living standards. Focusing on the United States yet deeply relevant to Britain and other capitalist countries, Magdoff and Bellamy Foster make clear that in a climate of economic decline, big business has deliberately and strategically targeted workers as a primary source of wealth extraction. Their conclusion is a call for mass action, from below…”

People’s Voice (Canada): “Succinct and accessible, this economic primer hits the mark for working people today”, by Stéphane Doucet

“Magdoff and Foster have truly hit the mark with this short book…Interesting figures include the precipitous drop of work stoppages involving over 1000 workers, from over 330 per year in 1975 to less than 20 since the 2010’s; the corporate tax rate being more than halved since 1950; the CEO-to-worker pay ratio being multiplied by more than 10 times in 60 years; labour’s share of GDP dropping more than 10 percent since the 1960’s; and private sector workers with defined-benefit pensions dropping for 60 percent to 10 percent of the workforce. All these are very broad, clear, decisive and very powerful figures. The book provides many more, along with the necessary context…” Read more…

Counterpunch: “Why Working People Got the Blues“, by Ron Jacobs

“The lack of affordability is the curse of the working class, whether its individual members are working or not. Politicians talk about it and some might even propose legislation to moderate it, but the cost of almost everything keeps going up more than wages and retirement benefits. The domination of the economy by monopolies and cartels–many of which are invested in the business of war and resource extraction–and by politicians at their service means the bills they rack up are going to be paid by us. When the ruling class tells us they can’t afford to continue providing social services, they’re lying. It’s not that they can’t, it’s that their priorities lie elsewhere, with consistently higher profits being near or at the forefront.” Read more…

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