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"'a lucid and penetrating account of how the power of capital shapes our world' - Andrew Gamble, Independent - Book of the Week 'a well-timed call for the overthrow of capitalism...elegant...entertainingly swashbuckling' - John Gapper, FT"
Book Description
Radical sociologist David Harvey explains how capitalism came to dominate the world, why it resulted in the current financial crisis - and why it's time for a change
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
David Harvey is probably both the best known and most prolific author on popular topics in Marxist economics today, and this is one of his best books so far. Working always from his perspective as an economic geographer, in "The Enigma of Capital" he uses the occasion of the current financial crisis to provide a lengthy and highly accessible popular overview of the theory of capital. He analyzes what capital is, where it came from, how it accumulates, how it relates to markets, what the role is of ground rent and localization in its movement (both metaphorical and real), and finally combines all this into a highly compelling political economic narrative. What is especially virtuous about this book, even compared with some of Harvey's excellent earlier works, is his ability to explain the general thrust of Marxist political economy in a manner that is easily understood by the wider newspaper-reading public and without using virtually any of the specific technical terminology of Marxism, as well as avoiding any of the explicit political content that is specific to Marxism (other than a very skeptical attitude towards capitalism as such). This is no mean feat given the complicated nature of capital and the different levels of analysis it seems to require to be fully understood. Harvey of course adds to the fairly traditional Marxist picture so narrated his own particular emphasis on place and space as essential mediating elements in capital's circulation, both economically and politically. I think this is a useful and important addition, in particular with an eye to the local impact of political economy becoming 'real' in this way - one need but look at Newcastle or Detroit and see what this means.
The book focuses on analyzing capitalism as it presents itself now - there is not much political commentary in terms of opposition to capitalism, except for some general comments at the end. This avoids, as too many Marxist economic books do, the question of realistic alternatives. It also does not pay particular attention to the 'prehistory' of capital. But both of these are very irrelevant objections, as the virtue of this book is not to be yet another rehash of things that have been done very well by others already. Its virtue is in integrating the analysis of space, crisis, and capital into a work for a general public that is hostile to Marxist terminology and skeptical about economists in general (both probably with good reason). For that reason alone, this book comes with warm recommendation - even more when combined with his other recent major works, "The Limits to Capital" (Limits to Capital) which works at a more in-depth theoretical level, and his companion to Marx's Capital (A Companion to Marx's Capital).
The book focuses on analyzing capitalism as it presents itself now - there is not much political commentary in terms of opposition to capitalism, except for some general comments at the end. This avoids, as too many Marxist economic books do, the question of realistic alternatives. It also does not pay particular attention to the 'prehistory' of capital. But both of these are very irrelevant objections, as the virtue of this book is not to be yet another rehash of things that have been done very well by others already. Its virtue is in integrating the analysis of space, crisis, and capital into a work for a general public that is hostile to Marxist terminology and skeptical about economists in general (both probably with good reason). For that reason alone, this book comes with warm recommendation - even more when combined with his other recent major works, "The Limits to Capital" (Limits to Capital) which works at a more in-depth theoretical level, and his companion to Marx's Capital (A Companion to Marx's Capital).
62 of 66 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
David Harvey has produced an excellent study of capitalism, the current economic crisis and the way the Left could respond to it.
Harvey deals with the current economic crisis in chapter one and gives a clear, concise account of what went wrong and why.
As for the current crisis, that is pretty much it in this book. What Harvey is concerned with is the fact that the current crisis is just the latest of many and Harvey is most concerned with demonstrating that crises are innate and necessary to capitalism.
Harvey presents his re-working and re-theorising of Marx's analysis of 'Capital' to show how capitalism uses crises to reform, renew and revitalise itself. This Harvey accomplishes brilliantly. Harvey explains complex ideas in an easy to understand way.
Harvey theorises that capitalism may have reached a point where it cannot get over crisis and get back to a compound growth rate of 3% PA as the amount of capital that needs to be invested is simply too huge. Hence the growth of the financial sector and financial crises.
This leads to the final section on what the Left should do to tackle the crisis. For capitalism can solve it's problems as long as it makes people pay the price of it's crises: lost jobs, lost pensions, destroyed environment, wrecked public services and vast amounts of capital destroyed in wars.
Harvey argues for a uniting of the Left across a broad range of struggles and across the globe. A necessary yet difficult task. Harvey's focus seems to be to look beyond the traditional labour movements which seems to contradict many of his arguments about how capitalism works - Harvey doesn't seem to see the working class as central to a socialist challenge to capitalism. That may prove contentious. Harvey's book deserves to be widely read and a focus for debates on the Left as to how to respond to the current crisis.
Harvey deals with the current economic crisis in chapter one and gives a clear, concise account of what went wrong and why.
As for the current crisis, that is pretty much it in this book. What Harvey is concerned with is the fact that the current crisis is just the latest of many and Harvey is most concerned with demonstrating that crises are innate and necessary to capitalism.
Harvey presents his re-working and re-theorising of Marx's analysis of 'Capital' to show how capitalism uses crises to reform, renew and revitalise itself. This Harvey accomplishes brilliantly. Harvey explains complex ideas in an easy to understand way.
Harvey theorises that capitalism may have reached a point where it cannot get over crisis and get back to a compound growth rate of 3% PA as the amount of capital that needs to be invested is simply too huge. Hence the growth of the financial sector and financial crises.
This leads to the final section on what the Left should do to tackle the crisis. For capitalism can solve it's problems as long as it makes people pay the price of it's crises: lost jobs, lost pensions, destroyed environment, wrecked public services and vast amounts of capital destroyed in wars.
Harvey argues for a uniting of the Left across a broad range of struggles and across the globe. A necessary yet difficult task. Harvey's focus seems to be to look beyond the traditional labour movements which seems to contradict many of his arguments about how capitalism works - Harvey doesn't seem to see the working class as central to a socialist challenge to capitalism. That may prove contentious. Harvey's book deserves to be widely read and a focus for debates on the Left as to how to respond to the current crisis.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I purchased The Enigma having read "Social Justice and the City" during research for my Architecture dissertation. From this I knew that Harvey has a very clear style, and his work is thorough and engaging. While this book is targeted at the lay reader (myself when it comes to economics) one feels that he is not sparing any details, it has rigor and at times can be scientific and dense. Harvey's focused writing style guides you through however, making good use of familiar contemporary and historical examples to flesh out his arguments. While throughout it is good to remember that he is coming at the issue from a firmly Marxist POV, it is interesting to get this angle, which we rarely find in the mass media. All is not perhaps as well as some would want us to believe, he is after all sighting that the problems the world economy faces is systemic, and that "Getting back to Growth" is good for neither society or capitalism itself.
Harvey takes the economic discussion away from mathematical theory and fictions, and brings it back down to the human level, commodity, land and urbanism. He reminds us of the intertwined nature of the financial and political worlds, and gives us an insight to a worrying prospect of "the party of Wall Street" continuing to take capital accumulation into dangerous, unregulated and mysterious realms.
In short, I have started reading for a 2nd time, and have just ordered a few more of his earlier books!
Harvey takes the economic discussion away from mathematical theory and fictions, and brings it back down to the human level, commodity, land and urbanism. He reminds us of the intertwined nature of the financial and political worlds, and gives us an insight to a worrying prospect of "the party of Wall Street" continuing to take capital accumulation into dangerous, unregulated and mysterious realms.
In short, I have started reading for a 2nd time, and have just ordered a few more of his earlier books!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Enigma of Capital
Brilliant book.....only one flaw and that is how capital has a gross effect on the relationship with Nature. Read more
Published 18 days ago by steve deeming
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David Harvey analyzes thoroughly capitalism, neoliberalism and the latest financial tsunami. But, his solutions to solve the capitalist irrationalities are partly very... Read more
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A timely, assessable and necessary introduction to a fuller...
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OK, maybe it's just me, but I found this book very confusing and not very well laid out. The first bit, in which he outlines the current financial crisis is good and... Read more
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At Last, A Solid Critique From The Left
One would think that with the economic crisis of 2007, the publication of fresh left-wing critiques of the current state of capitalism would have been on the rise. Read more
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