A Marxist History of Capitalism, 1st Edition
by Henry Heller (Author)

About the Author
Henry Heller is Professor of History at the University of Manitoba, Canada.

About this book
Henry Heller’s short account of the history of capitalism combines Marx’s economic and political thought with contemporary scholarship to shed light on the current capitalist crisis. It argues that capitalism is an evolving mode of production that has now outgrown its institutional and political limits.
The book provides an overview of the different historical stages of capitalism, underpinned by accessible discussions of its theoretical foundations. Heller shows that capitalism has always been a double-edged sword, on one hand advancing humanity, and on the other harming traditional societies and our natural environment. He makes the case that capitalism has now become self-destructive, and that our current era of neoliberalism may trigger a transition to a democratic and ecologically aware form of socialism.

Table of contents
Introduction
    The Accumulation of Capital
    The Rise of the Working Class
    Class War
    The Working Class Now
    Wage Labour, Slavery and Serfdom
    Absolute and Relative Exploitation
    Against Brenner
    Eurocentrism Opposed
    Capitalism and Revolution
    The Current Crisis
    Note
    Bibliography
1. Merchant Capitalism
    Introduction
    Beginnings
    Consumption Versus Accumulation
    Late Medieval Crisis
    Primitive Accumulation
    Free Labour
    The World Market
    Uneven Development
    Merchant Capitalism (1500–1760)
    State and Capitalism
    Religion, Sexuality and Family
    Early Modern Revolutions
    Uneven Development
    Colonialism
    Nature Insulted
    Popular Revolts
    Bibliography
2. The Political Economy of Capitalist Transition
    Brenner’s Achievement
    The Positivism of Brenner
    Continental Capitalism
    Global Perspectives
    Money
    Note
    Bibliography
3. Ascendant Capitalism (1789–1980)
    The French Revolution
    Slavery
    Anti-Slavery
    The Industrial Revolution and the Making of the Working Class
    Revolutions
    Marx
    Capitalism in its Maturity
    Monopoly Capitalism
    World Wars 1914–45
    World War II (1939–45)
    Post-45 Class Compromise
    Global Class Struggle (1959–80)
    Neoliberalism
    Note
    Bibliography
4. Neoliberalism (1980–2018)
    Neoliberalism in Theory
    Globalization of Finance
    The Global Ruling Class and the State
    The New Regime: Winners and Losers
    Instability and Inequality
    The Crisis of 2008
    Capitalism in Crisis
    Imperialist Rivalry
    Ruling Class Strategies
    Stagnation
    General Crisis
    Breakdown
    Alienation
    Decline
    Bibliography
5. Towards Socialism
    Revolution
    Revolutionary Possibilities
    The Crisis this Time
    The Meaning of Trump
    Imagining Revolution
    The End of Capitalist growth
    The Socialist Economy
    Workplace Democracy
    Socialist Environmentalism
    Running on Empty
    Planning the Population
    The Built Environment Transformed
    The Peasantry Restored
    The Case for Market Socialism
    The Limits of the Market
    The Information Problem
    The General Intellect
    The Return of Lenin
    Bibliography
Index

Length: 158 pages
Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (August 1, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1138495875
ISBN-13: 978-1138495876