The entropy of capitalism [electronic resource] / by Robert Biel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Biel, Robert, 1945-

Series:

Studies in critical social sciences ; v. 39.

Studies in critical social sciences, 1573-4234 ; v. 39

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Capitalism.

Marxian economics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (401 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The project of applying general systems theory to social sciences is crucial in today’s crisis when social and ecological systems clash. This book concretely demonstrates the necessity of a Marxist approach to this challenge, notably in asserting agency (struggle) as against determinism. It similarly shows how Marxism can be reinvigorated from a systems perspective. Drawing on his experience in both international systems and low-input agriculture, Biel explores the interaction of social and physical systems, using the conceptual tools of thermodynamics and information. He reveals the early twenty-first century as a period when capitalism starts parasitising on the chaos it itself creates, notably in the link between the two sides of imperialism: militarism (the ‘war on terror’) and speculative finance capital.

Contents:

Preliminary Material

Introduction

Understanding the Limits and Decay of the Capitalist Mode of Production

Capitalism as an Adaptive System

The ‘Systemic Turn’ in Capitalist Political Economy

The Era of Feedback from Entropy

Militarism and State Terrorism as a Response to Crisis

Organisation of the Twenty-First Century International System

Contradictions in the Contemporary Phase of Imperialist Governance, and the Forces for Change within It

References

Index of Names

Index of Subjects.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

1-283-31058-9

9786613310583

90-04-20429-6

OCLC:

758336000

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004204294 DOI