Capital and race : the history of a modern hydra / Sylvie Laurent ; translated by Ann Leroux.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Laurent, Sylvie, Author.

Contributor:

Leroux, Ann, Translator.

Standardized Title:

Capital et race. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Capitalism--Social aspects--United States.

Capitalism.

Capitalism--United States--History.

Racism--Economic aspects--United States.

Racism.

Racism--United States--History.

Imperialism--Social aspects--United States.

Imperialism.

Physical Description:

v, 330 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK : Polity Press, [2026]

Language Note:

Translated from the French.

Summary:

"1492: a year that captivated the world. Columbus's "discovery" of a new continent is widely remembered for revealing both the wonders of the earth and the unprecedented capacity of men to free themselves from boundaries. But the invention of America was actually a story untold: the consecration of a new relationship between nature and mankind, which saw capital and race unite irrevocably. Sylvie Laurent tells the story of racial capitalism as a "two-headed creature" forged by figures such as Daniel Defoe in Robinson Crusoe, Voltaire, Adam Smith, and Alexis de Tocqueville. Beneath these authors' fantasies of a free-market land of endless riches is the empire of racial capitalism. However powerful, this system has been identified and resisted by a long line of anti-colonial theorists, from Rosa Luxemburg to W. E. B. Du Bois. Against the backdrop of their thinking, and at a time when it is commonplace to oppose class struggles and racial demands, Laurent illuminates the rich and little-known intellectual tradition of overcoming the divide. It's about time, she argues, that Karl Marx and Martin Luther King Jr. get to talk to one another"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Reuniting Marx and Martin Luther King

Origins. The birth of America and the dawn of capitalist modernity

The origin of racial views

Institutions. The plantation

The academy

The multinationals

The colonial contract

Narratives. Robinson Crusoe, a parable of racial capitalism

Emancipation through trade

Praxis. The civilizing mission of capitalism

The rehabilitation of imperialism

The fundamental structures of racial capitalism

Epilogue: Territories.

Notes:

Translation of: Capital et race: histoire d'une hydre moderne. First published in 2024.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-317) and index.

ISBN:

9781509571901

1509571906

OCLC:

1537912204