Bichler, Shimshon, and Jonathan Nitzan. 2009. Capital as Power: Toward a
New Cosmology of Capitalism. Paper read at New Marxian Times, The
Seventh International Rethinking Marxism Conference, November 5-8,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
ABSTRACT
As Marx tells us, the capitalist regime is inextricably bound up with
its theories and ideologies. These theories and ideologies, first
articulated by classical political economy, are much more than a passive
attempt to explain, justify and critique the so-called "economic
system." Instead, they constitute an entire cosmology: a system of
thinking that is both active and totalizing.
In ancient Greek, kosmeo has an active connotation: it means "to order"
and "to organize," and political economy does precisely that. It
explains, justifies and critiques the world, but it also actively makes
this world in the first place. And it pertains not to the narrow
"economy" as such, but to the entire social order, as well as to the
natural universe in which this social order is embedded.
The presentation outlines an alternative cosmology – the beginning of a
totally different framework for understanding capitalism. It starts by
spelling out the hallmarks of the present capitalist cosmology. It
continues by enumerating the reasons why, over the past century, this
cosmology gradually disintegrated to the point of being unable to
understand and recreate its world. And it concludes by articulating key
themes of our own approach to capitalism: the theory of "capital as power."
VIDEO, AUDIO AND FULL TEXT: http://bnarchives.yorku.ca/274/
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Jonathan Nitzan
Political Science
York University
4700 Keele St.
Toronto, Ontario, M3J-1P3
Canada
Voice: (416) 736-2100, ext. 88822
Fax: (416) 736-5686
Email: nitzan at yorku.ca
Website: http://bnarchives.net
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