Extractive Capitalism
How Commodities and Cronyism Drive the Global Economy
Published on 26. August 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
208 pages
978-1-83674-028-5 (ISBN)
Description
Laleh Khalili reflects on the hidden stories behind late capitalism, from seafarers abandoned on debt-ridden container ships to the nefarious reach of consultancy firms and the cronyism that drives record-breaking profits. Piercing, wry, and constantly revealing, Extractive Capitalism brings vividly to light the dark truths behind the world's most voracious industries.
Whether it is pumping oil, mining resources, or shipping commodities across oceans, the global economy runs on extraction. Promises of frictionless trade and lucrative speculation are the hallmarks of our era, but the backbone of globalization is still low-cost labor and rapacious corporate control. Extractive capitalism is what made-and what maintains-our unequal world.
Whether it is pumping oil, mining resources, or shipping commodities across oceans, the global economy runs on extraction. Promises of frictionless trade and lucrative speculation are the hallmarks of our era, but the backbone of globalization is still low-cost labor and rapacious corporate control. Extractive capitalism is what made-and what maintains-our unequal world.
Reviews / Votes
Profound and compelling . A book that I couldn't put down. -- Adam Hanieh, author of <i>Crude Capitalism</i> A brilliant explainer of how the world works. -- Simon Kuper, <i>Financial Times</i> columnist and author of <i>Impossible City</i>More details
Edition
Paperback original
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
190 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83674-028-5 (9781836740285)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Laleh Khalili teaches at the University of Exeter, United Kingdom. She has written on globalization, capital, and neocolonialism, contributing regularly to the London Review of Books. She has also worked as a consultant and engineer. Her books include Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula, Heroes and Martyrs of Palestine: The Politics of National Commemoration, and The Corporeal Life of Seafaring.