
Debt as Power
Debt as a Technology of Power
Bloomsbury Academic (Publisher)
Book
Paperback/Softback
216 pages
978-1-4725-8486-1 (ISBN)
Description
Debt as Power is a timely and innovative contribution to our understanding of one of the most prescient issues of our time: the explosion of debt across the global economy and related requirement of political leaders to pursue exponential growth to meet the demands of creditors and investors. The book is distinctive in offering a historically sensitive and comprehensive analysis of debt as an interconnected and global phenomenon. Rather than focusing on the historical emergence of debt as a moral obligation, the authors argue that debt under capitalism can be conceived of as a technology of power, intimately tied up with the requirement for perpetual growth and the differential capitalization that benefits 'the 1%'. Their account begins with the recognition that the histories of human communities and their natural environment are interconnected in complex spatial and hierarchical relations of power and to understand their development we need to not only examine the particularities of a given case, but more importantly their interconnected, interdependent and international relations.
Since debt under capitalism is increasingly ubiquitous at all levels of society and economic growth is now the sole mantra of dominant political parties around the world, the authors argue that tracing the evolution and transformation of debt as a technology of power is crucial for understanding the 'present as history' and possible alternatives to our current trajectory.
Since debt under capitalism is increasingly ubiquitous at all levels of society and economic growth is now the sole mantra of dominant political parties around the world, the authors argue that tracing the evolution and transformation of debt as a technology of power is crucial for understanding the 'present as history' and possible alternatives to our current trajectory.
Reviews / Votes
This is economic anthropology at its best - relevant, sophisticated, and readable. The authors brilliantly show how debt has been the essential glue that holds the world economic system together, an instrument that spreads untold misery and modern forms of slavery, to the continuing benefit of creditors. A powerful anthropological answer to Piketty's "Capital in the 21st Century," Debt as Power is a clear-eyed and thoroughly original dissection of capitalism, an essential guide to understanding how today's world works. This is an important book, a comprehensive and sensible guide to our economic future. Richard Wilks, Distinguished Professor, Indiana University, USA This book is a crucial introduction to the phenomenon of debt, and should be part of a standard issue survival kit for young people around the world. Those of us already in debt may also yet benefit from its insights. Debt, argue Di Muzio and Robbins, is more than an economic and social debacle: it is a technique of government for disciplining and managing people and the environment. At the same time, however, the individuation of the power to make money, by taking on debt, increasingly puts the world economy in the hands of everyday people. The realization of this power, Di Muzio and Robbins conclude, could be the key to a more equitable and ecologically sane future. Forget Foucault? I think not! James Igoe, Associate Professor at the University of Virginia, USA Meticulously researched and clearly exposited, Debt as Power makes a most convincing case that modern capitalism must be explained as political economy. An indispensible companion to understanding contemporary world affairs. Martin Weber, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Queensland, AustraliaMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
1 b/w illustration
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 138 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-4725-8486-1 (9781472584861)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Richard H. Robbins is Distinguished Teaching Professor in Anthropology at Plattsburg State University of New York, USA Tim Di Muzio is Senior Lecturer in the School of Law, Humanities and the Arts at the University of Wollongong, Australia
Content
Introduction: Towards a Stark Utopia Origins: War, National Debt and the Capitalist State Intensification: War, Debt and Colonial Power Consequences: Exponential Growth, Magic Money and Austerity What Is To Be Done? Bibliography Index