Consequences of Capitalism

Consequences of Capitalism

Manufacturing Discontent and Resistance

Summary

An essential primer on capitalism, politics and how the world works, based on the hugely popular undergraduate lecture series 'What is Politics?'


Is there an alternative to capitalism? In this landmark text Chomsky and Waterstone chart a critical map for a more just and sustainable society.

'Covid-19 has revealed glaring failures and monstrous brutalities in the current capitalist system. It represents both a crisis and an opportunity. Everything depends on the actions that people take into their own hands.'

How does politics shape our world, our lives and our perceptions? How much of 'common sense' is actually driven by the ruling classes' needs and interests? And how are we to challenge the capitalist structures that now threaten all life on the planet?

Consequences of Capitalism exposes the deep, often unseen connections between neoliberal 'common sense' and structural power. In making these linkages, we see how the current hegemony keeps social justice movements divided and marginalized. And, most importantly, we see how we can fight to overcome these divisions.

Reviews

  • Noam Chomsky is indispensable. Just as it is impossible to imagine appreciating the dramatic arts without learning Shakespeare, or loving jazz trumpet without an appreciation of Louis Armstrong, it is inconceivable that one might study contemporary political thought without reading Chomsky
    Los Angeles Review of Books

About the authors

Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky is a political theorist, activist and linguist. Chomsky is internationally recognised as one of the most critically engaged public intellectuals alive today. He is the author of numerous bestselling political works, which have been translated into scores of languages worldwide. Among the books are Optimism Over Despair, On Palestine, The Precipice, Chronicles of Dissent, On Anarchism and Hegemony or Survival.
Learn More

Marv Waterstone

Marvin Waterstone is Professor Emeritus in the School of Geography and Development at the
University of Arizona, where he has been a faculty member for over 30 years. He is also the former
director of the University of Arizona Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Comparative Cultural and Literary Studies. His research and teaching focus on the Gramscian notions of hegemony and common sense, and their connections to social justice and progressive social change. His most recent books are Wageless Life (co-authored with Ian Shaw) and Geographic Thought (co-edited with George Henderson).
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more