Capitalism and Its Alternatives

The Global Economic Crisis has catalysed debates about the merits of capitalism as a system for organising production, distribution, and exchange. Political elites have claimed that Capitalism is not a fundamentally pernicious or crisis prone system, and can be successfully reformed if the right set of policies are found. Conversely many have argued a wholesale change of attitude towards the status and creation of wealth in contemporary society is required if a cycle of crises are to be prevented in the future.

In Capitalism and Its Alternatives, Chris Rogers provides a critical introduction to theories of capitalism, the forms of its crises in historical and contemporary contexts, as well as reflecting on the practice of anti-capitalism and the ways that economic and social relations are shaped, reshaped and resisted. Crucially, the book puts forward two key questions: What alternatives to capitalism exist? And by what processes and through what institutions might they be achieved?

Chris Rogers is Lecturer in Politics at the University of York. His first book, The IMF and European Economies: Crisis and Conditionality, was published in 2012. Chris is currently working on a research project on the political economy of mutual organization.

Introduction: Capitalism and Its Alternatives
1. Four Faces of Capitalism
2. Capitalism and Its Crises
3. Alternatives to Capitalism
4. Anti-Capitalism
Conclusions: From here to there?