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drakken's review
4.0
A very accessible, relatively short primer on the (ever more glaring) problems inherent in capitalism, the importance of labor organizing, and some brief thoughts on where we might go from here.
I appreciated that for Chibber the solution wasnât as simple as âsocialism!â; he came off as realistic and clear-eyed about the shortcomings of certain implementations of the above and the need to thoughtfully transition from the current system, even while wanting to head more in that direction, which I found refreshing. Similarly, he touched on some of the weaknesses present in how the U.S. Left approaches organizing, the rampant moralizing and opining on identity politics without actually affecting change, and so on.
I did wish he had spent time in the final chapter analyzing and drawing lessons from the Nordic social democracies or âinteresting experiments with workersâ control in some Soviet satellitesâ he alluded to; alas, the book ended quite suddenly without really diving into either of those.
One other (minor) quibble would be that the material felt repetitive at times, though this admittedly could be helpful for someone to whom all of this was new.
All in all, a worthwhile read, especially considering its brevity.
I appreciated that for Chibber the solution wasnât as simple as âsocialism!â; he came off as realistic and clear-eyed about the shortcomings of certain implementations of the above and the need to thoughtfully transition from the current system, even while wanting to head more in that direction, which I found refreshing. Similarly, he touched on some of the weaknesses present in how the U.S. Left approaches organizing, the rampant moralizing and opining on identity politics without actually affecting change, and so on.
I did wish he had spent time in the final chapter analyzing and drawing lessons from the Nordic social democracies or âinteresting experiments with workersâ control in some Soviet satellitesâ he alluded to; alas, the book ended quite suddenly without really diving into either of those.
One other (minor) quibble would be that the material felt repetitive at times, though this admittedly could be helpful for someone to whom all of this was new.
All in all, a worthwhile read, especially considering its brevity.
themorsecode's review against another edition
4.0
Short primer on Capitalism and its deep roots into the state apparatus. Chibber distills some complex theory into a very readable and understandable text, and makes for timely reading with the current strikes and energy/water crises in the UK. The final chapter was a little weak on potential next steps, and got a little bogged down in the USSR, but a good book in all - the kind of thing I wished I had available to me 20 years ago.
vampfang's review
3.0
the first chapter is basically a summary of capital, the second is how capitalism and the state work together in present-day us which i thought was pretty good, the third talks about the importance of worker solidarity in perhaps more detail than necessary and implies that achieving economic equality is more important than racial or gender equality, and the fourth claims to offer alternatives yet really doesn’t
shawcrit's review
4.0
This achieves what it sets out to do by providing an accessible, introductory text explaining capitalism, labour politics, and routes to resisting capitalism grounded in Marxist theory and labour organizing. As Chibber points to in the preface, this feels like a pamphlet that would be an excellent resource for people new to labour activism, or a great teaching tool for people curious but intimidated by a lot of very academic left texts. I love Chibber's conversational tone and accessible writing style and I wish more academics wrote in this way.
He also briefly touches on more recent debates around "identity politics" in a very clear yet nuanced way that I don't often see and that I appreciated greatly.
A recommended reading list in the back provides guidance if readers are interested in learning more.
Well done and highly recommended.
He also briefly touches on more recent debates around "identity politics" in a very clear yet nuanced way that I don't often see and that I appreciated greatly.
A recommended reading list in the back provides guidance if readers are interested in learning more.
Well done and highly recommended.