What I am Working on Now

I am currently writing a book entitled Conceptualizing Capitalism. The provisional chapter listing is as follows:

The Great Financial Crash of 2008 and the subsequent global crisis have led many people to question the viability of capitalism, or at least to consider major reforms to its financial and corporate institutions. Nonetheless, spectacular economic growth in China and India since 1980 have clearly revealed the potential dynamism of markets and private enterprise, albeit with strategic guidance by governments. We need to understand the nature of capitalism, the sources of its dynamism, and its frailties.

Readers looking here for an ideological tract, either for or against capitalism, will be disappointed. Although I consider the future of capitalism near the end of this volume, my main purpose is to understand the nature of the beast, and to establish some conceptual tools needed to reveal its inner structure and dynamics. But along the way I shall argue that some mix of market competition and state power is unavoidable in any complex modern economy, thus disappointing advocates of both pure markets and wholesale planning.

There are many books on capitalism: so what is added here? First I take a position that is different from both Marxism and pro-market libertarianism. This is apparent in my overall analytical approach, including my assessment of the constitutive role of law and the state within capitalism, my treatment of the concept of capital, and in my appraisal of post-capitalist possibilities.

The primary aim of this work is to understand capitalism. It is hoped that this book will add to our understanding of the nature of capitalism and also make a methodological contribution that will help move enquiry forward in a number of areas.