David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles
87 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 530 ratingsDavid Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles is a bi-weekly podcast that looks at capitalism through a Marxist lens. Support the show on Patreon and get early access to episodes and more: https://www.patreon.com/davidharveyacc
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Episodes
Marx’s Historical Materialism
October 06, 2022 20:00 - 29 minutes - 67.4 MBIn this episode of Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey uses Marx’s theory of historical materialism as a means of tackling large societal problems such as climate change. Marx asserts that there are seven distinctive aspects of society which coexist and coevolve in relation to one another. These elements—technology, relationship to nature, labor process of production, reproduction of labor power, mental conceptions of the world, structure of state, and social relations—make up the total...
Beyond Reorganization of Production
September 22, 2022 20:00 - 24 minutes - 55.7 MBIn this episode of Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey considers a looming question: is capitalism too big to fail? He speculates on what approaches may lead to a successful socialist alternative. Is it a reorganization of the productive forces? Or redistribution of wealth? Or both?
Facing the Stick of Dynamite in the Ukraine-Russian Conflict
September 08, 2022 20:00 - 23 minutes - 54.4 MBIn this episode of Anti-Capitalist Chronicles (ACC), Prof. Harvey reflects on the current Ukraine-Russia conflict and shares his conflicting feelings about the ongoing war.
Capital's Double Consciousness
July 28, 2022 20:00 - 27 minutes - 62.9 MBIn this episode of Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey continues his discussion of Brad DeLong’s new book, "Slouching Towards Utopia," in which DeLong notes the contradiction between an emerging middle class over the last century through technological innovation and stagnant levels of happiness. To explain this dilemma, Harvey looks closer at how these technological advancements shape labor and function under capitalism. He argues that the purpose was never to lighten the load of labor,...
Shifts in World Hegemony
July 14, 2022 20:00 - 35 minutes - 80.8 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey discusses the new book by Brad Delong, “Slouching Toward Utopia,” which aims to explain the massive creation of wealth over the last 150 years for the upper and middle class, its effect on the world order and why it’s failed to deliver an increasing sense of happiness among that top 50%. Harvey takes us through the history of the various world powers, from Italian city-states to the rise of the US as the global hegemon and the present shift in power that ...
Inequality, Ricardian Socialism, and Real Solutions
June 30, 2022 20:00 - 44 minutes - 102 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey warns that the endless accumulation of capital in a variety of sectors is putting tremendous pressure on our economy, our world, and our very existence. Signs of economic growth—the rising mass of value; centralization of wealth and power in the hands of a small minority; the concentration of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere leading to serious climate and biological disruptions; the growing output of plastics; cement production in China; and airline t...
Path Dependency, Ukraine, and Nuclear War
June 16, 2022 20:00 - 36 minutes - 83.4 MBIn this episode of Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey explores how geopolitical conflicts escalate into war, both historically and today with the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Harvey looks at NATO’s role in escalating this crisis, lessons to be learned from the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, and the looming possibility of nuclear war and its global impact. Mutually assured destruction will continue to be a threat until the West and NATO decide to de-escalate, demilitarize, and negotiate ra...
The Evolution of Capitalism
June 02, 2022 20:00 - 42 minutes - 96.4 MBIn this episode of Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey offers his perspective on two questions being debated in leftist circles: are we entering a new kind of capitalism? Is the current capitalism a type of new feudalism? In order to approach these questions, Harvey looks to capitalism’s past and present—at the rentier class, evolving roles and relationships between industrial, market, and finance capitalists, the creation of the stock market, monopsonies, and more. Capitalism is in cons...
Freedom, Necessity and Anti-Capitalism
May 19, 2022 20:00 - 34 minutes - 78.1 MBIn this episode of Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey points to some hopeful changes in the political landscape of various countries: Columbia, Peru, Brazil, France. Drawing a parallel from Marx's argument of the 10-hour work day as a first step, he argues that, given the current US conditions, an anti-capitalist agenda should perhaps shift its focus to small, incremental changes and begin to mobilize around important issues like the right to decent housing, a decent wage.
US Labor - Supply vs. Demand
May 05, 2022 20:00 - 27 minutes - 63.5 MBIn this episode of Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey looks at the conditions of labor in the US today: the supply and demand as well as the characteristics capital requires from its labor force. If those characteristics are not met, Harvey explains, or can be met for a cheaper wage, capitalists will often seek it out in other countries. This parasitic nature results in an underinvestment and underdevelopment of resources such as health care and education for the domestic workforce. In...
Inflation and Class Struggle
April 21, 2022 20:00 - 32 minutes - 75.1 MBIn this episode of Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey examines the current US inflationary crisis and suggests that its cause goes beyond the mainstream explanation of supply and demand. He argues that the crisis has been engineered by capital in an effort to protect profits, weaken the power of labor and discipline social movements. Harvey looks back at the inflation of the 1960s and the 1970s and the relationship that existed between wage rate, profit rate and inflation rate. He pred...
Capitalist Growth and Finite Resources
April 07, 2022 20:00 - 22 minutes - 50.6 MBIn this episode of Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey talks about the ever rising mass - the rising quantity of money, debt, GDP, military expenditures, greenhouse gas emissions, plastic waste, etc. - and asks what are the qualitative transformations and the costs of the ever expanding mass. He cautions that the degree of expansion needed to revive capital to its pre-pandemic levels is not sustainable given the finite resources of our planet and a capitalist economy with its endless dr...
War - Who Benefits From It?
March 24, 2022 20:00 - 32 minutes - 74.6 MB“The one sector of government that doesn’t experience austerity is the military budget.” In this episode of Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey looks at the role of military expenditures in contemporary capitalism in the US and how it affects the rest of the world. From WWII to the Cold War, to the Iraq War, to the current Russian War on Ukraine, the US has consistently found ways to justify expanding the military budget, while shrinking almost every other government sector. But who ben...
When Technology Becomes A Business…
March 10, 2022 21:00 - 30 minutes - 69.6 MBTechnology has become the largest industry in the world. In this episode of Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey picks up where he left off from the previous episode to further explore the implications of technology as a business. To do this, Harvey looks closely at Apple as an example—the labor conditions in China, where the product value actually comes from, and the differences in profit rates between the company itself and the production companies further down the supply chain. As the...
Technological Dynamism
February 24, 2022 21:00 - 44 minutes - 101 MBTechnological dynamism comes in various forms: the organizational form, used to improve social productivity, such as the just in time system implemented by the automobile industry; the software of production which centers around keeping employees happy and motivated; and the hardware of technological change, via machinery and equipment. Technological change is driven by the coercive laws of competition between individual capitalists. However, Harvey points out that it is also increasingly dr...
How do we Break from Neo-Liberalism?
December 16, 2021 21:00 - 35 minutes - 80.6 MBIn this final episode of Season 3, Prof. Harvey talks about the history of Neo-Liberalism and how it relates to post-modernism. Trump's imposition of what is the truth, with his notion of alternative facts, is in many ways, a triumph of post-modernity. Harvey underscores the importance of exposing the activities of the ruling class, who are really behind Neo-liberal ideas and policies and conveniently remain dissociated from them in a concerted effort to protect their wealth and power.
Monopolistic Competition
December 02, 2021 21:00 - 32 minutes - 73.8 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey speaks about monopolistic competition and its impact on market pricing and location. All monopolistic competition is spacial competition that creates a highly unstable economy and has a tendency to produce conglomerations in rich locations.
The Coercive Laws of Competition
November 18, 2021 21:00 - 38 minutes - 87.5 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey examines 2 schools of thought within the Marxist tradition, one that focuses on the falling rate of profit, and the other that explores the rising mass. Harvey argues that both schools miss an important contradiction that separates each of them from the other: the role of competition. The coercive laws of competition are crucial for both falling rate of profit and rising mass. He explains why.
Capital in the Attic
November 04, 2021 20:00 - 33 minutes - 76.9 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey talks about the real players in our capitalist society who operate outside of the market system and are accumulating massive amounts of wealth. Players like Carlos Slim, the Koch brothers, Stephen A. Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone, reside in the "attic," where Harvey argues real wealth and real power are being assembled.
The Education of an Educator
October 21, 2021 20:00 - 25 minutes - 59.5 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey talks about what inspired and motivated him both personally and professionally. He quotes the poem "Burnt Norton" by T.S. Elliot.
Chinese Property Markets & Affordable Housing
October 07, 2021 20:00 - 23 minutes - 54.1 MBIn the episode of ACC, Prof. David Harvey talks about the crisis of affordable housing on a global level, with particular emphasis on China and the US. Harvey argues that providing affordable housing for people cannot be accomplished by the private sector as it conflicts with the capitalist profit motive, and it therefore requires an anti-capitalist approach.
Whither China?
September 23, 2021 20:00 - 29 minutes - 68.6 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey examines what is happening in China today, the many changes taking place within (the formation of a billionaire class, uneven geographical development between metropolitan cities and rural areas, a cultural revolution), and highlights its impact on and relationship to the global economy.
The Primary Abstractions of Capital
September 09, 2021 20:00 - 29 minutes - 67.1 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey discusses some of the contradictions that Marx uncovered as he examined the abstractions of capital. He explores the contradiction between the rate of change and the mass of value, and the crises that emerge from the two. The crisis of housing, Harvey suggests, is one such example.
How Are We "Ruled by Abstractions?"
August 26, 2021 20:00 - 39 minutes - 90.5 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey examines Marx’s use of the notion of abstractions to develop a general theory of capital and his critique of capitalism. Harvey identifies different levels of abstraction used by Marx: scale, perspective of production, perspective of circulation and distribution and the contradictions that exist between production and circulation. Marx, Harvey asserts, also differentiates between the concrete abstractions of a capitalist system, such as price of commoditi...
The Monopolization of Everything
July 29, 2021 20:00 - 30 minutes - 69.5 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey asserts that capital is becoming ever more centralized. The monopolization of power is inevitable in capitalism. However, according to Harvey, there are significant barriers to the continuity of capital accumulation. People are growing dissatisfied with the current economic conditions, a political system does not work for the benefit of the population, and are more and more at odds with the ruling ideas. We have a crisis of ideology, a crisis of economy, ...
The Ruling Ideas of a Billionaire Class
July 15, 2021 20:00 - 42 minutes - 96.8 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey contends that what we are experiencing is the raw exercise of ruling class power in ruling ways. He references Marx's Grundrisse to help understand how ideas are born and the impact they have on society. Specifically, he talks about the ideas of the ruling elites, how those ideas became part of the culture, and were used by the ruling class to seize back control and wealth from the labor movement. The ruling class is as dedicated as it always has been to ...
The Urbanization of China
July 01, 2021 20:00 - 30 minutes - 70.2 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey argues that the circulation of interest-bearing capital and financialization, both necessary for the disposal of surplus capital and surplus value, are implicated in the acceleration of turnover time, especially in areas like tourism that have become dependent on "mindless urbanization." He points to China as a leading example.
Dumping Surplus Capital
June 17, 2021 20:00 - 43 minutes - 99 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey talks about the changing dynamics of capital accumulation since Marx's analysis in the Grundrisse. The disempowerment of workers as part of the Neoliberal strategy of the 1980s to the present day, led to declining wages and standard of living for workers, but an increase in surplus capital and wealth for corporation and wealthy elites. Military expenditures (military Keynesianism) and fixed capital - what Harvey calls "mindless urbanization"- become sinks...
The Politics of Austerity of the 70s and 80s
June 03, 2021 20:00 - 39 minutes - 91.4 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey talks about the birth of the neoliberalism following the crisis of the 1970s. The vast government spending of the 1960s was replaced with fierce austerity measures imposed on the population, in an effort to bail out corporations and enable the wealthy elites to regain power and control. The neoliberal era was ushered in by political leaders like Reagan and Thatcher, who saw labor and high wages as a real threat to the capitalist class.
The Legitimation Crisis of the late 1960s
May 20, 2021 12:00 - 51 minutes - 118 MBIn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey takes us through the political agitations that occurred in the US in the 1960s. The various social movements, the Civil Rights movement, the student movement, the labor movement, the women's movement and the anti-war movement challenged capitalism and corporate power, and questioned the legitimacy of the government. The anti-capitalist and anti-corporate sentiments that emerged prompted a counter-attack by the big monopoly companies who saw their power an...
Keynesianism of the 1960s
May 06, 2021 12:00 - 38 minutes - 88.3 MBIn this part 4 of 4, Prof. Harvey talks about the economic evolution of the 1960s and the suburbanization of America. To establish and secure its position as the global leader, the US invested heavily in the military guided by Keynesian policies of deficit spending. The military-industrial complex came out of the post-war period in an effort to keep up with the Soviet Union's militarization and protect the world from the spread of Communism. The suppression of socialism at home was supplemen...
Absolute Contradictions of the Post-War Era
April 22, 2021 12:00 - 46 minutes - 108 MBOn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey applies Marx's theory of absolute contradictions to the post-war period. He draws parallels with 1860s France under Bonaparte's rule and the pressures that led to his demise. The post-war boom facilitated by Roosevelt's centralized planning and production led to the rise of left-wing groups and ideals that began to threaten the very survival of capitalism. The crisis created by this contradiction led to the systematic repression of socialist ideologies wh...
The Golden Age of Post-War Capital
April 08, 2021 12:00 - 45 minutes - 105 MBIn this part 2 of the 4-part series, Prof. Harvey examines the development of capital in the period after WW2 through the 1970s, made possible through the repression of left-wing ideologies and an economic development model that promoted a certain kind of lifestyle for white privileged workers. Harvey argues that the Bretton Woods agreement, the policies of expansion of demand through debt financing of the suburbs, and the debt financing of the reconstruction of Japanese, German and European...
How Capital Evolves
March 25, 2021 04:00 - 40 minutes - 91.9 MBThis episode is part 1 of a 4-part series. Prof. Harvey explores the evolution of capital throughout history and examines the shifts to finance from commodity production and trade, and the transfer of power that followed. He draws from Marx, Fernand Braudel and Italian sociologist Giovanni Arrighi to look critically at shifting hegemonies, shifting centers and structures of domination, the rise of neoliberalism and the current crisis.
China's Economic Rise - Part 2
March 11, 2021 05:00 - 20 minutes - 46.3 MBThis episode is part 2 of 2. It is a compilation of Prof. Harvey's 3 most popular shows on the People's Republic of China. Harvey explains the rise and significance of China as an economic power and the growing tension with the US.
China's Economic Rise - Part 1
February 25, 2021 05:00 - 19 minutes - 44.3 MBThis part 1 of 2 episodes is a compilation of 3 of Prof. Harvey's most popular shows. Harvey explains the rise and significance of China as an economic power and the growing tension with the US.
Science and Authority
December 03, 2020 05:00 - 27 minutes - 62.7 MBOn this episode of David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof, Harvey argues that what is being done politically to deal with the propagation of the virus excludes the social circumstances in which propagation of the virus occurs. There is a long history of rule by experts, scientists who are supported by state apparatuses. Their solutions are flawed because they do not take into account the totality of the social and economic circumstances of the populations affected.
The U.S. Presidential Election
November 19, 2020 05:00 - 30 minutes - 69.5 MBOn this episode of David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof, Harvey presents his analysis of the 2020 U.S. elections.
The Essence of a Capitalist Society
November 05, 2020 05:00 - 38 minutes - 87.5 MBOn this episode of David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof, Harvey argues that the transformation of the productive forces under capitalism require major adjustments in thinking. He believes that much can be learned from China and repurposed to gain a much more sophisticated understanding of how to manage capital in its dying days and work towards the creation of a communist future.
Why Marx's Grundrisse is Relevant Today
October 22, 2020 04:00 - 40 minutes - 92.7 MBOn this episode of David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey discusses two important and somewhat contrasting passages of Marx's Grundrisse and the important insights about the present and future we can draw from them. While on the one hand Marx acknowledges that capital has had a civilizing influence, brought about innovations, it also is responsible for universal alienation, suicides, misery, inequality and capital accumulation.
Stock Market Booms While Americans Face Economic Disaster
October 08, 2020 04:00 - 25 minutes - 58.6 MBOn this episode of David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey talks about the economic uncertainty Americans are experiencing: job loss, indebtedness, inflation. The stock market is flourishing, but only the top 10-20% of the US population have investments and are benefitting from the boom. The majority of Americans are left with little to no support and very little access to food and basic services. Harvey predicts the situation will worsen in the next months. Washington's poli...
Economic Uncertainty and Moral Imperative
September 24, 2020 04:00 - 26 minutes - 61.8 MBOn this first episode of Season 3, Prof. Harvey argues that the economic and social consequences of COVID-19 have most seriously impacted the bottom 10-20% of the population. The crises of housing, public health, education is further deepening the inequalities. He contends that a redistribution of wealth from the top 10-20% to the bottom 10-20% to improve basic living standards will be needed and is our moral imperative.
The Working Person as Political Subject
July 23, 2020 04:00 - 35 minutes - 81.3 MBOn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey continues his analysis of this circulation of value-creating capacity within a capitalist system. He tackles the question of how political consciousness and political subjectivity emerge and form.
The Buying and Selling of Labour Capacity
July 09, 2020 04:00 - 31 minutes - 71.7 MBOn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey looks at the ways in which the various processes at work within a capitalist mode of production intersect and interact with one another. In particular, he examines the circuit which delivers labor power to the capitalist producers who will use it to create a surplus value and generate profits.
Race and Class
June 25, 2020 04:00 - 32 minutes - 75.1 MBOn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey talks about the integration of race and class. He argues that wealthy elites in the US have weaponized white racism to gain political power and amass excessive wealth. He believes we are living through a key moment in history where real change is possible. Integrating class and race will be an important and powerful driver of change.
Pandemic, Protests and Economic Disaster
June 11, 2020 04:00 - 37 minutes - 84.8 MBOn this episode of ACC, Prof. Harvey talks about the recent events in Minneapolis, the assassination of George Floyd, the coronavirus and the fragile state of the US economy. What we have, her argues, is a collision of forces that require a response.
The Evolutionary Concept of Totality - Part 2
May 28, 2020 04:00 - 27 minutes - 63 MBIn this part 2 of 2, Prof. Harvey continues his talk about the totality of our capitalist economy. He contends that totality is not something that pre-exists, that can be uncovered through investigation. Rather it is something that is created through human activities and therefore is constantly evolving.
The Evolutionary Concept of Totality
May 14, 2020 04:00 - 29 minutes - 67.8 MBIn this episode, Prof. Harvey talks about the totality of our capitalist economy. He contends that totality is not something that pre-exists, that can be uncovered through investigation. Rather it is something that is created through human activities and therefore is constantly evolving.
Revolutionary Transformation Requires a Collective Response
April 30, 2020 12:00 - 27 minutes - 63.3 MBIn this episode, Prof. Harvey argues that we cannot survive this viral crisis without a radical reconfiguration of the social and institutional arrangements. Any revolutionary transformation of society has to operate across all dimensions: technology, relation to nature, social relations, production apparatuses, social reproduction, institutional arrangements, State apparatuses and mental conceptions.
Collective Form of Action
April 16, 2020 12:00 - 28 minutes - 65 MBIn this episode, Prof. Harvey argues that this crisis has afforded us an opportunity for significant change. With so many people out of work, freed up from producing wealth for the capitalist class, instead of hoping that things go back to normal, and people return to the low-paying, exploitative jobs, that we give serious thought to reorganizing our society and work to create something radically different.