The State of Capitalism: Critical Reflections and Debate

The health emergency of 2020-21 confirmed the deep fault lines at the core of the world economy.

Growth is weak and globalisation of production has reached its limits. Financialisation is also past its peak, entering a new phase as ‘shadow banking’ has grown relative to commercial banks. Above all, the state has moved to the centre of economic activity.

The economic power of the state derives from its command over fiat money and its ability to issue vast amounts of debt. States can deliver enormous boosts to aggregate demand, but that is not enough to tackle the weakness of the productive sector. At the same time, the world economy has created fresh divisions of core and periphery, resulting in dangerous hegemonic contests over rules, institutions, and world money.

Join renowned economic sociologist Wolfgang Streeck, the former Head of Economic Policy for the Labour Party Mary Robertson, and the General Secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions Gawain Little to discuss these issues at the launch of Professor Costas Lapavitsas' new book The State of Capitalism, co-authored with the EReNSEP Writing Collective.

This seminar is part of the SOAS Economics Seminar Series - Autumn Term 2023.

Speaker

• Wolfgang Streeck (Emeritus Director of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne)
• Gawain Little (General Secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions)
• Mary Robertson (Former Head of Economic Policy for the Labour Party and Queen Mary University of London)
• Costas Lapavitsas (SOAS University of London)

Online streaming login

• Meeting ID: 904 957 1710
• Passcode: t9Bkt1rrMc

Picture: Jon Tyson via Unsplash.