In and out of Crisis Book Party

In the grip of the most calamitous economic crisis since the Great Depression, many around the globe are increasingly wondering if another world is indeed possible. Few are mapping out potential avenues--and flagging wrong turns-- en route to a post-capitalist future. In their penetrating analysis of the meltdown Albo, Gindin and Panitch locate the roots of the crisis in the dynamic expansion of capital on a global scale over the last quarter century and in the inner logic of capitalism itself. In and Out of Crisis challenges the call by much of the Left for a return to a largely mythical Golden Age of economic regulation as a check on finance capital unbound. They argue that given the current balance of social forces -- as bank bailouts around the globe make evident-- regulation is not a means of fundamentally reordering power in society, but rather a way of preserving markets. Contrary to those who believe US hegemony is on the wane, Albo, Gindin and Panitch contend that the meltdown has reinforced the centrality of the American state as the dominant force within global capitalism, while simultaneously increasing the difficulties entailed in managing its imperial role. In conclusion, the authors argue that it's time to start thinking about genuinely transformative alternatives to capitalism and how to build the collective capacity to get us there.