I hope to read these books myself eventually. I must say the title ‘The Road to Serfdom’ ironically reminds me of was the left-wing economist Yanis Varafoukis fears is replacing capitalism - not communism but TechnoFeudalism, a form of serfdom in itself.
Yes, that's a risk as one thing to replace capitalism. I published one book, Speculations on Postcapitalism, and am about to publish another, What Is Postcapitalism? considering what could happen--though these are hopefully futuristic rather than dire. There's another interesting read by Peter Frase called Four Futures that surveys some possibilities. Surmising the future, of course, is a dangerous game, but it is also essential.
Me again! I’m reading and commenting in parts? Given your reading, when would you say capitalism begun? My son asked me exactly this the other day - and I would have guessed around the time of trading of African people to be enslaved workers in the New World economy. But that wasn’t a highly informed guess. What would you say after reading the book?
You are pretty close. Capitalism began in the English countryside roughly in the 16th century, and the first shipment of slaves to England was the middle of the same century. I haven't looked in detail and the underlying links in social and economic terms, but one can guess it would be a fruitful investigation.
“I learned much in those years, and much of that learning feeds me today in my small cabin in the woods.” Hope this is also something you’ll write about!
I would bet, like me, you hate the term ‘woke’ but in effect, reading Caste, was an ‘awakening.’ “there is no going back after reading this book.” In it’s original usage as a term, I think that’s what ‘woke’ meant - not to be fooled by the status quo or the official position of things.
I tried to get through Paul Mason’s Post Capitalism, but I got bogged down in the complexity and didn’t get back to it. Years later it’s bookmarked before the 50% mark
That makes sense to me. It becomes a heavy read. The most compelling part was, if I remember correctly, in that first half where he talks about how digitalization will make markets not function. Toward the end, he goes into "solutions" and things that are really cringe-worthy. Nonetheless, the central idea I took from it changed my perception of the future.
I hope to read these books myself eventually. I must say the title ‘The Road to Serfdom’ ironically reminds me of was the left-wing economist Yanis Varafoukis fears is replacing capitalism - not communism but TechnoFeudalism, a form of serfdom in itself.
Yes, that's a risk as one thing to replace capitalism. I published one book, Speculations on Postcapitalism, and am about to publish another, What Is Postcapitalism? considering what could happen--though these are hopefully futuristic rather than dire. There's another interesting read by Peter Frase called Four Futures that surveys some possibilities. Surmising the future, of course, is a dangerous game, but it is also essential.
Me again! I’m reading and commenting in parts? Given your reading, when would you say capitalism begun? My son asked me exactly this the other day - and I would have guessed around the time of trading of African people to be enslaved workers in the New World economy. But that wasn’t a highly informed guess. What would you say after reading the book?
You are pretty close. Capitalism began in the English countryside roughly in the 16th century, and the first shipment of slaves to England was the middle of the same century. I haven't looked in detail and the underlying links in social and economic terms, but one can guess it would be a fruitful investigation.
“I learned much in those years, and much of that learning feeds me today in my small cabin in the woods.” Hope this is also something you’ll write about!
Thanks for the nudge! I have a lot to argue about with Wendell Berry, and all of it is tied into my years on two organic farms.
I would bet, like me, you hate the term ‘woke’ but in effect, reading Caste, was an ‘awakening.’ “there is no going back after reading this book.” In it’s original usage as a term, I think that’s what ‘woke’ meant - not to be fooled by the status quo or the official position of things.
Yes, I accounted for part of the awakening Caste brought to me here: https://argumentswithbooks.substack.com/p/breaking-through-racial-naivete-a
It was a helluva read.
I tried to get through Paul Mason’s Post Capitalism, but I got bogged down in the complexity and didn’t get back to it. Years later it’s bookmarked before the 50% mark
That makes sense to me. It becomes a heavy read. The most compelling part was, if I remember correctly, in that first half where he talks about how digitalization will make markets not function. Toward the end, he goes into "solutions" and things that are really cringe-worthy. Nonetheless, the central idea I took from it changed my perception of the future.