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[S4 E07] New

In this episode of Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey points to a number of hopeful changes in the political landscape of various countries: Colombia, Peru, Brazil and France. Harvey continues by drawing on Marx’s arguments on the 10-hour work day as a guide for today’s anti-capitalist..

[S4 E06] New

In 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...

[S4 E05] New

In this episode, 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...

[S4 E04] New

In 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...

[S4 E03] New

“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...

[S4 E02] New

Technology 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...

Season 4   |  Season 3   |   Season 2   |   Season 1

Season 4

Season 4 began in February 2022.

Freedom, Necessity and Anti-Capitalism

May 2022 (Season 4 - Episode 07)

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In this episode of Anti-Capitalist Chronicles, Prof. Harvey points to a number of hopeful changes in the political landscape of various countries: Colombia, Peru, Brazil and France. Harvey continues by drawing on Marx’s arguments on the 10-hour work day as a guide for today’s anti-capitalist agenda. Given the current US conditions, the movement should focus on small, incremental changes and mobilize around important issues such as housing and living wages.

US Labor - Supply vs. Demand

May 2022 (Season 4 - Episode 06)

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In 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 predicts this current wave of inflation to be with us for some time, and urges us to consider whether the resulting recession is caused by a lack of opportunity, or if it is simply a means for the capitalist class to seize more power and control.

Inflation and Class Struggle

April 2022 (Season 4 - Episode 05)

Watch on YouTube  |  Read Episode Transcript

In 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 predicts this current wave of inflation to be with us for some time, and urges us to consider whether the resulting recession is caused by a lack of opportunity, or if it is simply a means for the capitalist class to seize more power and control.

Capitalist Growth and Finite Resources

April 2022 (Season 4 - Episode 04)

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In 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 drive for profit and accumulation, and argues that an alternative system is desperately needed.

War - Who Benefits From It?

March 2022 (Season 4 - Episode 03)

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“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 benefits from this constant expansion? As Harvey reveals, it’s the politicians who represent locales with military bases and the corporations like Lockheed Martin and Boeing, that provide the military supplies and equipment.

When Technology Become a Business...

March 2022 (Season 4 - Episode 02)

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Technology 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 tech sector continues to explode, Harvey begs us to investigate the ways in which it shapes our lives and choices: through concealed exploitative practices, monetization of access, artificial intelligence, and more. 

Technological Dynamism

February 2022 (Season 4 - Episode 01)

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Technological 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 driven by the coercive laws of competition between states, and between power blocks (China, US, Russia, Europe), yielding new technologies and non-benign forms of competition used for military advantage and for wealth and power. But, Harvey asks, in what ways can we keep pressure on progress and innovation to produce new technologies that will benefit society as a whole.

  
OTHER SEASONS OF ANTI-CAPITALIST CHRONICLES

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Season 4 starts now!!!

[S4 E01] New

Technological 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...

[S3 E27] New

In 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...

[S3 E26] New

In 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...